Opinion
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 954
Story of Alaska's income tax like a soap opera
Just because few to none of Alaska’s elected officials are talking about bringing back the personal income tax is no reason to ignore its anniversary. OK, maybe it’s weird to celebrate your anniversary with an ex, but it’s different with the state in...
Ketchikan resident announces he will run for state House
I am Robb Arnold and I plan to run for the District 1 seat (Ketchikan, Metlakatla and Wrangell) in the Alaska House of Representatives. I came to Alaska in the early 1990s to work with my dad at a logging camp on Kuiu Island, near Sitka. Rowan Bay...
Entire community should pay attention to school budget
Pick your cliché: Push comes to shove; between a rock and a hard place; money is tight; living within your means; don’t spend more than you can afford. Children need a quality education to succeed in life. Just because the cliches flow easily, don’t...
It's smart to try on different work shoes
This column has little to do with actual footwear — dress shoes if you have an office job, work boots if you’re a contractor, comfortable shoes if you’re on your feet all day or rubber boots if you work on a fishing boat. It’s about walking in thei...
Nature Trail upkeep much appreciated by so many in town
For those of us who choose to walk the Volunteer Park (ballpark) Nature Trail on an almost daily basis, I would like to express our gratitude for the work that our city crew and volunteers have done to keep this accessible to us. The plowing of the...
Every day can be a good day to create a better world for all
One of my daughters sent me an article about World Religion Day that appeared on her company intranet on Jan. 12. It occurred to me that this was a topic worth exploring, and I decided to investigate it further online. The event was first celebrated...
Ranked-choice rankles the losers
It’s becoming an increasingly common tactic for election losers to blame anyone but themselves. In Alaska, that means several of the recent losers and their supporters blame their defeat on ranked-choice voting, which took effect for the 2022 e...
Trump excels at something - being mean
Children are taught not to make fun of others, tease them or be mean. Parents, teachers, counselors, church leaders and community mentors such as Girl Scout and Little League volunteers work hard to explain why it’s hurtful to make fun of someone who...
Alaskans have more needs than just the dividend
The 2024 Alaska legislative session started Tuesday, Jan. 16. My main committee assignment will be to serve for the eighth year on the House Finance Committee, which is responsible for moving the operating and capital budgets to the full House for...
Artificial is OK to put in our hair, but not our heads
Artificial intelligence doesn’t seem natural to me. How can it be intelligent if it’s artificial? Back when I went to school in the 1950s, our intelligence was spurred on by a teacher standing in front of a classroom. We attended each day from 8 in...
Alaska lacks workers to meet jobs forecast
It’s certainly welcome news that analysts at the state Department of Labor forecast strong job growth in Alaska this year. They expect to see about 5,400 new jobs, a solid increase of almost 2% over last year. If the numbers come true, it would f...
AI is similar to a teenager, but costs more
There is at least one big similarity between artificial intelligence and teenagers. They both think they know everything. And now, an AI applications provider is promoting in its marketing material that it is just like a teenager. But first, a bit...
Mandatory community service could help the country
I often wonder about the ever-moving changes that are taking place in our society. The increase in homelessness is evident on the sidewalks of our major regions as well as here in our own state. The extent to which cultural issues divide us. The dial...
New rentals units should pay for utilities, same as everyone else
Only one utility in Wrangell is metered, electricity, the rest generally are not. This leads to the attitude that we pay a bill and can use as much as we want. This is especially true of borough assembly members. They approved an ordinance to allow...
Wrangell showed determination and resilience
As we wrapped up the Senate session in late December, I was anxious to leave Washington, D.C., to return home to Anchorage, with a stop in Wrangell, a place I still call home. I wanted to share my condolences, see for myself the damage from the Nov....
A new year's wish may come true
Wrangell could get off to a good start for 2024 if one of the three interested parties makes a reasonable offer to buy the borough-owned former hospital building, which has sat vacant for almost three years. Most any offer would be reasonable,...
We less partisanship, not more
Partisan politics itself is not evil. Disruptive, yes. Phony, certainly. Shortsighted, no doubt about it. On its own, partisanship is a childish game played by adults who care more about headlines, fundraising and winning elections than anything...
PFD the center of governor's budget universe
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is starting his sixth year as the state’s top elected leader. Sadly, he’s not providing much fiscal leadership, other than beating the drums for his perpetual political bandwagon that trumpets the Permanent Fund dividend at the...
Trident says Wrangell is 'solid' for next year
Even though Trident Seafoods reopened its Wrangell plant this summer after a three-year closure, many in town were nervous about the long-term prospects. Salmon prices were miserably low due to an oversupplied market from last year and foreign...
Unanswered questions about ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units
I attended the Dec. 12 borough assembly meeting where members approved an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units on lots that already have a house. The stated purpose is to increase housing and rental units. I asked several questions about...
Goodbye and thank you to the community
By the time this paper hits the stores, I’ll be on a plane to my family home in Salt Lake City for the holidays. But unlike last year, I won’t be coming back to Wrangell in January. Instead, I’ll be making a leap from the oldest continuously publi...
Hungry Alaskans deserve better
The director of the state agency that manages the food stamp program for tens of thousands of Alaskans says the staff is again overwhelmed with work, delaying benefits for thousands of households by months. That’s months without the food a...
Elon Musk provides a megaphone for fraud
Elon Musk brought Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink to the world, which has mostly been good. He certainly is creative and extremely wealthy — gotta give him credit for that. Musk is brash and boastful, which has been obnoxious but mostly harmless. He a...
Businesses stepped up -remember that
Wrangell has proven its boundless resilience, compassion and generosity the past two weeks. Individuals have donated, volunteered, hauled, organized and pitched in seemingly 24 hours a day since the deadly landslide tested the community’s faith a...
Maybe our politicians could learn from AI
All this talk about artificial intelligence is a bit unsettling. Sure, in time, it will bring a lot of good to the world, particularly in medicines, finding and treating cancers, improving weather forecasting, eliminating boring and repetitive work,...