Opinion

The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012. (Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)

Opinion: Giving credit where credit is due

It’s been a long time since the Juneau economy has been bolstered by a single significant federal appropriation. It was 25 years ago when Sen.… Continue reading

 

Gus Schumacher, an Anchorage cross-country skier, testifies at a Senate Budget Committee hearing last Wednesday. (Budget committee screenshot)

An Alaska Olympian went to D.C. to testify on climate change. Then a senator dredged up old tweets.

Gus Schumacher hit with climate science quiz in exchange that went viral in conservative circles.

 

(Anne Onamuss / For the Juneau Empire)

My Turn: Alaska’s deepest trouble is nonsupport of education

People are exiting The Great Land and are reluctant to come here for professional opportunities and to raise families. The main reason is the deplorable… Continue reading

 

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, second from right, attends a bill signing by President Donald Trump on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House photo)

Opinion: Sen. Dan Sullivan, a conservative in name only

It’s easy to imagine Sen. Lisa Murkowski broke out in a smile last week after former Vice President Mike Pence announced he won’t endorse Donald… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, second from right, attends a bill signing by President Donald Trump on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House photo)
The studio model of Starship “Enterprise” from Star Trek is on display at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on its reopening on Oct. 14, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Opinion: No Alaska governor has ever so boldly held schools and students as political hostages

“Star Trek” reference looks past real argument for school funding.

The studio model of Starship “Enterprise” from Star Trek is on display at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on its reopening on Oct. 14, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Black-and-white view of Gaza goes too far

Alexander Dolitsky’s letter rebuffing Dixie Belcher’s attempt to humanize the tragedy unfolding in Gaza goes too far. Frankly, I question whether the groundless accusations that… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Murkowski and Sullivan should oppose Trump

The New York Times reported Saturday that Mr. Trump said, “some migrants are ‘not people’ and predicts a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses. He primed the… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: If you see roadside rubbish, please pick it up

I met a young Tlingit lady and her friend this weekend, picking up rubbish that had been tossed over the bank and down into the… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Outer Coast students learn through individualized education and experiences. (Photo provided by Bryden Sweeney-Taylor)

Opinion: Seeking a new model of higher education, Sitka school draws from Alaska and national inspirations

In 1986, two linguists, Ron and Suzie Scollon, drafted a proposal for the Sealaska Heritage Foundation to inaugurate a new kind of education, which they… Continue reading

Outer Coast students learn through individualized education and experiences. (Photo provided by Bryden Sweeney-Taylor)
Looking up at the 1882 Edward Webster House on Telephone Hill from Second Street and Main Street in January 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)

Opinion: Juneau Assembly holds firm on Telephone Hill development

In a rare moment of near unanimity during a special Assembly meeting last month, members voted to move forward to develop Telephone Hill. Several Assembly… Continue reading

Looking up at the 1882 Edward Webster House on Telephone Hill from Second Street and Main Street in January 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)
Filcom’s Ray Zimmer (0) blocks a shot from Klukwan’s Jess McGraw in the first half of the Juneau Lions Club 74th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament C Bracket Championship Game on Saturday, March 26, 2023, in Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s gymnasium. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Foul decision by Gold Medal officials to leave defending champs out of this year’s tournament

I am writing to the editor to express my extreme disappointment and frustration to this year’s Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal (GM) Selection Committee members… Continue reading

Filcom’s Ray Zimmer (0) blocks a shot from Klukwan’s Jess McGraw in the first half of the Juneau Lions Club 74th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament C Bracket Championship Game on Saturday, March 26, 2023, in Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s gymnasium. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
A ninth grader places her cellphone in to a phone holder as she enters class at Delta High School on Feb. 23 in Delta, Utah. Most schools have policies regulating student cellphone use at school. But the reality is kids don’t always follow the rules and schools enforce them sporadically. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Opinion: The problem education funding and reforms can’t fix

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is right. Increasing the Base Student Allocation funding for Alaska’s public schools alone won’t improve education outcomes for students. But I don’t… Continue reading

A ninth grader places her cellphone in to a phone holder as she enters class at Delta High School on Feb. 23 in Delta, Utah. Most schools have policies regulating student cellphone use at school. But the reality is kids don’t always follow the rules and schools enforce them sporadically. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
(Juneau Emire file photo)

Opinion: Some state lawmakers need to embrace reality, not PFD political theater

It was a polar-opposite week in the Legislature. While the Senate Finance Committee was reviewing honest numbers about real budget needs hitting up against the… Continue reading

(Juneau Emire file photo)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: Stay considerate and compassionate during school consolidation process.

I’m reaching out to the citizens of Juneau to ask that we stop, take a breath and realize that we are all in this situation… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks in March of 2023 in support of an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Goldbelt Inc. to pursue engineering and design services to determine whether it’s feasible to build a new ferry terminal facility in Juneau at Cascade Point. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Cascade Point, AMHOB, and DOT’s stonewalling strategy

On Tuesday a joint session of the Legislature is scheduled to hold a vote on rejecting Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s executive order that gives him authority… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks in March of 2023 in support of an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Goldbelt Inc. to pursue engineering and design services to determine whether it’s feasible to build a new ferry terminal facility in Juneau at Cascade Point. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
(City and Borough of Juneau photo)

Opinion: Juneau school board veers off-course

Last week’s Juneau School District (JSD) Board of Education meeting, expected to be perfunctory, was far from routine. The Thursday, March 7 special meeting was… Continue reading

(City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Deedie Sorensen is president of the Juneau Board of Education. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Powers and duties as a member of the Juneau Board of Education

“The Board of Education’s primary goal is to provide each student with an education of the highest quality in keeping with his/her capacity to learn.… Continue reading

Deedie Sorensen is president of the Juneau Board of Education. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Wanda Culp (left) speaks during a rally at the Alaska State Capitol on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Why Alaska Natives like me oppose the landless bill

The 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) has never addressed Native claims. ANCSA is an industrial-rooted tool of Congress, created to exterminate Indigenous land… Continue reading

Wanda Culp (left) speaks during a rally at the Alaska State Capitol on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Getty Images)

Opinion: Alaska serves as an immigration model to take note of

Between the border crisis and election-year politics, “immigration” has been in the news a lot. While I have no intention of wading into the politics… Continue reading

(Getty Images)
Israeli soldiers are seen near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Monday. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

My Turn: Israel/Gaza and historic, religious and ethnic challenges of global terrorism

Dixie Belcher’s article titled “Palestinian residents are helpless victim in attacks made by leaders” published in the Juneau Empire on Feb. 26, 2024, is a… Continue reading

Israeli soldiers are seen near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Monday. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)