Opinion

KTOO’s public broadcasting building in Juneau. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Public broadcasting needs support as its elimination is considered by Trump administration

Like many of us I know that public broadcasting is in the sights of the Trump administration for massive cuts and perhaps elimination. This very… Continue reading

  • Mar 31, 2025
  • By Douglas Mertz
  • Opinion

 

People tour the garden plots during the 30th Annual Juneau Community Garden Harvest Fair on Saturday, Aug 24, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Increasing food security without a state agriculture department

There is a path to increasing food security without an Alaska Department of Agriculture this legislative session. Gov. Mike Dunleavy should hire an aide in… Continue reading

  • Mar 31, 2025
  • By Rodger Painter
  • Opinion

 

Charles VanKirk offers public testimony during a Juneau Assembly meeting on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Pay attention to the projects the Assembly is prioritizing

In the Assembly’s March 3, 2025, FY26 CBJ Capital Priorities List, our Assembly and manager requested from our state and federal funding partners $10 million… Continue reading

 

(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Sullivan enabling Trump’s march toward authoritarian rule

To Sen. Sullivan: This letter is in response to your address to the Alaska State Legislature and to a recent letter from your office. It… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
The U.S. Capitol in December of 2024. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion: Time to build a majority from anti-Trump minorities

Four years ago when Republicans defended the Senate filibuster, Sen. Dan Sullivan argued it “encourages, if not demands, compromise and bipartisan work both when one’s… Continue reading

The U.S. Capitol in December of 2024. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
Attendees of an empty-chair town hall clap on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: A study in contrasts

If you call Social Security these days, the voice message states your application could take 200-230 days to process and Alaskans now have to appear… Continue reading

  • Mar 24, 2025
  • By Deborah Craig
  • Opinion
Attendees of an empty-chair town hall clap on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Elon Musk on stage with a chainsaw gifted to him by President Javier Milei of Argentina, left, during the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

My Turn: The DOGE debacle

I guess I’m lucky: Only two of my friends have been fired by the Trump-Musk DOGE juggernaut. It’s horrible for both of them, but I… Continue reading

Elon Musk on stage with a chainsaw gifted to him by President Javier Milei of Argentina, left, during the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivers her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: The silence betraying America

“How we came to a place where we are fighting now with Canada and making nice with Russia is beyond me,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski said… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivers her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
This rendering depicts Huna Totem Corp.’s proposed new cruise ship dock downtown now being considered by the Juneau Assembly. (City and Borough of Juneau)

Opinion: Approval of new cruise dock moves forward

Aak’w Landing, the long-proposed cruise dock development in downtown Juneau is one step closer to reality. During an Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting on… Continue reading

This rendering depicts Huna Totem Corp.’s proposed new cruise ship dock downtown now being considered by the Juneau Assembly. (City and Borough of Juneau)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Getting federal flood help is not waste or fraud

Has Trump, Elon Musk, or any of the DOGE boys ever seen the word jökulhlaup? Are they even aware of the 2024 glacial outburst that… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Jonathan Swinton, executive director of Gastineau Human Services, presides over a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a remodeled behavioral health clinic at the nonprofit organization’s Lemon Creek campus on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Three affordable housing solutions for Juneau

Homelessness and affordable housing continue to plague far too many in our community. Over the last five years homelessness in Alaska has increased by 10.3%.… Continue reading

Jonathan Swinton, executive director of Gastineau Human Services, presides over a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a remodeled behavioral health clinic at the nonprofit organization’s Lemon Creek campus on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

My Turn: Important questions for Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich

Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich, what are you going to do to stop the irresponsible destruction of our country and our world? Your silence is… Continue reading

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Volunteer for the right cause

Recently I was asked by a friend to volunteer at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to help keep the doors open and the outdoors safe… Continue reading

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Sen. Dan Sullivan, (R-Alaska) questions Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, during the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion: Trickle-down lawlessness

Last weekend, I signed a petition calling on Sen. Dan Sullivan to honor his oath of office. It specifically addressed Congress’s constitutional “power to determine… Continue reading

Sen. Dan Sullivan, (R-Alaska) questions Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, during the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
The University of Alaska Southeast campus on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: University of Alaska’s canceled culture

As an alumnus of UAS I am disgusted at how fast the University of Alaska Board of Regents, threw all but the white, straight people… Continue reading

The University of Alaska Southeast campus on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file photo)
Twin rainbows are seen from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)

My Turn: Fired Forest Service park rangers need to return to Mendenhall Glacier before tourists do

I was a U.S. Forest Service park ranger at Mendenhall Glacier for 14 years until I retired in 2018. Having lived in Juneau since 1969,… Continue reading

Twin rainbows are seen from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)
Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, confers with other senators and legislative staff moments before gaveling in the start of this year’s legislative session at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Support for public schools

There is a perception that all public schools in Alaska are failing to effectively educate students because average test scores show Alaska students rank among… Continue reading

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, confers with other senators and legislative staff moments before gaveling in the start of this year’s legislative session at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Members of the Alaska State Employees Association and AFSCME Local 52 holds a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: The peril of reintroducing defined benefit pensions in Alaska

As Alaska faces one of its most difficult fiscal challenges in decades, a bill to radically expand Alaska’s retirement plan for government workers is winding… Continue reading

Members of the Alaska State Employees Association and AFSCME Local 52 holds a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Elon Musk walks with senior staff after arriving with President Donald Trump on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

My Turn: The end point of delusion

There are times when delusion becomes the organizing principle of entire countries. The Nazis borrowed a Russian conspiracy theory around Jews taking over the world… Continue reading

  • Mar 6, 2025
  • By Stuart Archer Cohen
  • Opinion
Elon Musk walks with senior staff after arriving with President Donald Trump on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) points to a map of Alaska and Russia during the confirmation hearing for John Phelan, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Navy, before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion: Sen. Sullivan’s bow to power obscures the truth — again

Sen. Lisa Murkowski understands the imperative of speaking truth to power right now. “I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be… Continue reading

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) points to a map of Alaska and Russia during the confirmation hearing for John Phelan, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Navy, before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)