Opinion / Guest Opinion

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Alaskans deserve better of Canadian mine cleanup

By Frank Rue It’s hard to believe that the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine, just across the Alaska border in Canada, has been discharging toxic, acidic and metals-laden waste water into the Taku River watershed for almost 70 years. A kaleidoscope of...

 

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...

 

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....

 

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...

 

Wrangell shows its strength in time of adversity

Growing up in central Virginia and later moving to the Washington, D.C., area, natural disasters took the form of thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, snowfalls and ice storms. I even experienced an earthquake in Silver Spring, Maryland in the summer...

 

Walking is better for my health, as is the view

In my 20s and 30s, in addition to relying on public transportation to get around, I did a lot of walking. I briefly owned a couple of cars at different times, but they were, for the most part, older and often in disrepair. Plus, I mostly worked in...

 

Public needs more information on Permanent Fund's Alaska investments

The governor or Legislature, or both, need to conduct an audit available to the public or engage in serious oversight of the Permanent Fund’s recent erratic decisions. There is a growing threat to the Permanent Fund, and it is coming from the trust...

 

Wrangell's a great place to read a book

Thanks to plenty of time spent in libraries and bookstores, both as a customer and staff member, along with my own collection of reading material, I’ve grown very comfortable in the world of books. In the fall of 1996, I had been working for a few...

 

Moving barge ramp to 6-Mile would allow growth in tourism

I want to share my thoughts about the development of Wrangell’s waterfront properties. My opinions are based on the unique experience our family has enjoyed from residing in many Southeast communities. Raised and schooled in Ketchikan, serving in...

 

New Sentinel staffer looks forward to Alaska adventure

"Why would you want to move to a small town in Alaska?" That was the question put to me by the Sentinel's publisher, Larry Persily, when I applied for the position of editor. My answer? I was looking...

 

Ferry system needs to focus on restarting service to Prince Rupert

We’re all happy to have the administration’s winter schedule for the Southeast ferry system. However, there are a few downsides. The first is the exception noted in the Columbia’s schedule, which leaves several communities without service in...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    August 30, 2023

I really have enjoyed my stay, but I must be moving on

When I arrived almost exactly two years ago, Jeff and Kay Jabusch told me people in Wrangell aren’t necessarily wary of newcomers. Rather, they pointed out, they’re hesitant to get attached since they never know who’s going to stay. I fully...

 

Federal government needs to push harder to protect transboundary rivers

By Brenda Schwartz-Yeager Two years ago this fall, I testified at a Wrangell borough assembly meeting in support of yet another resolution calling on the U.S. government to be firm with British Columbia and Canada in protecting the Stikine River, as...

 

No need for Permanent Fund to set up Anchorage office

The job of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. trustees is to focus on pursuing, maintaining and growing our fund. Instead, they are being sidetracked by their plan to open a satellite office in Anchorage by the end of the year. This is the first step...

 

Permanent Fund needs to share more investment details

I congratulate the Permanent Fund trustees for adopting Resolution 23-01 at their April 12 meeting to limit additional investment in the in-state investment program in which Barings and McKinley Capital Management have each been given $100 million to...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    June 7, 2023

Measure of a man is how he treats others

On a recent Sunday, as I was heading to the store, my phone rang. I don’t get many calls these days unless it’s somebody trying to sell me something. To my surprise, the caller ID showed the name of someone I hadn’t seen in years. Was it...

 

Permanent Fund not immune to inflation, investment losses

For 41 years, Alaskans have benefitted from Permanent Fund dividends. More recently, the fund also has been the biggest source of money to pay for state public services. Permanent Fund managers have long known it could one day have less available to... Full story

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    May 24, 2023

Life in the fishbowl can have conflicting outlooks

There are large calendar pages tacked to a wall in the Sentinel office. May through September list the cruise ships scheduled to stop in Wrangell on specified days. We keep them there for easy reference. However, we don’t really need the pages to...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    April 19, 2023

Wrangell's self-reliance shines in graduating class

Another school year is almost done and, once again, I’m truly impressed by the caliber of young people Wrangell produces. For the past two years, I’ve interviewed the students of the senior class for their graduation projects. Each story...

 

No justice in White House decision to deny land trade

The lack of respect and hypocrisy in the Biden administration’s application of its policy of environmental justice toward Alaska’s Natives was on full display when on March 14 Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland withdrew from the 2019 land...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    March 15, 2023

Keeping daylight saving time would be cuckoo

Twice a year I have a 50-50 chance of messing up the front page of the Sentinel. This year I did just that, and possibly aided people in being late to work on Monday. Daylight saving time, otherwise known as the Biannual Menace, makes it necessary...

 

Murkowski reminds Alaskans of congressional wins

Earlier this month, the 117th Congress formally adjourned, marking the close of a remarkably productive legislative stretch for Alaska. The past Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory, and the bipartisan bills we passed will...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    January 18, 2023

Career talk leads to reflection on life in journalism

An old Staples printer paper box sat in front of me, spewing forth its contents. Instead of reams of 8.5-by-11 copy paper, old lifestyle sections, visitor guides, comics, real estate sections and business pages laid inside and scattered around the bo...

 

Federal aid can help the ferries, if the state uses it wisely

It’s past time for Southeast and coastal Alaska communities to be heard regarding the collapse of our ferry system. It’s time to more forcefully make our needs known by energizing the Southeast Conference, the Southeast Conference of Mayors and o...

 
 By Marc Lutz    Opinion    January 4, 2023

Unflattering photo leads to resolution for better judgment

I like to think I'm my own worst critic. Every word choice and every photo I run in print are reviewed, critiqued and deemed passable. For example, I rewrote this paragraph three times. When it comes...

 

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