Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 297
Former President George W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country showed Americans the difference between a statesman and a showman. In a speech at a memorial last Saturday in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked planes crashed, Bush honestly and strongly confronted the growing divisiveness, hostility and political battles that have consumed America: "A malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an...
At this point, anything is worth a try. If a healthy life, caring about family and neighbors, and wanting to dream about perhaps someday flying without a face mask isn’t enough of an incentive, maybe a chance at winning the Alaska vaccination lottery will be just the shot in the arm some people need. Literally. The state has decided to use $1 million in federal pandemic aid to offer a lottery — a weekly $49,000 prize for eight lucky adults (age 18 and over) of the 49th state who figure a chance at cash is worth a little ache in the arm. The...
Discussions and medical decisions about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 should be based on facts, not scientifically untested and unproven rumors spread on social media. And certainly not on irresponsible health care advice prescribed by an elected official who seems to think a drug that kills worms in horses and cows might also destroy the coronavirus in people. A polite person might say "horse feathers" to such medical guidance from an unlicensed politician. A not-so-nice person...
It should be pretty easy to look at residential utility hookups, Permanent Fund dividend application statistics, housing occupancy and other data points to refute the U.S. Census Bureau count that shows Wrangell lost 242 residents between the federal government’s official tallies in 2010 and 2020. Anyone who has tried to find housing to buy or rent would certainly dispute the notion that all those people left town, putting empty homes or apartments on the market. But this mathematical dispute is much more than frustration over tight housing a...
For years, critics of state finances have said government should run more like a business. OK, let's see how that works. When companies are short of revenue, they first look at how to boost sales. Makes good financial sense to go out and attract more business, draw in new customers, maybe even raise prices while staying competitive. And companies look at their expenses. Are there better ways to run the operation that would save money. The absolutely last thing a well-run company would do is pay...
Yes, the amount of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend will be at stake when legislators convene in another special session on Monday. And while the PFD is important, legislators — and Alaskans — should not let the political fights over the dividend overwhelm the importance of resolving other financial disputes that jeopardize the lives of tens of thousands of Alaskans. In particular, there are the Power Cost Equalization (PCE) payments that benefit about 82,000 Alaskans in almost 200 rural communities across the state. The Legis...
The filing period opened this week for nine seats on the borough assembly, school board and port commission. Which means it's time for people to think about what they want for the community's future and how they could help make it happen. The best candidates are those who are for something, not against. Those who have ideas, not grudges and gripes. There is probably no shortage of people against COVID-19 health rules, taxes, zoning restrictions, cell phone towers, school policies, dog control la...
Just look at the numbers. More than 2,200 new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska over July 15-25. More than 200 active cases in Sitka alone last week, winning the top spot for the worst outbreak in the state. Almost 60 active cases in Cordova, a town of 2,800, resulting in the closure of a seafood processing plant. Juneau reported 44 new cases over the weekend, and more than 150 in the past two weeks. The city brought back restrictions to contain the spread of the more infectious Delta variant of the...
Looking around at all the boots, raingear and plastic tarps, it’s hard to imagine that Wrangell can’t handle a little water. The community can handle the rain alright. It’s collecting all that water, cleaning it and delivering it to our homes, offices and businesses that is a challenge. Wrangell’s 23-year-old filtration plant, which runs muskeg water through a variety of sand filters and other processes, struggles to efficiently provide all the water the community needs and often falls short of meeting state standards for safe drinking water. T...
Life is returning toward normal, but it isn't normal yet. COVID-19 is still infecting people, putting some in the hospital and killing Alaskans. The state reported four more deaths Thursday through Sunday last week, bringing the number of Alaskans killed by the virus to at least 374. Last Friday, Sitka reported its worst COVID-19 outbreak since December, with five new infections, making a dozen new cases in just two days. And then 11 more were reported on Monday. Nearly all of Sitka's recent cas...
Alaskans have taken a collective leap over the embankment of common sense. We didn’t merely leave the Church of Wisdom, we turned to the false political god of the Church of the Permanent Fund Dividend to lead us to the promised land. Think about what Moses would do. Instead of leaving the Israelites on their own for 40 days during his hike up Mount Sinai to retrieve the Ten Commandments, what if he had climbed Denali and returned with a long-term fiscal plan for Alaska, only to see the people praying to the golden letters “PFD.” He’d probably...
