Why do people go to Paris, or London or Rome?
Not to see whales or soaring mountains and waterfalls, glaciers and wildlife, but to see the Eiffel Tower, Parliament, the sculpted fountains, art and historical monuments of ancient Rome.
In Juneau, we are blessed with stunning scenery, wildlife, and our proximity to the Ice Age. God designed this place and did a breathtaking job. Yet, we little humans could make Juneau even more beautiful and attractive to tourists if we worked on our monuments and architecture. Juneau’s setting could make it one of the most spectacular state capitols in the USA. The Whale Project will become an icon of Juneau once it is completed, like the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. With Skip Wallen’s sculpture leaping out of the surrounding pond framed by the magnificence of Mount Jumbo, it will be one more thing that will allure tourists to our town. This would help the tourism industry and Juneau.
I separate the two because much of Juneau’s tourism “on the beach” projects are owned and operated by subsidiaries of the international tourism industry. They are not local mom-and-pop stores for the most part. The cruise lines also direct the passengers to their subsidiaries and, unless you are a local mom-and-pop tourism store that pays for a plug aboard ship, you are left out of the picture. That is not unfair, but let’s face it — the cruise lines are making a ton of money in Juneau and that is largely because of the town’s accessibility and proximity to the above listed attractions.
So, I don’t get it why a cruise ship organization is trying to sue Juneau because we are spending some of the passenger head tax on making Juneau a more attractive stop over for tourists. It seems like we are helping the cruise lines by enhancing Juneau’s beauty.
Also, because they pay us taxes, does that mean they have to dictate to us how we spend all of the tax money?
I wish I could do the same with my income tax. The salmon industry used to have much control over Alaskan resources until we became a state and were able to keep them from wiping out our fisheries.
The Eiffel Tower got a lot of criticism when it was built, but for over a century is has become the symbol of Paris. The Whale Sculpture will become another Juneau jewel and will benefit everyone.
Lisle Hebert,
Juneau