I appreciate the efforts of the borough and design oversight firm Moffat and Nichols in reaching out to the public as we once again renew our efforts to pursue Lutak Dock repairs and rebuild. Attending Thursday night’s meeting and listening to the comments of all helped me to clarify my own input on this issue, […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Haines, Alaska, Who are we and where are we headed?
Haines, Alaska, is a small rural town of about 2,100 people. If we were down south, we would most certainly be described as “podunk,” but because of our setting, we have escaped that nomenclature. (maybe) Haines is a great place to live. It is quiet, mostly friendly, safe, clean, and perhaps, yes, podunk. I don’t […]
Posted inCommentary
Someday, it will come down to sales vs. income tax
This is a tax tutorial for gubernatorial candidates, for legislators who will report to worknext year and for the Alaska public.Think of it as homework, with more than eight months to complete the assignmentwhich is not due until the November election.The homework is intended to inform, not settle the debate over a state sales tax […]
Posted inAlaska Legislature, News
Dunleavy’s budget has a $3,650 PFD. The House’s is $0. Neither is close to reality. So why do it?
Alaskans aren’t getting a $3,650 Permanent Fund Dividend this year, nor one of $0, even if those are the amounts in competing draft budgets by the governor and Legislature. The prevailing wisdom inside the Capitol is the budget for the coming year will look a lot like this one, including a PFD similar to the […]
Posted inSoutheast News
More time allowed for subsistence input
The Departments of Agriculture and Interior announced Thursday they’re extending the deadline for public comments on changes proposed to the Federal Subsistence Management Program. The deadline to submit public comments was changed from today to March 30, six weeks away. The two departments are conducting a “targeted review” of the subsistence program to “ensure the […]
Posted inNews, State of Alaska, Government & Elections
Federal government may seek removal of individual Alaskans from state voter rolls
When the state of Alaska turned over a copy of the state’s voter rolls to the Department of Justice in December, it also signed an agreement that allows the DOJ to ask the state to put individual Alaskans on track for removal from the state’s voter list. Officially labeled a “confidential memorandum of understanding,” the document was signed Dec. 19 […]
Posted inSoutheast News
Mine company plans road near Herbert Glacier as proposed cabin put on hold
Notice of a proposed access road to a planned gold mine near Herbert Glacier was published by the state Wednesday, following the U.S. Forest Service’s cancellation of a recreational cabin near the glacier in a draft decision published last month. If the road about 21 miles north of Juneau is approved, construction could start as soon […]
Posted inLocal News
Lutak Dock town hall covers familiar ground
A town hall referred to as “the front end of the process” by the borough’s Lutak Dock advisors gave residents a forum to voice opinions, but provided few answers. The seventy-some residents who attended the town hall came bearing plenty of comments on the high-profile project Thursday. Borough officials had been advertising the meeting as […]
Posted inNews
Shutdown looms for FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA with stalemate over Homeland Security funds
WASHINGTON — Leaders from several agencies within the Department of Homeland Security testified before a U.S. House panel Wednesday about how a shutdown would affect the programs they oversee, though Democrats argued the hearing was a “show” that wasn’t going to get lawmakers any closer to agreement on constraints to federal immigration enforcement. Congress has […]
Posted inCommentary
Saying no is not a strategy: transportation, power, and the risk of standing still
Juneau has developed a habit of confusing opposition with wisdom. For years, major transportation investments have been met with skepticism, delay, and, ultimately, a reflexive “no.” The justification is almost always the same: the project is flawed, the benefits uncertain, the costs too high. Each objection may be defensible in isolation. Taken together, they reveal […]