This franchise has long been a budget-friendly option for seafood fans, but based on reviews across multiple locations, customers aren’t happy.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Day: April 28, 2026
Declining natural gas production from offshore platforms in Cook Inlet is forcing Alaska’s urban utilities to turn toward importing liquefied natural gas. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)
Alaska utilities have warned of sharp price hikes when they start importing liquefied natural gas in the coming years to replace dwindling supplies of locally produced gas that’s traditionally been used for home heating and generating electricity.
The first LNG tankers aren’t expected to arrive for a few years.
But increases in the prices paid by consumers are starting to land now.
This month, Hilcorp, urban Alaska’s leading local gas producer, is hiking by 14% the price it charges the electric utility in the Matanuska-Susitna region north of Anchorage — to $9.00 per thousand cubic feet, from $7.89.
More increases scheduled over the next two years will bring the price to $11.75 by 2028 — a 49% jump from the rate in early 2026, before the effective date of a revised contract approved by the Mat-Su utility’s board in recent months.
The utility members’ electric bills will rise by more like 5% each year, since gas prices are only one part of the utility’s operating costs. But by 2028, that still will translate into a monthly hike of more than $20 for typical consumers, according to utility correspondence with regulators.
Utility officials said the amended contract with Hilcorp gets them an extra year of guaranteed gas, when the alternative is a shortfall in supply that could force the utility to generate power with even more expensive diesel fuel.
But the officials also acknowledged that prices for consumers are likely only headed in one direction: up.
“We’re really seeing this as a gradual approach to the unfortunate increase in what Alaskans may see in fuel costs,” Kim Henkel, chief fiscal officer at Matanuska Electric Association, known as MEA, said in an interview earlier this year.
Officials with Hilcorp, urban Alaska’s dominant local gas supplier, said in a prepared statement that its amended contract with MEA reflects a “collaborative approach.”
The deal represents a “deliberate investment approach with our utility partners to bring forward existing production and provide a bridge while longer-term solutions are pursued,” the statement quoted Luke Saugier, Hilcorp’s top Alaska executive, as saying.
MEA isn’t the only utility whose ratepayers are facing imminent price hikes as a result of urban Alaska’s dwindling gas supplies.
In Fairbanks, the local electric utility has no natural gas plants of its own. Historically, as much as 30% of its power has been generated by other utilities’ gas plants farther south and shipped north along a transmission line.
Now, with no excess gas, those lower-priced power sources have dried up, and Fairbanks’ utility has been forced to boost its dependence on its own expensive diesel generation.
Residential prices there have risen nearly 50% since a low in 2020, to roughly double the national average.
Meanwhile, customers of urban Alaska’s main heating utility, Enstar, could also pay $12 a month more if the company moves forward with a proposed acquisition of a new storage reservoir. Enstar says it could fill the reservoir with both locally produced gas in the short-term, as well as imported LNG when cargoes start arriving.
With its own supplies tightening, Enstar says, the $240 million storage project would also add to its capacity to pipe gas out to home and commercial heating customers — as flows become increasingly difficult to sustain with less fuel produced by local companies at any one time.
Additional price increases are almost certain in the coming years when Enstar, and Anchorage and the Mat-Su’s electric utilities, begin replacing their locally supplied fuel with imported liquefied natural gas — expected to cost at least 50% more than what Enstar currently pays Hilcorp for local gas.
“I hate to be the one crying wolf,” John Sims, Enstar’s president, said in an interview. But such steep increases in the cost of energy, he added, are “the start of an economy that just doesn’t work any more.”
One problem, Sims said, is that local gas producers like Hilcorp have seen the prices that the utilities expect to pay for imported LNG, which have been revealed publicly in utility consultants’ reports. “Now I’ve got no leverage,” said Sims, whose company is investor-owned. “They know what the alternative cost is going to be.”
For now, it will be hard for the urban utilities to stem further price increases because of their deep dependence on fossil fuels — and decades of foregone decisions that could have been made to diversify and boost efficiencies, according to Phil Wight, an energy historian and utility expert at University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Urban Alaska’s four major electric utilities could have done more to cooperate on power plant construction and ongoing generation, so that only the most efficient plants were used, Wight said.
They also, added Wight, could have started construction on large-scale renewable projects when substantial federal tax credits were available. But no major projects are set to be built in the state before the credits phase out — and urban Alaska still runs on some 80% fossil power.
“We have these systemic structures that make it hard for us to really get out of this paradigm,” Wight said, adding: “We’re going to be in this pit for a while.”
Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at natherz@gmail.com or (907) 793-0312. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this link.
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Jake Owen is opening up like never before in the latest episode of God’s Country Podcast, reflecting on his Florida roots, moving to Nashville with no real plan, his longtime admiration for country supergroup Alabama, and the realities of fame—including the toll it’s taken on his family life.
