Opinion

Letter: The house I built on Basin Road

It was with great sadness that I read about the fire that destroyed the house I built on Basin Road in 1980. I built it… Continue reading

  • Feb 7, 2017

Letter: Save the ACA

Dear Editor, As a result of the Affordable Care Act, the number of insured in Alaska has gone up 25 percent. That translates to a… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017

Alaska Editorial: Murkowski puts Alaska first with decision

This editorial first appeared in the Peninsula Clarion: U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski took a political stance last week which may prove unpopular with some, but… Continue reading

  • Feb 6, 2017

My Turn: Alaska’s criminal justice reform efforts should be celebrated

Alaska lawmakers should celebrate their landmark successful criminal justice overhaul last year. In July 2016, Gov. Bill Walker signed Senate Bill 91 into law, a… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017
  • By MARK LEVIN
In a Monday Jan. 30 photo, Laurel Pratt holds a sign with protestors gathered in front of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s office in Knoxville, Tenn. to object to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secreratary of Education. A Senate committee on Tuesday approved Republican donor and school choice advocate DeVos for education secretary, even as two GOP senators expressed some reservations. (Tom Sherlin | The Daily Times via AP)

Letter: Murkowski, Sullivan and Alaska’s interests

I would like to publicly thank U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for standing up for the future of Alaska’s children and their public school education by… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017
In a Monday Jan. 30 photo, Laurel Pratt holds a sign with protestors gathered in front of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s office in Knoxville, Tenn. to object to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secreratary of Education. A Senate committee on Tuesday approved Republican donor and school choice advocate DeVos for education secretary, even as two GOP senators expressed some reservations. (Tom Sherlin | The Daily Times via AP)

My Turn: Alaska should support the NEA, ASCA

This is a time of change in Alaska, a direct result of the incontrovertible fact that we are facing the gravest budget crisis in the… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017
  • By Ben Brown
The view from the Alaska State Park’s Salamander Cabin on Shelter Island on June 23, 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Letter: It’s time for remote property owners, like on Taku and Shelter Island, to petition and withdraw from CBJ

For the third time, Juneau is wasting your tax dollars and their time trying to annex more remote land like Funter Bay and Horse and… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017
The view from the Alaska State Park’s Salamander Cabin on Shelter Island on June 23, 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Gov. Bill Walker talks about the release of his state budget during a press conference at the Capitol on Feb. 5, 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Are Alaskans paying attention?

Dear Editor, What is barely mentioned in Gov. Bill Walker’s budget this year? Are Alaskans paying attention? We the people need to galvanize senators and… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2017
Gov. Bill Walker talks about the release of his state budget during a press conference at the Capitol on Feb. 5, 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Reflecting on the real weight of a snowflake

Thoughts of the use of the word snowflake or snowflakes in our current political climate brought my thinking to an article published in the Juneau… Continue reading

  • Jan 30, 2017
Warship and tanker in lock at Panama Canal. (Thinkstock Photo)

My Turn: What history tells us about the building of the Panama Canal

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than ... to live in the gray twilight… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2017
  • By WIN GRUENING
Warship and tanker in lock at Panama Canal. (Thinkstock Photo)

Letter: Real solutions are needed

It is well known that our state of Alaska is in a fiscal crisis. Real solutions are needed. I agree with the position that the… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2017

Letter: Tax me, please

Bob Gillam’s daily anti-income tax ads in the paper got me thinking. Denmark, Norway and Iceland have fairly high taxes, but they also have universal… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2017

Alaska editorial: Senate survey shows residents want a full-fledged solution to fiscal gap

This editorial first appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Lawmakers are wise to listen to their constituents, and at the beginning of this year’s legislative… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2017

Letter: Sen. Murkowski’s values

How very special U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is to shop for new office space and to acquire the office space of the late Sen. Ted… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2017

My Turn: Treatment of live-aboards is unfair, unkind, and unnecessary

In response to “Harbor Department Gives Juneau Live-aboards an Ultimatum: Move out, or Move On”: I moved into Aurora Harbor on my sailboat in August… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017
  • By MERYL CONNELLY CHEW

Thank you Mohamed

In 2013, after a three month bicycle tour in Southeast Asia, my girlfriend Mary Catharine flew back to the U.S. from southern Thailand. I had… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017
  • By BJORN DIHLE

Trump’s immigration order will make Americans less safe

President Trump says his sweeping executive order on immigration was meant to make America safer. Yet this ill-conceived plan, with its slap-dash implementation and failure… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017
  • By TRUDY RUBIN

Letter: Don’t let DeVos pay-to-play in federal politics

After hearing news stories that Sen. Lisa Murkowski received campaign contributions from Betsy DeVos, I decided to head down to one of her Alaska offices… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017

Outside Editorial: Correcting course on immigration policy is messy work

The following editorial first appeared in the Augusta Chronicle: “Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and the president is doing his job to… Continue reading

  • Jan 31, 2017

Trump’s lies are nothing to shrug off

WASHINGTON — The newest occupant of the White House is a psychiatrist’s dream — a serial prevaricator who shuns the truth for his own version… Continue reading

  • Jan 31, 2017
  • By DAN K. THOMASSON