Opinion

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Bartlett making improvements in care, needs to prioritize staff recruitment and retention

I am addressing concerns raised in the article, “Inhumane Treatment of Behavioral Health Care Patients at Bartlett Regional Hospital” (Juneau Empire, Aug. 2, 2023). Based… Continue reading

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
Courtesy / City and Borough of Juneau This is a map of the Telephone Hill area.

Opinion: History isn’t written by buildings alone

I can empathize with the tenants on Telephone Hill who will be evicted if their neighborhood is redeveloped. Long ago, I was asked to vacate… Continue reading

Courtesy / City and Borough of Juneau This is a map of the Telephone Hill area.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to a capacity crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The trial of the century

It appears that Donald Trump will soon be indicted for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. When it happens, he should do what… Continue reading

Former President Donald Trump speaks to a capacity crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
A view of the Stikine River and its delta. (Photo by Mary Catharine Martin)

Time for U.S. to hold Canada accountable for transboundary river impacts

Two years ago this fall, I testified at a Wrangell Borough Assembly meeting in support of yet another resolution calling on the U.S. federal government… Continue reading

A view of the Stikine River and its delta. (Photo by Mary Catharine Martin)
Juneau’s current City Hall is seen on July 13. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Assembly transparency deficit disorder: part II

In a previous column I described several Assembly meetings where actions taken were less than transparent. That column discussed (1) an ordinance appropriating $50,000 to… Continue reading

Juneau’s current City Hall is seen on July 13. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Tourism industry overran Hoonah; don’t let it happen in Juneau

I am a Hoonah tribal member and ANCSA shareholder, Juneau born and raised, and moved to my home village in 1981. I recently moved back… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
Larry Persily

Like bell bottoms and Blockbuster movie rentals, so too will GCI’s email pass

Changes are forced upon us as the world evolves, and there is little anyone can do about it. Though I want to be a rigid… Continue reading

Larry Persily
Bjorn Dihle stands in front of acid mine drainage at British Columbia’s Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been abandoned and leaching acid mine drainage into the transboundary Taku River watershed for more than 65 years. The Taku, a wild salmon river, flows into Alaska and empties into the ocean just south of Juneau. (Photo by Chris Miller/csmphotos.com)

Opinion: Powerful interests should stop targeting Alaska hook and line fishing

They should start targeting the real threat to wild salmon: habitat destruction

Bjorn Dihle stands in front of acid mine drainage at British Columbia’s Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been abandoned and leaching acid mine drainage into the transboundary Taku River watershed for more than 65 years. The Taku, a wild salmon river, flows into Alaska and empties into the ocean just south of Juneau. (Photo by Chris Miller/csmphotos.com)
Sophia Owen, a senior at Thunder Mountain High School, discusses her educational goals and involvement in after-school programs as a member of this year’s Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew. (Screenshot from Million Girls Moonshot video)

My Turn: After-school programs shaped my life. Why don’t all students have access?

Designing and programming a robot to fling as many rubber ducks off a wheel as possible in 30 seconds is a joy only a small… Continue reading

Sophia Owen, a senior at Thunder Mountain High School, discusses her educational goals and involvement in after-school programs as a member of this year’s Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew. (Screenshot from Million Girls Moonshot video)
(Juneau Empire File)

Letter: Assembly way off track — time for a course correction

My name is Molly Duvall. I was born in Petersburg and am living in Juneau now for the second time since 1990. I’m a working… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)
Sunsets started to tease the Arctic horizon as scientists on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy headed south in the Chukchi Sea during the final days collecting ocean data for the 2011 ICESCAPE mission. (Photo by NASA/Kathryn Hansen)

Opinion: Action to protect the Arctic could slow climate change

As a scorching wake-up call reverberated around the globe, climate scientists urged accelerated action in the Arctic to help slow the rate of warming and… Continue reading

Sunsets started to tease the Arctic horizon as scientists on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy headed south in the Chukchi Sea during the final days collecting ocean data for the 2011 ICESCAPE mission. (Photo by NASA/Kathryn Hansen)

Letter: Permanent Fund needs to stop investing in fossil fuel stocks

Three weeks ago the Empire published an article that raised the specter of the Permanent Fund’s Earning Reserve Account running out of money in the… Continue reading

Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Let’s talk about that $50,000 and City Hall

CBJ’s Assembly and administration have been receiving criticism for appropriating up to $50,000 to provide information about the City Hall proposition that will be on… Continue reading

Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Telephone Hill Park. (Photo courtesy of the City and Borough of Juneau)

Opinion: Telephone Hill — an opportunity to do it right

In August of 2022, the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly passed Resolution 2999 accepting the donation of the Telephone Hill property from the… Continue reading

Telephone Hill Park. (Photo courtesy of the City and Borough of Juneau)
An artist depiction of a new city hall building in Juneau. (Courtesy Image / North Wind Architects)

My Turn: No-confidence vote for lame duck city manager

This column has been updated to clarify the definition of Alaska’s Open Meetings Act, which applies to governing bodies, but exempts individuals. The Open Meetings… Continue reading

An artist depiction of a new city hall building in Juneau. (Courtesy Image / North Wind Architects)
A king salmon is laid out for inspection by Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during the Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 25, 2019. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Decline of king salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska started many decade ago

From the reports I’ve heard about the July 1-14 commercial troll opening, the king salmon for some of the fishermen averaged only 10 to 11… Continue reading

A king salmon is laid out for inspection by Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during the Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 25, 2019. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
This is a map of the Telephone Hill area. (Courtesy / City and Borough of Juneau)

My Turn: Telephone Hill needs caretakers, not consultants

On July 26, the City and Borough of Juneau hosted a live meeting at the old Armoury because they want us to think that they… Continue reading

This is a map of the Telephone Hill area. (Courtesy / City and Borough of Juneau)
A Celebrity Cruises ship docks in Juneau on July 15. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Are You With Me Now?

I and a handful of others have been writing opinion pieces to the Empire, testifying to the Juneau Assembly, gathering signatures on petitions, and trying… Continue reading

A Celebrity Cruises ship docks in Juneau on July 15. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy of Mike Tobin)

My Turn: Fair time to advocate for a cool planet

The Climate Fair for a Cool Planet is coming up on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 3-5 p.m. at the Whale in Overstreet Park. You might… Continue reading

Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy of Mike Tobin)
This undated photograph shows the USS Juneau memorial items that were on display at the American Legion Auke Bay Post #25 when it was burglarized in January of 2020. The long strand of beads represented those immediately killed during the torpedoing and sinking of the ship, another strand represented those who were alive and in the water, and the short strand represented those who were rescued from the water days later. The final few beads in the glass dome represented those who were still living at the time of the 75th anniversary presentation. (Courtesy photo / American Legion Auke Bay Post #25)

My Turn: Almost four years and still no justice

In January of 2020 the American Legion Auke Bay Post 25 was burglarized, JPD was called and the burglary reported. An officer arrived shortly thereafter.… Continue reading

This undated photograph shows the USS Juneau memorial items that were on display at the American Legion Auke Bay Post #25 when it was burglarized in January of 2020. The long strand of beads represented those immediately killed during the torpedoing and sinking of the ship, another strand represented those who were alive and in the water, and the short strand represented those who were rescued from the water days later. The final few beads in the glass dome represented those who were still living at the time of the 75th anniversary presentation. (Courtesy photo / American Legion Auke Bay Post #25)