Opinion

A totem stands outside the former Hospice and Home Care of Juneau on Oct 14, 2022. The facility shut down days later after providing services for about 20 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

My Turn: Ongoing lack of hospice care complicates matters of life and death

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” - Joni Mitchell Last September Juneau’s Hospice and Home… Continue reading

A totem stands outside the former Hospice and Home Care of Juneau on Oct 14, 2022. The facility shut down days later after providing services for about 20 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alexander B. Dolitsky

My Turn: What is freedom?

Editor’s note: The following is an account of a fictional conversation. Recently I had a conversation with an American in her late 20s about current… Continue reading

  • Jul 1, 2023
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
Public domain photo from the Library of Congress Jefferson “Soapy” Smith standing at bar in saloon in Skagway on July 29, 1989.

My Turn: Soapy Smith rides again

I recently spent a rainy Sunday afternoon in the Gold Rush cemetery in Skagway, wandering behind tour guides who reenacted Skagway’s most famous story: the… Continue reading

  • Jul 1, 2023
  • By Barbara Hood
Public domain photo from the Library of Congress Jefferson “Soapy” Smith standing at bar in saloon in Skagway on July 29, 1989.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities employees met at Discover Eaglecrest Day on Sept. 17, 2022, to field questions regarding the Juneau Douglas North Crossing Planning and Environmental Linkages Study. This photo shows a map of potential locations proposed so far for the construction of the bridge if it comes to fruition. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Second Juneau-Douglas crossing won’t fix low- and middle-income housing woes

The article on the second crossing in the Empire on June 28 dredges up the old statement that “if developed, the crossing would open nearly… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities employees met at Discover Eaglecrest Day on Sept. 17, 2022, to field questions regarding the Juneau Douglas North Crossing Planning and Environmental Linkages Study. This photo shows a map of potential locations proposed so far for the construction of the bridge if it comes to fruition. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)
Author standing at the Sitka terminal ramp May 22 waiting to board the Columbia to Haines. (Photo courtesy of Regina Discenza)

My Turn: My costly experience with the Alaska Marine Highway System

Last year during the summer of 2022 I wanted to visit a few small towns in Alaska with the ferry. Air service to Gustavus was… Continue reading

Author standing at the Sitka terminal ramp May 22 waiting to board the Columbia to Haines. (Photo courtesy of Regina Discenza)
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau, seen here Sept. 28, 2022, is where most the corporation’s estimated 70 employees work. APFC leaders are considering options to move some operations and staff to Anchorage during the next year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Capital creep — a way to weaken state government

I just read that the Permanent Fund Corp. has been considering a move to Anchorage since 2019. I was stunned. An essential part of the… Continue reading

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau, seen here Sept. 28, 2022, is where most the corporation’s estimated 70 employees work. APFC leaders are considering options to move some operations and staff to Anchorage during the next year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
In this October 2018 photo, Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in British Columbia, Canada. (Courtesy Photo | Chris Miller)

My turn: Cleaning up Tulsequah Chief Mine is a way to protect salmon as habitats face other threats

King salmon runs along our coast are in trouble. Most scientists think changing ocean conditions are the problem. Since fixing these conditions is unlikely, at… Continue reading

In this October 2018 photo, Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in British Columbia, Canada. (Courtesy Photo | Chris Miller)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: Alaska’s reckoning with the past could improve care for psychiatric patients

There are a lot of similarities between the federally funded Indian boarding schools and locked psychiatric facilities of the early 1900s. The best examples: the… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2023
  • By Faith J. Myers
  • Opinion
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
The current Juneau City Hall, which municipal leaders say is outdated and costly to rent. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Glory Hall or new City Hall, that is the question

The relentless drumbeat of the outgoing city manager may leave the CBJ in financial ruin because he has pressed forward with the FY24 budget with… Continue reading

The current Juneau City Hall, which municipal leaders say is outdated and costly to rent. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Daniel Ellsberg, speaking at a press conference in New York City in 1972. (Public domain photo by Bernard Gotfryd)

Opinion: Ellsberg’s leaking of Pentagon Papers is still a model for truth in the digital age

Daniel Ellsberg, known for leaking a secret study about the Vietnam war to the news media, died last week at the age of 92. The… Continue reading

Daniel Ellsberg, speaking at a press conference in New York City in 1972. (Public domain photo by Bernard Gotfryd)
Fireworks burst over Juneau on July 4, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Juneau’s July 4 celebrates what is good about America

Growing up in Juneau, and later when raising our own children, our family attended countless Fourth of July parades, patriotic celebrations, and picnics. The holiday… Continue reading

Fireworks burst over Juneau on July 4, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Change in city leadership brings opportunity

With current and projected turnover in city leadership, Juneau citizens might consider new ways to meet the challenges facing the community. Understanding how these challenges… Continue reading

  • Jun 22, 2023
  • By Win Gruening
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Associated Press)

Opinion: Time for Xs, Ys and Zs to quit whining and get into voting booths

I am a Baby Boomer. I was born in 1953, pretty much smack in the middle of a half-century long period during which Democrats and… Continue reading

(Associated Press)
Alaska U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, left, and Dan Sullivan attend a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau on June 9. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Comments about Trump by Alaska leaders reflect their level of respect for voters

The comments by Alaska’s top elected leaders to former President Donald Trump’s indictment say a lot about what they think of the public. Two out… Continue reading

  • Jun 21, 2023
  • By Larry Persily
  • Opinion
Alaska U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, left, and Dan Sullivan attend a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau on June 9. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Appreciate the freedom to tell stories, listen and engage

Sincere and multiple kudos to Alexander Dolitsky for his My Turn of June 19, 2023, in his discussion with Rebecca about “What is Freedom?” This… Continue reading

Letter: Hoping for a favorable ruling as king salmon troller season nears

Folks following the Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit that seeks to shut down commercial king salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska may not be aware of the… Continue reading

Juneau’s current City Hall is outdated, according to local municipal leaders who are hoping voters will approve funding to help pay for a new building. A bond providing such funding was rejected last year. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Local leaders’ chatter about diversity and sustainability rings hollow

If you pay attention to the workings of the City and Borough of Juneau, one hears a great deal about sustainability and diversity. This is… Continue reading

  • Jun 19, 2023
  • By Joe Geldhof
Juneau’s current City Hall is outdated, according to local municipal leaders who are hoping voters will approve funding to help pay for a new building. A bond providing such funding was rejected last year. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Letter: A safer alternative to Fred Meyer intersection

Regarding the dangerous intersection for left turns off Egan southbound, I didn’t see anything in your article about simply closing that left-turn lane. Drivers can… Continue reading

  • Jun 16, 2023

Letter: Assembly’s lack of action on short-term rentals irresponsible

I was sorry to read in the paper that the ordinance to register short-term rentals had been sent back to committee instead of being approved.… Continue reading

  • Jun 16, 2023
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, discusses the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump during a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau on Friday, June 9. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Sen. Sullivan’s non-defense of Trump

Referring the unsealed indictment of former President Donald Trump, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said “the charges in this case are quite serious and cannot be casually… Continue reading

  • Jun 16, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, discusses the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump during a U.S. Coast Guard ceremony in Juneau on Friday, June 9. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)