Opinion

A sign lets visitors know they're in the Tongass National Forest on Thursday, July 15, 2021, the same day the Biden administration announced yet another reversal of policy over the forest. Debates about the 2001 Roadless Rule are familiar in Southeast Alaska, and Thursday's announcement prompted familiar reactions in the state. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: The Roadless Rule is a distraction

Flipping the Roadless Rule isn’t an act of cooperation.

  • Dec 17, 2021
  • Rich Moniak
A sign lets visitors know they're in the Tongass National Forest on Thursday, July 15, 2021, the same day the Biden administration announced yet another reversal of policy over the forest. Debates about the 2001 Roadless Rule are familiar in Southeast Alaska, and Thursday's announcement prompted familiar reactions in the state. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

We’re all richer thanks to nature’s dividend

By Sam Skaggs If you live in Southeast Alaska, you know that Southeast is a rich place abundant with natural, renewable capital. That natural capital… Continue reading

  • Dec 16, 2021
  • By Sam Skaggs
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building in October 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

Opinion: Letting politics influence Permanent Fund decisions creates possibilities for misery

An impartial board of trustees is the only vaccine against politicizing the fund.

  • Dec 16, 2021
  • By Larry Persily
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building in October 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
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Opinion: Broadband should be accessible everywhere in Alaska

Broadband will dissolve the divide between rural and urban.

  • Dec 15, 2021
  • By Larry Johansen
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Opinion: Now’s the time for our funds to divest from fossil fuels

It appears that some of the fund’s decisions have been political for some time. Let me explain…

  • Dec 14, 2021
  • By Mike Tobin
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Opinion: Be respectful and mask up around others who do the same

Iit would be great if we could all just be polite and respect each other.

  • Dec 13, 2021
  • Susan Patterson
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Opinion: COP 26 aftermath and outcomes for Alaska

Climate change stands out as a majorly important and urgent issue.

  • Dec 10, 2021
  • By John Seymour and Charles Thorpe
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(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: CBJ Assembly underserves and overspends

The Assembly has blithely approved funding for extraneous projects costing millions of dollars.

  • Dec 9, 2021
  • By Win Gruening
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: ‘Mask police’ are why I’m not shopping local

Self-appointed mask police businesses have lost my business and my respect.

  • Dec 8, 2021
  • By Tom Dawson
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(Courtesy Image / Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development)

Opinion: Shop local this holiday season

Shopping locally has never been as important or as easy as it is right now

  • Dec 6, 2021
  • By Julie Anderson
(Courtesy Image / Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development)
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Opinion: The truth Dunleavy should tell about COVID vaccines

By Rich Moniak On Monday, a federal judge in Missouri temporarily halted implementation of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in… Continue reading

  • Dec 3, 2021
  • By Rich Moniak
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Opinion: Rural broadband is essential infrastructure

Broadband funding is available. The rest is up to Alaskans.

  • Dec 2, 2021
  • By Alex Hills
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(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: What is the validity of the cruise ship survey?

How good are people’s memories about problems?

  • Dec 1, 2021
  • By Mike Clemens
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Will 2022 bring a law to better protect psychiatric patients?

There must be a legislative solution

  • Nov 30, 2021
  • By Faith J. Myers
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Alaskans should support Ocean Ranger program

Alaskans should be concerned that these floating cities could go unchecked.

  • Nov 29, 2021
  • Mark and Karen Severson
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Opinion: The foolish men claiming self-defense

By Rich Moniak A not guilty verdict “will not be a miscarriage of justice” David French wrote three days before Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of… Continue reading

  • Nov 26, 2021
  • By Rich Moniak
Gavel (Courtesy photo)
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: State defends its right to cut nonexistent taxes

By Larry Persily There is an inescapable irony to the fact that Alaska joined with a dozen other states in suing the federal government over… Continue reading

  • Nov 25, 2021
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
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Opinion: Vote-by-mail flops, what’s next?

Vote-by-mail justification grows murkier.

  • Nov 24, 2021
  • By Win Gruening
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Opinion: Why giving is part of our Alaska way of life

GCI is encouraging our fellow Alaskans to offer a hand to our most vulnerable neighbors in need.

  • Nov 24, 2021
  • By Kate Slyker, Heather Handyside, Megan Mazurek
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Opinion: Peeling the onion on Thanksgiving

“Peeling the onion” is an expression often used as a metaphor for digging deeper into an issue or not accepting something at face value. There… Continue reading

  • Nov 24, 2021
  • By Win Gruening
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