Opinion

File photo, Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
The marble statue depicting “The Authority of Law” is visible outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.

My Turn: The Supreme Court is creating dictatorship in the shadows

Van Abbott weighs in on quiet power of the judiciary branch.

  • Nov 8, 2025
  • By Van Abbott

 

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Governor’s early Christmas spirit is misplaced

“I told the president, it’s like Christmas every morning,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at last week’s staged event in Washington, D.C., where the Department of… Continue reading

 

Faith Myers stands at the doors of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. (File, courtesy photo)

Opinion: Court rulings on mistreatment of psychiatric patients need more state follow-up

Faith Myers weighs in on the legacy of “Myers v API.”

  • Nov 5, 2025
  • By Faith Myers

 

President Donald Trump announces that he is assuming control of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard in the nation’s capital, citing high crime rates at the White House on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

My Turn: How Trump’s “best people” became America’s worst problem

With the aid of Murkowski and Sullivan.

  • Oct 31, 2025
  • By Van Abbott
President Donald Trump announces that he is assuming control of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard in the nation’s capital, citing high crime rates at the White House on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Win Gruening (courtesy)

Opinion: The vote is over, but the budget battle is just beginning

Win Gruening weighs in on Monday’s Assembly Reorganization Meeting.

Win Gruening (courtesy)
Typewriter for My Turn (web only)

My Turn: The big lie no one believes

Senator Dan Sullivan says Dems want to fund health care for illegal immigrants

Typewriter for My Turn (web only)
Alaska U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan attend a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau in June 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Bankrupting America’s future

Van Abbott condemns Trump’s reckless spending and Alaska’s silent partners

  • Oct 25, 2025
  • By Van Abbott
Alaska U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan attend a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau in June 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire File
Participants grab placards, flowers and hearts at Marine Park before the Cancer Survivors Day walk on June 8, 2025.

Opinion: Cancer doesn’t wait. We shouldn’t either.

Wayne DeVore weighs in on the importance of cancer screening

  • Oct 25, 2025
  • By Wayne DeVore
Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire File
Participants grab placards, flowers and hearts at Marine Park before the Cancer Survivors Day walk on June 8, 2025.
Former President Donald Trump reacts as he walking back into the courtroom after a break during closing arguments in his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)

Opinion: The Weaponization of Racism

Alaska’s Congressional Delegation Enables a White Christian Nationalist Agenda

  • Oct 22, 2025
  • By Van Abbott
Former President Donald Trump reacts as he walking back into the courtroom after a break during closing arguments in his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)
Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 24, 2025. Hawley is one of the sponsors of the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

Opinion: A place government doesn’t need to stick its nose

Dennis DeWitt weighs in on the Faster Labor Contracts Act

  • Oct 18, 2025
  • By Dennis DeWitt
Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 24, 2025. Hawley is one of the sponsors of the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Win Gruening (courtesy)

OPINION: Voters to Juneau Assembly: ‘It’s time for a reset’

The implications of last week’s Juneau municipal election are unmistakable. Voters have sent an unambiguous message that it’s time to change course, and the city… Continue reading

  • Oct 17, 2025
  • By Win Gruening
Win Gruening (courtesy)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at an infrastructure and development symposium in Anchorage on April 22, 2025. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)

Opinion: Murkowski and Sullivan watch as Trump undermines democracy

“When accountability threatens the powerful, they fall silent.”

  • Oct 15, 2025
  • Van Abbott
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at an infrastructure and development symposium in Anchorage on April 22, 2025. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)
Win Gruening (courtesy)

Opinion: Juneau Assembly spends recklessly despite voter concerns about affordability

In just one night, at the September 22 Assembly meeting, almost $30 million in cash went out the door. That’s when the Assembly approved moving… Continue reading

  • Oct 1, 2025
  • By Win Gruening
Win Gruening (courtesy)
City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)

My Turn: Affordability requires Assembly accountability

It’s a reasonable expectation that we elect Assembly members to solve community problems, not just throw money at them

  • Sep 28, 2025
  • By Paulette Simpson
City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Dunleavy hides in the shadow of Trump’s assault on free speech

Using the power of the presidency to censor anyone who recognizes that is not only un-American, it’s an act of utter cowardice

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Sunlight gleams through the Tongass National Forest in Juneau on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: An open invitation to Secretary Rollins

I will introduce you to our communities and forests

  • Sep 28, 2025
  • By Marina Keli’ikuli
Sunlight gleams through the Tongass National Forest in Juneau on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
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Letter to the Editor: Taxes pay for the services we need

Taxes are not money donated to the government for nothing in return

  • Sep 28, 2025
  • By Katherine Wilson
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The nameplate of Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, at a hearing in Washington on Feb. 27, 2025. While “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to ABC on Sept. 23, Carr has promised to continue his campaign against what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times)

My Turn: Freedom vanishing: The authoritarian takeover has begun

The warning signs are everywhere

The nameplate of Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, at a hearing in Washington on Feb. 27, 2025. While “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to ABC on Sept. 23, Carr has promised to continue his campaign against what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times)
Juneau’s cruise ship dock is seen July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)

My Turn: Keeping Juneau affordable means setting the right priorities

The city already has the resources it needs

Juneau’s cruise ship dock is seen July 11, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
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Letter to the Editor: Property tax cap could limit Juneau’s services

I am opposed to Proposition 1 that caps property tax

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