Opinion

(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Thanks for support during election

Save Juneau would like to thank the Juneau electorate for supporting and tuning in to Save Juneau during the local election. A primary reason Save… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
Hundreds of people gathered in raincoats and boots at the Twin Lakes Kaasei Totem Plaza for a ceremony unveiling a Tlingit healing totem pole and screens on Oct. 1, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Tlingit traditions and integrity

Our Tlingit people reside in Southeast Alaska and Canada. We have existed in Alaska for about 15,000 years, or approximately 750 family generations. Our Tlingit… Continue reading

Hundreds of people gathered in raincoats and boots at the Twin Lakes Kaasei Totem Plaza for a ceremony unveiling a Tlingit healing totem pole and screens on Oct. 1, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Hundreds of people gathered in raincoats and boots at the Twin Lakes Kaasei Totem Plaza for a ceremony unveiling a Tlingit healing totem pole and screens on Oct. 1, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Tlingit traditions and integrity

Our Tlingit people reside in Southeast Alaska and Canada. We have existed in Alaska for about 15,000 years, or approximately 750 family generations. Our Tlingit… Continue reading

Hundreds of people gathered in raincoats and boots at the Twin Lakes Kaasei Totem Plaza for a ceremony unveiling a Tlingit healing totem pole and screens on Oct. 1, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy addresses the audience during his inauguration ceremony Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Opinion: Dunleavy’s public trust deficit

According to two longtime researchers at the Alaska Department of Labor, articles produced for Alaska Economic Trends had never been removed from the publication before.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy addresses the audience during his inauguration ceremony Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Stoking a human-abusive culture of fear

This “gunning” of our fellow citizens with military assault, sub-machine weapons of war must be arrested; in tandem with the kind of unhuman corporate, profit-driven… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Thanks for helping a visitor during a difficult moment

I want to commend Juneau’s citizens for being so kind and caring on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. My 25-year-old, autistic daughter, Irina Mumford, had a… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Give Dunleavy the same quality of legal defense he gives indigents

As reported recently by the Alaska Beacon, a new regulation approved by the Dunleavy administration will give the governor and attorney general access to free… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Telephone Hill an opportunity for needed low- and moderate-income housing

While I agree with the sentiments of Telephone Hill residents, I also feel Juneau desperately needs to provide some moderate- and lower-income housing. At 76… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Relocation of warming shelter making poorest suffer even more

It never bodes well when government and church dissidents ally against a charitable organization trying to help the poorest of us, using the power of… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to media about Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Opinion: Sullivan’s cynical concern about the rule of law

Rather than submit nominations for federal judge positions by the method that’s been used for years, Sen. Dan Sullivan created the Alaska Federal Judiciary Council… Continue reading

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to media about Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Juneau Assembly candidates discuss a range of issues during a forum Sept. 12 at the KTOO studio. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: After the election where does Juneau go from here?

The dust has finally settled on Juneau’s recent municipal election, and there’s an expectation that our Assembly will start conducting its business more transparently and… Continue reading

Juneau Assembly candidates discuss a range of issues during a forum Sept. 12 at the KTOO studio. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A rainbow appears over downtown as residents check out rows of electric vehicles at Juneau’s EV & E-bike Roundup on Sept. 23. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: We should all pay more for the privilege of driving

Last month a law charging an annual $200 fee on electric vehicles (EV) went into effect in Texas. The Alaska Legislature needs to enact a… Continue reading

A rainbow appears over downtown as residents check out rows of electric vehicles at Juneau’s EV & E-bike Roundup on Sept. 23. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Math and the apportionment of Alaska’s legislative district boundaries

Recently, in response to the news that “we the people” must now pay $400,000 out of Alaska’s public treasury to a plaintiff unhappy with the… Continue reading

(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
(Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Begin decolonization with the body

Indigenous and minority people describe the need to “decolonize” — that society unwinds and redresses centuries of unequal treatment, denial of opportunity, removal, and economic… Continue reading

(Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Gazing at the stars while democracy burns

“The stars are aligned at long last” to get the Alaska LNG project built, Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote in an Anchorage Daily News opinion last… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
A local-mail in ballot is deposited in a drop box. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: An election alternative for Juneau — more transparency, more choice

While the City Clerk’s office has done a creditable job conducting Juneau’s recent municipal election, many residents are expressing dissatisfaction with the current vote-by-mail (VBM)… Continue reading

A local-mail in ballot is deposited in a drop box. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
A ballot is dropped into a drop box at the City Hall Assembly Chambers on Tuesday, the official date of this year’s municipal election. Certified results are scheduled to be released two weeks later on Oct. 17. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: It’s time to retire the idea of Election Day results

Although I defended voting by-mail a few weeks ago, Win Gruening is right in calling for the CBJ Assembly to take a second look at… Continue reading

A ballot is dropped into a drop box at the City Hall Assembly Chambers on Tuesday, the official date of this year’s municipal election. Certified results are scheduled to be released two weeks later on Oct. 17. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: How to protect individuals from financial damage caused by irresponsible elected officials

Most everyone is familiar with how insurance deductibles work: You cover the first dollars out of pocket and then, when the expenses reach the threshold… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Lack of privacy when voting in person is concerning

Thank you to the election workers that are providing service at each polling location. My experience Tuesday at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library was pleasant.… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during an April 27 news conference at the Alaska State Capitol in which options for a long-range fiscal plan were discussed. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Alaska’s rudderless fiscal ship

The Permanent Fund dividend Alaskans are set to receive next week is again a paltry sum compared to what Gov. Mike Dunleavy promised five years… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during an April 27 news conference at the Alaska State Capitol in which options for a long-range fiscal plan were discussed. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)