Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/790023
ByDavidKoenig The Associated Press DALLAS American and United have started selling cheaper "basic economy" fares as they battle dis- count airlines for the most budget-conscious travelers. American announced early Tuesday that it began selling the new fares for flights starting March 1 on 10 different routes from its hub airports in Dallas, Mi- ami, Philadelphia and Char- lotte, North Carolina. United followed suit later in the day, posting reduced fares on some flights from Minneapolis to seven of its hub cities including New York, Chicago and Los An- geles for travel starting April 18. Basic economy fares come with severe restric- tions. Buyers can't pick a seat when they buy the ticket, they're in the last group to board, and they can only carry a small item that fits under their seat. With a few exceptions, they must pay extra to check a wheeled bag that other economy-class travelers can put in the overhead bin. But the fares are cheaper. The savings over a regu- lar economy ticket appear to range from about $24 to $40 for a round-trip ticket on American and United. For example, on two ran- dom early-March itiner- aries between Dallas and Baltimore, economy tickets were listed on American's website at $249 and $309. Those same trips were priced at $209 and $269 on basic economy. Even on the routes where American sells the new fares, they are usually avail- able only on a small num- ber of flights — sometimes one or two a day — and on some days, none at all. Bar- gain hunters will see more basic-economy options when searching one-way flights, rather than round trips, because American will not allow flyers to buy a round trip that combines the new cheaper fare on one leg with a regular economy fare on the other. On one- way flights, the price break can be as little as $12. American, the world's biggest airline, said it will eventually add basic-econ- omy fares on other routes. The United offering is even more limited — it only appears on some flights be- tween Minneapolis and seven United hubs around the country. United said it started small to ensure a smooth rollout, but plans to expand the idea to the rest of the U.S., the Caribbean and the closest destinations in Latin America. Basic economy fares were introduced by Delta Air Lines several years ago in response to growing com- petition from discounter Spirit Airlines. Spirit and Frontier Airlines offer bar- gain-basement fares but add on more fees than the bigger airlines, includ- ing charging for use of overhead bins. They have gained ground among trav- elers looking for the cheap- est price. Delta now offers basic economy on about 40 percent of its U.S. routes and plans to cover its en- tire domestic network by mid-year. TRAVEL United, American begin selling cheaper economy-class fare ALANDIAZ—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS An American Airlines passenger jet takes off from Miami International Airport in Miami. By Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar The Associated Press WASHINGTON Michael Schwarz is a self-employed business owner who buys his own health insurance. The subsidized coverage "Obamacare" offers protec- tion from life's unpredict- ablechangesandfreedomto pursuehisvocation,hesays. Brett Dorsch is also self- employed and buys his own health insurance. But he getsnofinancialbreakfrom theAffordableCareAct."To me, it's just been a big lie," Dorsch says, forcing him to pay more for less coverage. Schwarz and Dorsch rep- resent two Americas, pull- ing farther apart over for- mer President Barack Obama's health care law. Known as the ACA, the law rewrote the rules for people buying their own health in- surance, creating winners and losers. Those with financial subsidies now fear being harmed by President Don- aldTrumpandRepublicans intent on repealing and re- placing the ACA. But other consumers who also buy their own insurance and don't qualify for financial help feel short-changed by Obama's law. They're hop- ing repeal will mean relief from rising premiums. TheACAsoughttocreate one big new market for in- dividualhealthinsurancein eachstate.Itrequiredinsur- ers to accept all customers, regardless of medical prob- lems. And it provided subsi- dies to help low- and mod- erate-income people afford premiums. These newly vested ACA customers joined consum- ersalreadyinthemarket,to make a new insurance pool. Policies offered to all had to be upgraded to meet new federal standards for com- prehensive benefits, raising premiums. And many of the new customers turned out to be sicker than insur- ers expected, pushing rates even higher. Consumers who didn't qualify for government fi- nancial help wound up bearing the full cost of pre- miums. They also faced the law's new requirement to carry health insurance or risk fines. "One(group)isangryand one is incredibly grateful," said Robert Blendon of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. If Trump and congressional Republi- cans aren't careful, their ac- tionscouldstokefreshgriev- ances without solving long- standingproblemsofaccess and cost. Consider what happened to Schwarz and Dorsch this year,aspremiumsforastan- dard plan through Health- Care.govjumpedanaverage of 25 percent. Schwarz and his wife are in their mid-20s and live in Tampa, Florida. He has his own commercial photogra- phy business and she's pur- suing a graduate degree in speech-language pathology. The sticker price of their HealthCare.gov policy went up about 20 percent, but what they pay monthly is about $115 lower than last year. Not only did their sub- sidy cover the rise in pre- mium, they're also getting more help because their income went down when Schwarz's wife returned to school full time. 'OBAMACARE' Rise in premiums lays bare 2 Americas on health care By Jay Reeves The Associated Press ATHENS, GA. The Celtic cross tattoo on Shannon Martinez's leg gives away her past. A victim of sexual as- sault at age 14 and never quite able to meet her par- ents' expectations, Marti- nez sought out other an- gry teens. By 16, she was a skinhead spouting white supremacist rhetoric, giv- ing stiff-armed Nazi sa- lutes and tagging public property with swastikas. She favored racist fashion statements — like the sym- bol on her right calf. Fortified by the love of an adopted family, Marti- nez left the skinheads be- hind. Today she's helping others do the same as part of an emerging U.S. move- ment that helps people quit hate organizations. Modeled loosely upon or- ganizations that formed in Europe years ago to combat extremism, groups and in- dividuals are offering coun- seling, education and un- derstanding to extremists seeking a way out. Now a 42-year-old mom who homeschools her kids at their house in Georgia, Martinez volunteers with Life After Hate, a leading organization dedicated to helping people leave white supremacy. On Facebook, she shares her story with others who've left or are looking to leave extremism. "We act as a group of people who understand each other," said former skinhead Christian Piccio- lini, an old friend of Marti- nez who founded the Chi- cago-based Life After Hate. "We understand the moti- vations of where we came from and why we joined. We understand what keeps people in. And we help each other detach and disengage from that ideology and pro- vide a support system for them as they go through that transformation." Founded in 2009, Life After Hate was awarded a $400,000 Justice Depart- ment grant in the closing days of the Obama admin- istration — funding that could be endangered if the Trump administration de- cides to refocus a federal program combatting vio- lent extremism solely on Islamic radicals, as is be- ing considered. While several other grant recipients are dedicated to countering radical Muslim ideology, Life After Hate concentrates specifically on showing white extrem- ists there's another way. The group operates a website where people who want to explore leaving white extremism can sub- mit contact information. It also conducts educa- tional and counseling pro- grams including the Face- book group where mem- bers sometimes chat with extremists trying to change their lives, Picciolini said. "I started the organi- zation ... because it was so difficult to leave that movement," he said. "Even though I'd abandoned the ideology, I wasn't ready to give up my community and my power and my iden- tity, and I knew how hard it would be for other peo- ple to leave this type of ide- ology or this type of move- ment." Another group, One Peo- ple's Project, was started by Daryle Lamont Jenkins of Philadelphia. Aside from monitoring racist groups, Jenkins — who is black — confronts white national- ists at public gatherings and talks one-on-one with willing white supremacists as he can, trying to show them there is a way other than hate. Some have never met a black person, he said. Jenkins' work is similar to that of Daryl Davis, a black musician from Mary- land who has gained notice for trying to talk people out of the Ku Klux Klan. Mark Potok, a senior fel- low with the liberal South- ern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, said it's hard to determine exact numbers, but around 100,000 people might be members in hate groups and several hundred thou- sand could be linked infor- mally. Potok said exit organi- zations began in Europe in the 1980s to counter the rise right-wing militants there. "I do think that this is a particularly important mo- ment for this kind of exit work to be happening be- cause we have seen in the last year, year and a half, a real legitimization of these views," he said. President Donald Trump's election with the support of neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan has lent a new sense of urgency to opponents of white suprem- acy. "The Trump election has absolutely lit a fire un- der the butts of the white nationalists," Martinez said. "It is like, 'Our time is coming.'" Martinez said she grew up in metro Atlanta in a relatively normal fam- ily but rebelled after be- ing sexually assaulted at a party. She got involved in the punk scene, which led to the skinhead movement. Martinez said she was on a path to prison or an early death when she moved in with the family of her skin- head boyfriend, who was away for Army training. His mother showed uncon- ditional love that pulled her out of the abyss, Martinez said. EXTREMISTS Ex-white supremacists help others leave hate groups CHRISTIAN PICCIOLINI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Shannon Martinez gives a Nazi salute while she was part of a racist skinhead organization as a teen decades ago. Vote NOW Best of Tehama County 2017 Go to www.redbluffdailynews.com Click this Vote Icon, top of page VOTING ENDS FEBRUARY 24 TH AT 5PM Click this Vote Icon, top of page 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at If you are Considering Selling Your Home, Now is the Time! PropertyisSelling and Listings are in Short Supply! CallTehamaCountiesLargest Real Estate Office and let our Knowledgeable and Professional Realtors assist you Today! 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