Sitting down with Dan and Reid Isbell, known as The Brothers Hunt, Owen’s conversation turned deeply personal as he looked back on arriving in Music City as a young, naïve dreamer and reflected on where he is today.
“I came here with nothing and yesterday I was like, you know, looking out over my farm in my pool. By myself. Because weird… ’cause I came here with nothing and I’ve gained a whole lot when it, you know, when it comes to the, the business side of it, I feel like I’ve, I’ve done a lot of incredible things, but, I also came here with no children, no relationships 20, 22 years ago,” he shared. “And now I’m blessed to have two children. I’m blessed to have had two relationships that were fruitful and amazing.”
Owen, 44, went on to acknowledge the unexpected weight that came with his success in Nashville and even admitted he may not have moved there to chase his dreams if he had known how things would turn out.
“But I’ll say that like everything that I thought I moved here for… that I was looking for, I definitely fulfilled, but I also have been given a lot of things that I never, never signed up for or didn’t know that would come along with it. And I think if people would’ve told me that I may have just stayed in Vero,” he admitted.
The “Journey of Your Life” singer quickly added, “I’m glad they didn’t,” clarifying that he’s grateful he didn’t know the path his life would take him down, as he might have missed out on many of the opportunities his career ultimately brought him.
“I think people, people put emphasis on making it in Nashville, put emphasis on like, are you sure you wanna do that?Man, you know, there’s a lot of people up there, blah, blah. That’s not what people should put the emphasis on when people move to Nashville,” he stated, later adding that they should put emphasis on “What happens when you make it.”
He continued, “Let’s talk about when you make it. What are you gonna do then? Life goes on, friends get lost. You know, relationships get broken. All kinds of things that no one talks about other than if you make it and then they think that when you make it, it’s all, glitz and glamor. And so long answer to your short question, 22 years here has taught me a lot about people, myself, the business, just, you know, life. It’s been amazing, man.”
Owen got especially candid about hitting a breaking point around Christmas 2025 reflecting on the end of his second relationship, taking responsibility for his role while also admitting just how much it hurt. He spoke about the contrast between the success people see on the outside and the personal struggles he’s dealt with behind the scenes, sharing that it all became too much in that moment and he ultimately broke down.
Following this extremely vulnerable moment, Owen returned to social media to clarify his mindset. Since then, Owen received overwhelming support from fans, fellow artists, and more and told The Brothers Hunt
“When I looked back at that video that I posted, I was like, ‘I don’t even know that dude. I don’t know who that guy is, but that guy’s, that guy’s hurt. That guy’s lost and it made me realize in that moment, like, you know, that I wasn’t who I think I thought I was trying to become, but it set me on a different path of understanding that like, we’re all like, broken in ways and you gotta find out how to, how to, you know, fix yourself.”
Jake Owen’s latest album, Dreams to Dream, is out now.
For more with Jake Owen on the God’s Country podcast, click the video above.
The post Jake Owen Gets Real About the Dark Side of ‘Making It’ in Nashville appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have left the door wide open for Aaron Rodgers to return. Still, the club gave itself a little bit of protection in case he does not. Pittsburgh placed the unrestricted free-agent tender on the four-time NFL MVP on Monday, meaning the Steelers would be entitled to a compensatory draft pick if Rodgers doesn’t sign with them and instead lands elsewhere during the 2026 season. General manager Omar Khan and first-year head coach Mike McCarthy remain very optimistic that the 42-year-old will be back after leading them to an AFC North title last winter. The line of communication between both sides has been wide open since the end of the season, and Khan said after the 2026 NFL Draft that the selection of former Penn State Nittany Lions star Drew Allar in the third round does not affect Pittsburgh’s interest in having Rodgers back. The tender does not preclude Rodgers from signing with another team or even give the Steelers the ability to match an offer to him if one is made before July 22. What it does do is give them some coverage if he signs elsewhere before training camp opens in late July. After camp begins, the Steelers would have exclusive negotiating rights with Rodgers. The tender also slots in Rodgers’ salary. Under the rules, Rodgers would be entitled to a 10% raise over his 2025 salary if he comes back for a 22nd season. Rodgers said in January that he would make a decision “down the line.” The Steelers had expressed hope that Rodgers would be able to provide clarity before the NFL draft, but that did not happen. Pittsburgh begins organized team activities — which are voluntary — on May 18. Mandatory minicamp is set for June 2-4. Rodgers skipped OTAs entirely last year, signing a one-year deal with the Steelers not long after minicamp wrapped up. Reporting by The Associated Press.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
One year ago, no one was betting on Ella Langley, and we can prove it. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
One year ago, no one was betting on Ella Langley, and we can prove it. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
That row of baking powders on the grocery store shelf? Well, they’re not created equal – a closer look reveals some telling information about aluminum.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Last week, Queen Elizabeth II would have celebrated her 100th birthday.
