Opinion
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Leaked intelligence Communique indicates impending bear attack
Last week, the CVN covered the borough assembly’s vote to spend $57,750 for brush-clearing activities to eliminate “bear hiding areas.” Since...
How many Haines residents does it take to change a lightbulb?
How many fishermen does it take to change a lightbulb? Three. One to drive the boat and one to make the deckhand change the lightbulb. KHNS DJs? At...
The math is easy; the politics are hard
Getting caught between a rock and a hard place is easier. At least you can rent a backhoe and move the rock. Getting politically caught between more m...
Alaskans heading south, which is not good
Wrangell Sentinel Publisher For the 10th year in a row, more Alaskans moved out last year than new residents moved in. That’s a draining fact, with...
A quantitative proposal to the planning commission
When considering whether to approve a conditional use permit, code requires planning commissioners to consider and give “due weight” to...
Alaska needs to accept that the world is changing
The world will continue to need liquid fuels refined from crude oil for decades. But it likely will need less in the decades ahead as it transitions...
Alaska needs to do more to attract new residents
More people moved out of Alaska than moved in every year between 2015 and 2021. If not for a healthy birth rate, the state population would have...
Legislature and governor need to boost funding for school districts
The Haines School District could face a financial squeeze in the next several years, forcing hard decisions over which programs get cut, what classes...
They love their phones far too much
I promise, this will be the first and only column I write that makes fun of how people behave in Washington, D.C. Well, maybe I’ll write another...
Suspending taxes on gasoline doesn't deserve any mileage
Legislators, the governor, members of the public — and most certainly candidates in this year’s state elections — should be paying attention to...
Losing money a lesson to remember
Legislators, the governor, members of the public — and most certainly candidates in this year’s state elections — should be paying attention to...
Commentary
In 2014, tour operator Joe Ordonez withdrew his application for a borough permit to run canoe tours on Mosquito Lake after neighbors turned out at an...
Priority lies with the people when it comes to Open Meetings Act questions
The Open Meetings Act (OMA) has made local headlines recently. Some debate has centered on whether a borough meeting was or was not regulated by the...
Haines Sheldon Museum Requests Your Support: Haines Borough FY23 Budget
Dear Haines Residents: The Board of Directors of the Haines Sheldon Museum is gravely concerned about the Haines Borough’s proposed budget for the...
It all adds up to the same $2,600
With just a few weeks left in the legislative session, House and Senate budget writers appear to agree that $2,600 is a good number to put into the...
Campaign finance disclosure good for the public
A big part of a well-functioning democracy is running for office or, if you don’t want your name on the ballot, backing a candidate, taking a...
Did Pardee violate the Open Meetings Act?
The Haines Borough should communicate its interpretation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) so it’s clear what’s required on agendas. Port and Harbor...
Seasonality hinders leadership potential
Skagway’s former Mayor, Stan Selmer, once opined on the record: “The more that happens here in summer the less that happens here in winter....
It's not that hard, just different
This year’s switch to ranked-choice voting in Alaska is something new, maybe even surprisingly new for those who missed or forgot about the 2020...
High oil prices not a reason to boost profits
No, this column is not directed at oil producers. They are not the guilty party in this tale of cost escalation. Nor is this column about the many...
A Farewell to Haines
I‘ve always been awful at good-byes, it’s perhaps my greatest literary and rhetorical failing. But as I prepare to depart Haines for a scholarly...
Is your free speech Russian propaganda?
There was a derogatory name leveled at people during the Cold War who were unwittingly influenced by the Soviet Union: useful idiots. Russian presiden...
Compassion It
At our last meeting I made a brief mention about the Compassion It program. This was brought to my attention by Marnie Hartman and we are looking...
The question of school mask mandates is not dogma
I encourage all those engaging in the school’s mask-mandate debate to approach the issue with humility, because the available evidence supporting un...
We are all products of inherited character traits and experiences
The following paragraph is paraphrased by Art Woodard from “The Thinker’s Guide to Fallacies” by Richard Paul and Linda Elder. We have not...
