Opinion

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Opinion: Energy security will Matter most in 2023

In 2023, will energy security be stronger than 2022? Likely not.

  • Dec 15, 2022
  • By Tucker Perkins
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This photo shows the snowy steps of the Alaska State Capitol. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Lack of leadership in the Capitol building has put school districts in a bad position

We just need the political will to invest those resources in Alaskans…

  • Dec 13, 2022
  • By Jorden Nigro
This photo shows the snowy steps of the Alaska State Capitol. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)
Alexander B. Dolitsky

Opinion: Lessons from the life of Yuriy Sokolov

Wisdom earned in the Siberian gulag about the dangers of the government mandates of atheism.

  • Dec 9, 2022
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
The Alaska Marine Highway ferry Malaspina heads up Lynn Canal towards Haines and Skagway from Juneau in 2008. (Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Rising freight costs continue to stifle Southeast economy

Adding trucking (via road) would place downward pressure on what many contend is a freight monopoly.

  • Dec 8, 2022
  • By Win Gruening
The Alaska Marine Highway ferry Malaspina heads up Lynn Canal towards Haines and Skagway from Juneau in 2008. (Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: Program gives me hope that cycles of family violence can be broken

The program is a holistic family-focused, culturally based counseling/treatment model…

  • Dec 6, 2022
  • By Supanika Ordóñez
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Deven Mitchell greets his fellow members of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s Board of Trustees at the start of his interview Monday to be the APFC’s new executive director. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: It’s an honor to now lead Alaska’s largest renewable resource

This October, I was provided the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. As a lifelong Alaskan, leading APFC… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2022
  • By Deven Mitchell
Deven Mitchell greets his fellow members of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s Board of Trustees at the start of his interview Monday to be the APFC’s new executive director. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: New to Medicare? Please consider this

Please choose “original” Medicare and avoid the so-called “advantage” plans

  • Dec 3, 2022
  • By Emily Kane
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The Alaska State Capitol awaits a legislators forming new majority coalitions and the return of Gov. Mike Dunleavy after the winners of the general election were announced Wednesday. The Senate will have a 17-member bipartisan ruling coalition, while the House arrangement remains uncertain due to at least one likely recount and questions about partisan alignments. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The rising purple tide in the state Senate

A purple tide threatens to inundate the uncompromising wing of the state Republican Party.

  • Dec 2, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
The Alaska State Capitol awaits a legislators forming new majority coalitions and the return of Gov. Mike Dunleavy after the winners of the general election were announced Wednesday. The Senate will have a 17-member bipartisan ruling coalition, while the House arrangement remains uncertain due to at least one likely recount and questions about partisan alignments. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: Giving is for everyone – and the time to act is now

You don’t have to be rich, or prominent, or famous to care about your community…

  • Dec 1, 2022
  • By Andy Kline
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Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Patient treatment and outcomes should be at the center of psychiatric legislation

When House Bill 172 was signed into law on July 15, it set in motion a requirement that the Department of Health and others for… Continue reading

  • Nov 29, 2022
  • By Faith Myers
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
A roll of “I Voted” stickers await voters on Election Day in Alaska. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the prospect of a state constitutional convention. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Election winners, losers and poor losers

Tshibaka and Palin misread Alaskans by thinking Trump’s endorsement all but guaranteed they’d win.

  • Nov 25, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
A roll of “I Voted” stickers await voters on Election Day in Alaska. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the prospect of a state constitutional convention. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
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. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Aak’w Landing is Juneau’s most promising new project

Now, more than ever, our community needs the jobs, tax revenue, and stability…

  • Nov 23, 2022
  • 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. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: Freedom in the classroom sets precedence for the future

We advocate for the adoption of legislation to protect students’ First Amendment rights…

  • Nov 22, 2022
  • Joseph Barranco, Lucas Wright, Riley Baird and Amy Bioff
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This photo available under a Creative Commons license shows a kelp forest. (Camille Pagniello)

Opinion: Indigenous-led mariculture and traditional economies set an example for our future

November is Native American Heritage Month, and traditional Indigenous knowledge is essential to shaping a just transition for Alaska’s economy. The problems we face are… Continue reading

  • Nov 21, 2022
  • By Dune Lankard and Skye Steritz
This photo available under a Creative Commons license shows a kelp forest. (Camille Pagniello)
Exhibit curator Ron Carver designed “Mỹ Lai – A Massacre Took 504 Souls, and Shook the World"  to progress from gruesome images to the soldiers who courageously intervened. And to those who made sure America and the world learned the truth. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: The power in attempting to memorialize the truth

Real heroes emerge from horrific events.

  • Nov 21, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
Exhibit curator Ron Carver designed “Mỹ Lai – A Massacre Took 504 Souls, and Shook the World"  to progress from gruesome images to the soldiers who courageously intervened. And to those who made sure America and the world learned the truth. (Courtesy Photo)
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Opinion: My Turn was right on the money

While I’ve never met Mr. Adler I share his concerns.

  • Nov 17, 2022
  • By Bruce Abel
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(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Mayor and assembly must rein in the assessor’s office

The unconscionable way the assessor’s office is treating commercial property owners must end.

  • Nov 15, 2022
  • By Greg Adler
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
This photo shows Diane Kaplan at Silver Salmon Camp. (Courtesy Photo / Sven Haakanson)

Opinion: Exciting new beginnings — they always come with sad farewells

Perhaps now is the right time to hand off our creation to the next generation.

  • Nov 14, 2022
  • By Diane Kaplan
This photo shows Diane Kaplan at Silver Salmon Camp. (Courtesy Photo / Sven Haakanson)

Opinion: The gaslighting politics of ‘Unlock Alaska’

Here’s the real gaslighting.

  • Nov 11, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Opinion: Judging judges — balancing the judicial selection process

Alaska’s method of selecting judges can be and should be improved.

  • Nov 10, 2022
  • By Win Gruening
Gavel (Courtesy photo)