Several UK media outlets marked the occasion with retrospectives on the late monarch’s life as well as new reportage on her final days.
The magazine Air Mail ran perhaps the most scandalous piece for the Queen’s centennial, with journalist Craig Brown making a surprising claim about Elizabeth’s view of the marriage between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
In a piece titled “The Strange Afterlife of Queen Elizabeth II,” Brown alleges that Elizabeth had no doubt that Harry and Meghan’s marriage would end in divorce.
“It’s not a matter of if,” she allegedly remarked to an associate at one point, “it’s a matter of when.”
Brown added that he was informed of the Queen’s comments “a year or two ago,” but decided to keep it under wraps until now.
It’s no secret that Meghan didn’t always get along with Harry’s family.
In fact, the feud between Meghan and Kate Middleton is the stuff of legend at this point.
But the Queen was always said to be one of Meghan’s biggest supporters within the Windsor clan, so the news that she was so pessimistic about Harry’s marriage comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Then again, Elizabeth prioritized duty and tradition over just about everything else in life, so perhaps we shouldn’t be totally shocked that she was no great fan of the romance that eventually led Harry to step away from Royal life.
Elsewhere in the Air Mail piece, Brown revisited his previous claim that the Queen was also not a fan of President Donald Trump.
“In fact, I heard always the opposite. I heard I was her favorite president. She would say it to a lot of people, she said it to friends of mine that ‘President Trump was my favorite president’ … We had an unbelievable relationship,” Trump shot back at his initial report.
But as Brown notes, Barack Obama later corroborated his claims about Elizabeth’s feelings toward the president.
“Why is this person so close to running your country?” she reportedly asked Obama in 2016.
The Queen was known for her stiff upper lip and her “never complain, never explain” approach to life.
But clearly, in the right company, she was not shy about expressing her opinion.
Queen Elizabeth Predicted Prince Harry-Meghan Markle Split During Her Final Months: Report was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
“Shrek” is returning to theaters for its 25th anniversary, and AMC is releasing a novelty popcorn bucket in celebration. The only problem? It’s a little gross.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
Reading Time: 2 minutes
For decades, Lisa Kudrow has been a national treasure.
While promoting The Comeback‘s return, she reflected upon Friends — which she has been rewatching.
Kudrow details “mean” and “brutal” conflicts with the writers.
Including, she says, how some of the writers were clearly fantasizing about her co-stars.
‘The guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies’
During a recently published interview with The Times of London, Kudrow spoke about how less-than-friendly Friends could be off-camera.
“There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes,” she admitted.
“Don’t forget we were recording in front of a live audience of 400,” Kudrow emphasized.
“And if you messed up one of these writers’ lines or it didn’t get the perfect response,” she shared, “they could be like, ‘Can’t the bitch f–king read? She’s not even trying. She f–ked up my line.’”
There are multiple infamous aspects of Friends, including the Les Moonves of it all. But Kudrow had a lot to say about the writers in particular.
According to Kudrow, the Friends writer’s room of 12-15 was comprised mostly of men.
She quipped that “the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies” about Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, her co-stars.
“It was intense,” Kudrow characterized.
She even went so far as to describe the dynamic between writers and stars as “brutal.” At times, anyway.
“But these guys — and it was mostly men in there — were sitting up until 3 a.m. trying to write the show,” Kudrow reasoned. “So my attitude was, ‘Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn’t matter.’”
She’s actually not the first to touch upon this topic
In 2004, a former writers’ assistant filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television.
Amaani Lyle accused the writers of Friends of both sexual harassment and racial harassment.
This bitter battle made it all of the way to the California Supreme Court.
In a bizarre twist, the California Supreme Court ruled against Lyle — but not upon a basis of fact.
Rather, the court agreed that the writers’ behavior was a necessary part of the work environment.
That glaring blow to jurisprudence is horrifying, even in the unending hell of 2026. (Yes, there are jobs where a direct discussion of sex is important; there is no need for a writer’s assistant to face harassment, however.)
Actually, speaking of the horrors of 2026, Kudrow’s primary reason for her recent press tour has been to promote the return of The Comeback.
Among other things, Kudrow and The Comeback gave us all this amazing barely-parody of recent political horrors: a woman claiming that conservative voices like hers have been “silenced,” each claim made repeatedly and broadcast for all to hear.
Hopefully, she will never again have to contend with toxic coworkers who might berate an actor for flubbing a line.
And hopefully neither she nor her former co-stars will have to deal with creepy colleagues, either. Yikes!
Lisa Kudrow: ‘Friends’ Writers Fantasized About Jennifer Aniston and … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip