WHAT'S PNWER?

I've been busy since Sunday July 22nd attending the PNWER Conference at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. PNWER, short for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, consists of legislators from Alaska, British Columbia, The Yukon, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana - as well as private sector business people. This is the first time the event was held in Alaska, hosted by the Alaska State Legislature. The conference ended today, July 25th.

Our Pacific Northwest faces similar challenges and opportunities, and it's educational good to rub shoulders with other leaders from the same region. As part of the event, I was among those briefed by the Anchorage Port Authority on their expansion, and by the Air Force on air defense, the AWACS airborne radar systems, and the new C17 cargo plane. Last time I was in an AWACS plane was in 1973 over Cambodia in an old EC121 Constellation (when an enemy MIG fighter came toward us - but thankfully turned away!).