The borough is required to set the property tax rate for the next budget year that starts today, which it did. The rate will not change. And the borough is required to adopt a budget to guide its spending over the year, which it did, pretty much the same total for public services as this past year. But within that total, some of the individual numbers will change over the next 12 months, which is OK. There were too many unknowns, too many variables when the assembly approved the budget last month to expect that changes will not occur. The...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy will have multiple big decisions to make when the state budget lands on his desk and he decides which appropriations he likes and which he will veto. Alaska's governors have the power to pick and choose, line by line, which spending items they don't support, and can either totally eliminate them or simply cross out the number and write in a smaller amount. We ask that the governor this year not use his veto pen, pencil, Sharpie or highlighter on two budget items that are impor...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy must have learned how to manage state finances from the same people who guard the world’s biggest secret recipes: Col. Sanders’ fried chicken, Coca-Cola, Big Mac’s special sauce, Twinkies and Dr. Pepper. Keeping secrets from customers is smart marketing hype. Keeping secrets from the public is irresponsible. And, in the governor’s case, it’s dishonest. Dunleavy, who served on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough school board and later spent five years in the state Legislature, should know his arithmetic — if he had paid attention i...
It was 25 years ago last month that Wrangell received title to the former Institute property near Shoemaker Bay. The 134 acres have mostly been unused since the Bureau of Indian Affairs shut down the boarding school almost 50 years ago. There have been plans, proposals, wishes and dreams over the decades of turning the property into tourist lodging, senior citizen housing, a school or training center. And now the borough is moving closer to the latest plan - subdividing the land into lots for...
It looks like Wrangell is dialing up for a fight over a cell tower proposed for construction next door to piles of old tires, city electrical equipment and the transfer site for garbage before it is hauled out of town. The tower would be at least a couple hundred feet from the nearest homes. However, homeowners in the vicinity of the city-owned property on the north end of the island are smart to question whether the tower's radio signals pose any safety risks. People have a right to a healthy...
Just a couple weeks ago, Ketchikan reported 20 new COVID-19 cases in a single day and had more than 100 active cases in the borough. A week ago, the community still had more than 80 active cases and four people in the hospital. About 20% of all the cases reported in Ketchikan since the pandemic infected and inflicted its misery on the world more than a year ago have occurred in just the past few weeks. Many of the recent cases are people who did not choose to get vaccinated. Almost 40% of...
To steal the line from a country-western song of almost 30 years ago — “Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it” — Gov. Mike Dunleavy is sticking to his story that the Permanent Fund dividend is just about the most important thing in Alaska today. So much so that not only does he want the PFD enshrined in the constitution, but he wants the formula for calculating the annual payment to residents hard-wired into the everlasting document. Even education, public health and safety don’t get that kind of star treatment. The governor want...
As if COVID-19 wasn’t destructive enough, politics has made it worse. It delayed vaccination drives and turned the needle into a political statement, dissuading millions from getting the shot. That needs to stop. If people choose not to get vaccinated, that’s their right. But self-serving office holders have turned it into a debate about freedom, not safety. That’s a bad way to make community health decisions. The country needs to work together — not start fights — to overcome the coronavirus, beat down the pandemic and get closer to 2019 norm...
The Matanuska is old, no question about it. Even after a $47 million rebuild in 2018-2019, it will continue to suffer from the ailments of age as a 58-year-old ship in salt water. But Alaskans should question why the ship keeps coming out of service with mechanical problems. Sadly, the ferry has become as undependable as Democrats and Republicans working together. What are the state's costs of repairs and lost revenue from the service outages? What are the costs to people and businesses of...
A bill moving through the state House would require state recognition of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized tribes. Supporters say the measure is needed to encourage better collaboration and consultation between the state and tribes; formally acknowledge Alaska tribes’ sovereignty, history, culture and contributions; and potentially allow them to access additional resources. “By supporting this bill, you are uplifting these unique and resilient people that have been here for 10,000 years,” Brooke Woods, of the Athabascan Interior communi...
With more than $1 billion in federal pandemic aid heading to the state treasury, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Alaska's 60 legislators are busy figuring out the best way to spend the money. Our elected leaders need to stick with spending decisions that will do the most long-term good for communities, resisting the temptation of politically popular cash payouts to individuals. It's disturbing to hear talk among some elected officials in the Capitol that the federal money could be used - in a roundabout...
States and cities have tried a lot of creative slogans over the years to entice people to come visit. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." The iconic "I Love NY" slogan and logo. And there's the romantic "Virginia is for lovers." Now we have the newest entrant among tourism marketing campaigns. We could call it: "Get stuck in Alaska." The state of Alaska will offer free COVID-19 vaccinations for travelers who come to the 49th state this summer. If the fishing and scenery, the long summer nigh...
Though the Legislature is not looking to adopt a state sales tax or income tax this year, most lawmakers know it is inevitable. And most Alaskans should know it too, considering how we have dipped into savings more than half of the past 30 years to pay for services and the revenue gap is only getting worse. But which tax? Which is fairest to the largest number of people? Which is best (least worst) for the economy? And how do taxes compare with further cuts in public services and the prospect...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he wants to use federal pandemic relief dollars for a national advertising campaign to support Alaska's tourism industry, though he provided no details or budget for the marketing campaign in the April 9 announcement. The governor's office also said tourism businesses will soon receive relief grants from the state, with details to come this week. Legislative approval is required to appropriate state funds. Dunleavy said he has put Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer in charge of...
