Opinion
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From the publisher
The anti-vaccination politics rolling across the country - much like a pandemic - have gotten so bad that the Alaska state Senate could not even manage to pass a bill last Friday allowing more...
Editorial: Listen to a former president - no, not that one
Former President George W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country showed Americans the difference between a statesman and a showman. In a speech at a memorial last...
Letters to the Editor
B.C. mining industry meets highest standards State Rep. Dan Ortiz's letter to the editor in the Sept. 2 Sentinel about British Columbia's mining regulations is misleading and largely inaccurate....
From the Publisher
Assembling a long-term fiscal plan for Alaska has been like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with some key pieces missing from the box. It's frustrating and you can't win, no matter how much you try...
Editorial: The odds of winning are pretty healthy
At this point, anything is worth a try. If a healthy life, caring about family and neighbors, and wanting to dream about perhaps someday flying without a face mask isn’t enough of an incentive, maybe a chance at winning the Alaska vaccination...
From the Editor
I grew up in a small rural town in California where we played in the streets, kept our doors unlocked, built treehouses, and stayed out late until our parents called us in. That all changed over the years. Sure, I left the state here and there, but...
From the publisher
Life teaches us there is a price for making mistakes. Or least the important ones. There is no penalty for picking up the wrong flavor of ice cream at the store, other than you have to eat the entire...
Editorial
Discussions and medical decisions about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 should be based on facts, not scientifically untested and unproven rumors spread on social media. And certainly not on...
Letter to the Editor
This August marked the seventh anniversary of the Mount Polley mine disaster. Mount Polley, located in British Columbia, is a large open-pit mine and its tailings dam collapsed, bringing significant n...
Opinion
Sometimes a pause in the hustle is necessary. Our transboundary watersheds, the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers that flow from Northwest British Columbia into Southeast Alaska, face an onslaught of too many industrial mining projects proposed for...
From the publisher
Forget politics, rumors, social media, accusations from all sides and everything else that has turned the vaccination debate into a circus — but without the fun, excitement and cotton candy. Too many Alaskans are getting sick (about 5,800 cases... Full story
Editorial
It should be pretty easy to look at residential utility hookups, Permanent Fund dividend application statistics, housing occupancy and other data points to refute the U.S. Census Bureau count that shows Wrangell lost 242 residents between the... Full story
So long Wrangell, and thanks for all the fish!
Did I format my entire letter saying goodbye to Wrangell so I could put a "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" reference in the title? Yes, yes I did. Looking back on the past three years of my life, I...
From the publisher
Just over 20 years ago, half of the Alaska House of Representatives banded together - Democrats and Republicans, urban and rural - in a concerted push to balance the budget, raise new revenues and...
Editorial
For years, critics of state finances have said government should run more like a business. OK, let's see how that works. When companies are short of revenue, they first look at how to boost sales. Mak...
From the publisher: There is no secret formula to the news
Maybe you're curious how we decide which stories go into the Sentinel each week. Maybe not, but please read this anyway. Since you are turning the pages of the Sentinel at the moment, or reading it on...
Editorial: A lot more at stake than just the dividend
Yes, the amount of this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend will be at stake when legislators convene in another special session on Monday. And while the PFD is important, legislators — and Alaskans — should not let the political fights over...
From the publisher: Donate to a nonprofit, not national politics
As if national campaigns haven't turned nasty enough in recent years, the billions of dollars at stake in political fundraising is making it worse. Yes, billions. Estimates are that spending...
Editorial: Run for something, not against something
The filing period opened this week for nine seats on the borough assembly, school board and port commission. Which means it's time for people to think about what they want for the community's future a...
Letters to the Editor
Summer camp focused on learning about virtues The six-day Virtues Summer Camp held at the Community Center has come to a close, with 14 children participating locally. New ideas were explored in one-h...
From the publisher
The list of escalating Alaska political divides is growing faster than skunk cabbage in a rainforest. And it smells just as bad. The line-up for the political fight scorecard seems endless: Democrats...
Editorial
Just look at the numbers. More than 2,200 new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska over July 15-25. More than 200 active cases in Sitka alone last week, winning the top spot for the worst outbreak in the...
Opinion column
The Alaska Legislature already has been in session for almost six months this year and is scheduled for another special session on Aug. 2. Instead of arguing political ideology, let's concentrate on...
From the publisher
Newspapers report what happened. Sure, we also report some of what will or may happen in the days ahead, but most of the Sentinel tells you what occurred last week in the community that may affect or...
Editorial: Time to move ahead with water plant project
Looking around at all the boots, raingear and plastic tarps, it’s hard to imagine that Wrangell can’t handle a little water. The community can handle the rain alright. It’s collecting all that water, cleaning it and delivering it to our homes,...
