Juneau Empire Story Archive

Cartoon was insulting to Don Abel, locally-minded businesses

The Toe cartoon in the July 15 Juneau Empire was insulting to Don Abel and his company.

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For years, local companies such as Abel's have supported many seasonal workers in fishing, timber and construction, giving them credit to live on until the fall when bills were paid. Many newcomers to Alaska depended on these businesses to help them become contributors to the Juneau economy. These companies have a long history of hiring locally and contributing to local causes.

It would seem appropriate for the Empire to apologize publicly for the cartoon depicting the business as leeching off a national chain store. Don Abel's is a longtime Juneau business that has undoubtedly been a longtime advertiser in the Empire.

The cartoonist must not be aware of Don Abel's long history in Juneau, just as the current ownership of the Juneau Empire also must not be aware.

The Empire's editorials many times do not even touch on local issues and are reprinted from other newspapers that are available on the Internet. With the availability of news on the Internet, the Empire shouldn't be so flip as to insult a longtime business that contributes to its advertising revenue.

Murlin G. "Mike" Everson

Juneau

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