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Elon Musk on stage with a chainsaw gifted to him by President Javier Milei of Argentina, left, during the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

Opinion

My Turn: The DOGE debacle

I guess I’m lucky: Only two of my friends have been fired by the Trump-Musk DOGE juggernaut. It’s…

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski delivers her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

Opinion: The silence betraying America

“How we came to a place where we are fighting now with Canada and making nice with Russia…

This rendering depicts Huna Totem Corp.’s proposed new cruise ship dock downtown now being considered by the Juneau Assembly. (City and Borough of Juneau)

Opinion

Opinion: Approval of new cruise dock moves forward

Aak’w Landing, the long-proposed cruise dock development in downtown Juneau is one step closer to reality.

Jonathan Swinton, executive director of Gastineau Human Services, presides over a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a remodeled behavioral health clinic at the nonprofit organization’s Lemon Creek campus on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Three affordable housing solutions for Juneau

Homelessness and affordable housing continue to plague far too many in our community. Over the last five years…

(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Getting federal flood help is not waste or fraud

Has Trump, Elon Musk, or any of the DOGE boys ever seen the word jökulhlaup? Are they even…

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Volunteer for the right cause

Recently I was asked by a friend to volunteer at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to help keep…

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)

Opinion

My Turn: Important questions for Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich

Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich, what are you going to do to stop the irresponsible destruction of our…

Sen. Dan Sullivan, (R-Alaska) questions Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, during the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion

Opinion: Trickle-down lawlessness

Last weekend, I signed a petition calling on Sen. Dan Sullivan to honor his oath of office. It…

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, confers with other senators and legislative staff moments before gaveling in the start of this year’s legislative session at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Support for public schools

There is a perception that all public schools in Alaska are failing to effectively educate students because average…

Twin rainbows are seen from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)

Opinion

My Turn: Fired Forest Service park rangers need to return to Mendenhall Glacier before tourists do

I was a U.S. Forest Service park ranger at Mendenhall Glacier for 14 years until I retired in…

The University of Alaska Southeast campus on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: University of Alaska’s canceled culture

As an alumnus of UAS I am disgusted at how fast the University of Alaska Board of Regents,…

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) points to a map of Alaska and Russia during the confirmation hearing for John Phelan, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Navy, before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Opinion

Opinion: Sen. Sullivan’s bow to power obscures the truth — again

Sen. Lisa Murkowski understands the imperative of speaking truth to power right now. “I am sick to my…

Elon Musk walks with senior staff after arriving with President Donald Trump on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion

My Turn: The end point of delusion

There are times when delusion becomes the organizing principle of entire countries. The Nazis borrowed a Russian conspiracy…

Members of the Alaska State Employees Association and AFSCME Local 52 holds a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

Opinion: The peril of reintroducing defined benefit pensions in Alaska

As Alaska faces one of its most difficult fiscal challenges in decades, a bill to radically expand Alaska’s…

Uhtred Permanentfundsen, the “defender of the Permanent Fund,” occupies a shelf near the head of the table in the Senate Finance Committee room at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: It’s time to eliminate the Permanent Fund dividend

It is time now for the Legislature to seriously consider eliminating the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) and to…

A U.S. Forest Service office sign in Juneau on Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Firing the hosts of our public lands is not in the public interest

On a sunny summer day in the early 1990’s, a young woman in a wide brim hat presented…

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

Opinion: The evidence free impressions of Rep. Nick Begich

The one thing we can count on from Rep. Nick Begich III is he’ll be a loyal cheerleader…

(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Tell lawmakers to preserve Essential Air Service

Essential Air Service is a U.S. DOT program serving 65 rural communities in Alaska, and over 100 communities…

(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Sen. Sullivan’s silence for Trump’s actions is shameful

Trump is moving our country towards Russia and away from our NATO allies in Europe. He is dismantling…

A spawning chum salmon looks to return to the waters of Salmon Creek on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion

My Turn: Put our local crews back to work restoring salmon streams

The ongoing federal funding freeze is having an immediate negative impact on my organization and 26 people in…