Opinion

Mist from Nugget Falls has a prism-like effect in September 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Our future depends on what we say about MGRA plans

Submit your comments by Feb. 21, 2023.

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • By Laurie Craig
Mist from Nugget Falls has a prism-like effect in September 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Multiple vehicles line up at the entrance of Waste Management’s Capitol Disposal Landfill in Lemon Creek Monday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

The absence of economic incentives to reduce waste

This week, Waste Management, the Texas based company that owns and operates the landfill, nearly tripled the charge for residents who chose to dump their… Continue reading

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
Multiple vehicles line up at the entrance of Waste Management’s Capitol Disposal Landfill in Lemon Creek Monday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Over 200 people attended LunaFest (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: JPCC owes a huge debt of gratitude to two LunaFest guest speakers

LunaFest 2023 was JPCC’s most successful fundraising event ever.

  • Feb 2, 2023
  • By the Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition Board
Over 200 people attended LunaFest (Courtesy Photo)
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Education funding is complicated and political

At a recent Alaska State Senate Education Committee hearing at the Capitol, there seemed to be general agreement that state school funding was lagging behind… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2023
  • By Win Gruening
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Deja vu for the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area

Three new alternatives don’t go far enough.

  • Feb 1, 2023
  • By Ken Post
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
In this Nov. 29, 2018 photo, clouds swirl over Douglas Island. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The Roadless Rule is a misnomer for what’s really happening in the Tongass

The Roadless Rule, as currently comprised with an exception provision, works.

  • Feb 1, 2023
  • By Kate Troll
In this Nov. 29, 2018 photo, clouds swirl over Douglas Island. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: Psychiatric patient care report could be catalyst for improvements

Will good suggestions get lost in state bureaucracy?

  • Jan 31, 2023
  • By Faith J. Myers
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, endangered orcas swim in Puget Sound and in view of the Olympic Mountains just west of Seattle, as seen from a federal research vessel that has been tracking the whales. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson File)

Opinion: Southeast trollers aren’t ‘starving’ orcas

The WFC lawsuit is a contagion of extremist judicial activism that must be stopped.

  • Jan 30, 2023
  • By David Richey
In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, endangered orcas swim in Puget Sound and in view of the Olympic Mountains just west of Seattle, as seen from a federal research vessel that has been tracking the whales. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson File)
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and former President Donald Trump stand on stage during a July 2022 rally in Anchorage. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Tshibaka’s insincere defense of democracy

Kelly Tshibaka claims to understand why voter turnout for the 2022 general election was the lowest in the state’s history. According to Preserve Democracy, a… Continue reading

  • Jan 27, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and former President Donald Trump stand on stage during a July 2022 rally in Anchorage. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
(Courtesy Photo / Gwen Baluss)

Opinion: The Mendenhall Wetlands — a Juneau treasure

Juneau is very fortunate to have this rich biological resource…

  • Jan 27, 2023
  • By Mary F. Willson, Gwen S. Baluss, and Marsha S. Squires
(Courtesy Photo / Gwen Baluss)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski prepares to meet officials at the Sealaska Heritage Institute during a visit to Juneau in November 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Juneau stands to benefit significantly from the 117th Congress

The last Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory…

  • Jan 26, 2023
  • By Lisa Murkowski
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski prepares to meet officials at the Sealaska Heritage Institute during a visit to Juneau in November 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
Alexander B. Dolitsky

Opinion: Neo-Marxism is a threat to the country

In the early 1980s, I attended graduate school at Brown University. Then, only two Soviet-born and raised students were at Brown. I was from Kiev… Continue reading

  • Jan 25, 2023
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
Capitol

Opinion: Humanism and the billionaire class

Compromise is the right thing to do and they should do it.

  • Jan 25, 2023
  • By Jerry Smetzer
Capitol
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

The problem with ‘Always Fighting’

What about “Always Thinking” or “Always Working” or just “Always Building Coalitions for Alaska.”

  • Jan 24, 2023
  • By Jim Hammond
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: A million visitors isn’t enough. Here’s why

I’ve been thinking about Pat White’s recent My Turn, Is anyone else concerned about the upcoming cruise season? Pat asks, “Isn’t a million (visitors) enough”?… Continue reading

  • Jan 23, 2023
  • Bruce Abel
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
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The challenged truths of three elected representatives

Last Friday, the state Supreme Court affirmed that state Rep. Jennifer Armstrong, D-Anchorage, did not violate the Alaska Constitution three-year residency requirement to run for… Continue reading

  • Jan 20, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
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Norwegian Cruise Lines announced in late August that it would donate a 2.9 acre plot of land owned by the cruise line since 2019 on Juneau’s waterfront to Huna Totem Corporation to develop a project dubbed Aak’w Landing. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Assembly’s dock proposal raises questions of conflict

At a Dec. 19 Committee of the Whole work session, City Manager Rorie Watt requested the CBJ Assembly approve an appropriation for $200,000 (subsequently raised… Continue reading

  • Jan 19, 2023
  • By Win Gruening
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced in late August that it would donate a 2.9 acre plot of land owned by the cruise line since 2019 on Juneau’s waterfront to Huna Totem Corporation to develop a project dubbed Aak’w Landing. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: Local hunters will be affected by proposed restrictions

Juneau hunters take note!

  • Jan 17, 2023
  • By Mark Richards
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(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Time to settle educators’ contract

I encourage the Juneau School District to support the swift conclusion of negotiations.

  • Jan 16, 2023
  • By Jamie Marks
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The wrong way to define demand

Sometime in the 1970s, the U.S. Forest Service published a multipage brochure for visitors to the Mendenhall Glacier. It described the glacier as “receding very… Continue reading

  • Jan 13, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)