Opinion

A picture showing the Juneau road system ending at Cascade Point in Berners Bay in May 2006.  (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Dunleavy’s mockery of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board

Both the House and the Senate voted unanimously to create the AMHOB.

  • Feb 10, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
A picture showing the Juneau road system ending at Cascade Point in Berners Bay in May 2006.  (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Lawmakers should meet school funding needs before determining PFD size

Schoolhouse rock and a hard place.

  • Feb 8, 2023
  • By Larry Persily
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
A bald eagle looks toward the Mendenhall Glacier near the visitor center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)

Limiting commercial visitation is the only sensible response to overcrowding at MGRA

I was born and raised in the Valley, where our family could see the Mendenhall Glacier from our driveway. The glacier hosted many of our… Continue reading

  • Feb 7, 2023
  • By Sarah Aronson
A bald eagle looks toward the Mendenhall Glacier near the visitor center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File)
This image shows the site plan of the proposed Capital Civic Center. Thursday evening the city was given an update on the project’s concept design which is expected to cost up to $75 million and would include amenities like a theater, community hall, gallery, ballroom and business center. (City and Borough of Juneau)

Opinion: Keep an eye on the proposed civic center project

FTF will continue to monitor this issue and urge Juneau residents to do likewise.

  • Feb 6, 2023
  • By Don Habeger
This image shows the site plan of the proposed Capital Civic Center. Thursday evening the city was given an update on the project’s concept design which is expected to cost up to $75 million and would include amenities like a theater, community hall, gallery, ballroom and business center. (City and Borough of Juneau)
At Wednesday evening’s special Assembly meeting, the Assembly appropriated nearly $4 million toward funding a 5.5% wage increase for all CBJ employees along with a 5% increase to the employer health contribution. According to City Manager Rorie Watt, it doesn't necessarily fix a nearly two decade-long issue of employee retention concerns for the city. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Assessment needs additional oversight

A win in dealing with City and Borough of Juneau is when both sides feel they have been treated fairly. A loss is when both… Continue reading

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • By Greg Adler
At Wednesday evening’s special Assembly meeting, the Assembly appropriated nearly $4 million toward funding a 5.5% wage increase for all CBJ employees along with a 5% increase to the employer health contribution. According to City Manager Rorie Watt, it doesn't necessarily fix a nearly two decade-long issue of employee retention concerns for the city. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Mist from Nugget Falls has a prism-like effect in September 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Our future depends on what we say about MGRA plans

Submit your comments by Feb. 21, 2023.

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • By Laurie Craig
Mist from Nugget Falls has a prism-like effect in September 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Multiple vehicles line up at the entrance of Waste Management’s Capitol Disposal Landfill in Lemon Creek Monday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

The absence of economic incentives to reduce waste

This week, Waste Management, the Texas based company that owns and operates the landfill, nearly tripled the charge for residents who chose to dump their… Continue reading

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
Multiple vehicles line up at the entrance of Waste Management’s Capitol Disposal Landfill in Lemon Creek Monday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Over 200 people attended LunaFest (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: JPCC owes a huge debt of gratitude to two LunaFest guest speakers

LunaFest 2023 was JPCC’s most successful fundraising event ever.

  • Feb 2, 2023
  • By the Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition Board
Over 200 people attended LunaFest (Courtesy Photo)
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Education funding is complicated and political

At a recent Alaska State Senate Education Committee hearing at the Capitol, there seemed to be general agreement that state school funding was lagging behind… Continue reading

  • Feb 2, 2023
  • By Win Gruening
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Deja vu for the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area

Three new alternatives don’t go far enough.

  • Feb 1, 2023
  • By Ken Post
This photo shows the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
In this Nov. 29, 2018 photo, clouds swirl over Douglas Island. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The Roadless Rule is a misnomer for what’s really happening in the Tongass

The Roadless Rule, as currently comprised with an exception provision, works.

  • Feb 1, 2023
  • By Kate Troll
In this Nov. 29, 2018 photo, clouds swirl over Douglas Island. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: Psychiatric patient care report could be catalyst for improvements

Will good suggestions get lost in state bureaucracy?

  • Jan 31, 2023
  • By Faith J. Myers
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, endangered orcas swim in Puget Sound and in view of the Olympic Mountains just west of Seattle, as seen from a federal research vessel that has been tracking the whales. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson File)

Opinion: Southeast trollers aren’t ‘starving’ orcas

The WFC lawsuit is a contagion of extremist judicial activism that must be stopped.

  • Jan 30, 2023
  • By David Richey
In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, endangered orcas swim in Puget Sound and in view of the Olympic Mountains just west of Seattle, as seen from a federal research vessel that has been tracking the whales. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson File)
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and former President Donald Trump stand on stage during a July 2022 rally in Anchorage. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Tshibaka’s insincere defense of democracy

Kelly Tshibaka claims to understand why voter turnout for the 2022 general election was the lowest in the state’s history. According to Preserve Democracy, a… Continue reading

  • Jan 27, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and former President Donald Trump stand on stage during a July 2022 rally in Anchorage. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
(Courtesy Photo / Gwen Baluss)

Opinion: The Mendenhall Wetlands — a Juneau treasure

Juneau is very fortunate to have this rich biological resource…

  • Jan 27, 2023
  • By Mary F. Willson, Gwen S. Baluss, and Marsha S. Squires
(Courtesy Photo / Gwen Baluss)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski prepares to meet officials at the Sealaska Heritage Institute during a visit to Juneau in November 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Juneau stands to benefit significantly from the 117th Congress

The last Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory…

  • Jan 26, 2023
  • By Lisa Murkowski
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski prepares to meet officials at the Sealaska Heritage Institute during a visit to Juneau in November 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
Alexander B. Dolitsky

Opinion: Neo-Marxism is a threat to the country

In the early 1980s, I attended graduate school at Brown University. Then, only two Soviet-born and raised students were at Brown. I was from Kiev… Continue reading

  • Jan 25, 2023
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
Capitol

Opinion: Humanism and the billionaire class

Compromise is the right thing to do and they should do it.

  • Jan 25, 2023
  • By Jerry Smetzer
Capitol
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

The problem with ‘Always Fighting’

What about “Always Thinking” or “Always Working” or just “Always Building Coalitions for Alaska.”

  • Jan 24, 2023
  • By Jim Hammond
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: A million visitors isn’t enough. Here’s why

I’ve been thinking about Pat White’s recent My Turn, Is anyone else concerned about the upcoming cruise season? Pat asks, “Isn’t a million (visitors) enough”?… Continue reading

  • Jan 23, 2023
  • Bruce Abel
(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)