Opinion

My Turn: Another loss for Cubans

Another loss for all Cubans, and I’m not referring to the 4-1 loss to the Rays in the “historic” baseball game played in Cuba this… Continue reading

  • Mar 29, 2016
  • By MARIA UCHYTIL

My Turn: When dealing with low oil revenues, Alaskans should come first

It’s been a rough couple of months for Alaska’s telecommunications monopoly, GCI.First, a GCI executive at the company’s Anchorage-based television station KTVA made some extremely… Continue reading

  • Mar 27, 2016
  • By JACK RAFUSE

Empire Editorial: Goodbye, tower of babble

“And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. … So the Lord scattered them abroad… Continue reading

  • Mar 27, 2016

My Turn: Lawmakers have support for Permanent Fund solution

Anyone who’s been paying attention to State Capitol happenings knows the State of Alaska is facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis. The balance sheet just became… Continue reading

  • Mar 27, 2016
  • By Ben Brown

My Turn: Alaska education in 2016: Fiscal crisis or golden opportunity?

Today Alaska faces a fiscal crisis of monumental proportions. Alaska residents are facing an uncertain future. Nowhere is that uncertainty more troubling than in the… Continue reading

  • Mar 25, 2016
  • By PAUL BERG

My Turn: It isn’t about winning

I’m predicting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will take Alaska’s Democrat caucus on Saturday. Most political analysts think it doesn’t matter though since Hillary Clinton has… Continue reading

  • Mar 25, 2016
  • By Rich Moniak

My Turn: Supreme Court should protect contraceptive coverage

Two years after the Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that closely held for-profit companies do not have to comply with the Affordable… Continue reading

  • Mar 24, 2016
  • By CATRIONA REYNOLDS

My Turn: Obama-Trudeau summit demonstrates a joint focus on the arctic

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held their first summit meeting, and resolved that the United States and Canada… Continue reading

  • Mar 24, 2016
  • By RAFE POMERANCE and RUSSEL SHEARER

Alaska Editorial: The right to know

The following editorial first appeared in the Ketchikan Daily News:It’s ludicrous to ban Alaska and other states from issuing mandatory labeling laws.Sen. Lisa Murkowski has… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2016

My Turn: Happy sixth anniversary to the Affordable Care Act

In terms of significance, the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 is often compared to the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2016
  • By SUSAN JOHNSON

My Turn: Long term sustainable budgeting

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly just passed a resolution asking the Legislature to implement a sustainable budget. I voted against it since it specifically… Continue reading

  • Mar 22, 2016
  • By LANCE ROBERTS

My Turn: Alaska’s best rivers are the economic backbone of our future

For decades I have been exploring Alaska’s remote landscapes, first on my own and now as a seasoned guide and business owner. Each year, I… Continue reading

  • Mar 22, 2016
  • By DAN OBERLATZ

Alaska Editorial: Legislators should consider all options to correct revenue shortfall

The following editorial first appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:As the Legislature moves on from passing the state operating budget to considering revenue measures to… Continue reading

  • Mar 22, 2016

My Turn: Why conservation of the Tongass matter

Last week, I was part of a small group that travelled from Southeast Alaska to Washington D.C. to draw attention to efforts by the American… Continue reading

  • Mar 21, 2016
  • By ALAN CORBETT

My Turn: Get involved with United Way – become a tutor

Juneau is an amazing community that I am happy to call home. It’s a town where good things are always happening in the community. One… Continue reading

  • Mar 21, 2016
  • By ROBBIE STELL

My Turn: A small sawmill operator’s perspective on the Tongass Land Management Plan Amendment

As a small sawmill operator and builder, I’ve watched with great interest the debate over a new management plan for the Tongass National Forest. In… Continue reading

  • Mar 21, 2016
  • By GORDON CHEW

My Turn: Solution deniers versus solution seekers

As I noted in a previous column, a poll done by the Alaska Dispatch News (Jan. 28, 2016) showed “an overwhelming proportion of respondents —… Continue reading

  • Mar 20, 2016
  • By Kate Troll

ERC Editorial: Marijuana certainty needed

In her recent speech to the Alaska Legislature, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, stressed her efforts to reduce federal restrictions on the state’s business activities, while… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2016
  • By EMPIRE READERS' COUNCIL

My Turn: Special election, indeed

For those of us accustomed to sleepy, lackluster municipal elections, the mayoral race between Karen Crane and Ken Koelsch was a startling change. The Koelsch… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2016
  • By WIN GRUENING

My Turn: Obama’s Arctic insult

Should President Barack Obama have consulted with Gov. Bill Walker and Alaska’s congressional delegation before establishing an Arctic agreement with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2016
  • By Rich Moniak