Opinion / Letters To The Editor
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 115
Wrangell should think about the negatives of too much tourism
Regarding the editorial that appeared in the Wrangell Sentinel on Feb. 28: As a lifelong resident of Southeast Alaska, I’ve experienced the growth of the mega tourist industry and, yes, some of it is good for the economy. Along with that comes...
Rep. Ortiz commits to supporting extension of senior citizen benefits
As your representative in the Alaska Legislature, I have been and will continue to support legislation that advocates for our growing senior citizen population. That’s why I am proud to cosponsor House Bill 242 which, if passed, will extend the...
The wonderful people of our community are always ready to help
This thought often crosses my mind and I decided it’s time to share it. We are so fortunate to live in Wrangell. There are times when people carry on vehemently about things they dislike, but when we need each other there’s always tremendous supp...
Assembly should address utilities billings for new accessory dwelling units
The question for the Wrangell borough assembly is how many utilities will be free to owners of accessory dwelling units. The ordinance is not clear on what utilities will be billed. The recently passed accessory dwelling unit ordinance does not...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Please everyone, pick up after your dog in the park and ballfield
I like to think of myself as a responsible dog owner. I have traveled with my dogs for the past eight years to Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. We have visited many dog parks where I found the dog owners to be extremely responsible in...
Veterans deserve more supportive mental health care
At the 11th hour on the 11th day on November 1918, the guns fell silent in Europe, marking the end of the Great War, later to become known as World War I. Congress in 1954 passed a bill, signed by President Dwight Eisenhower, that made Nov. 11 a...
Annual Resilience Fair a success with the help of agencies, businesses
This is a robust shout-out to the 14 agencies and organizations that shared information about new and ongoing resources in our community at BRAVE’s annual Resilience Fair on Oct. 14. We know that many individuals overcame obstacles and hardships...
Democrats also deserve blame for removing speaker of the U.S. House
I find Larry Persily`s opinion piece in the Oct. 11 Sentinel, “Congressional Republicans too selfish to govern,” to be a misleading half-truth customized to fit his anti-Republican propaganda. He blames the Republican “mini-majority of eight...
Don't let cruise visitors overrun the community
I cannot agree more with John Bania’s letter to the editor in the Oct. 11 Sentinel. I live in Juneau and have been fighting the impact of cruise ship tourism on my neighborhood for over 30 years. Three years ago, we finally had a borough assembly...
Resuming regular state ferry service to Rupert a priority
On Friday, Sept. 15, I and other stakeholders and community leaders participated in a ferry system focus group workshop for the southern Southeast service area. As state ferry service is one of the very essential elements of Southeast culture and...
Wrangell needs to exercise more control over large cruise ships
The Sept. 20 article in the Wrangell Sentinel made it clear that the community of Wrangell has been infected with cancer. “Dam” cancer to be exact. That being the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Westerdam, along with accompanying disease names the Queen...
Report shows area economy is improving, but still work to do to boost Southeast
I had the opportunity last week to attend my 10th Southeast Conference, hosted this year by Sitka. Attending the conference has always been a very efficient and effective way for me to communicate with a large cross-section of business and...
Thank you
The Beta Sigma Phi ladies sincerely thank everyone who donated pies for the group’s Fourth of July pie sale. We appreciate your awesome support! Alice Rooney...
Library appreciates support for another successful summer reading program
The public library would like to thank all the individuals, businesses and organizations that donated prizes for the summer reading program. We appreciate your continued support in assisting us by encouraging children to read during the summer and...
Federal subsidy at risk that helps with internet for low-income households
Alaska is a vast and beautiful state but also one of the most isolated and underserved in terms of broadband access. According to the Federal Communications Commission, only 65% of Alaskans have access to broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps,...
Canceled ferry sailing costs tourist $1,000, says governor should support a new ship
Last year, I wanted to visit a few small towns in Alaska, traveling aboard the state ferries. I liked it very much and even though catching a ferry at 4 a.m. was inconvenient, I loved traveling with the locals. I met so many wonderful people,...
Tlingit and Haida council would have preferred photo showing everyone gathered
We requested that the Sentinel publish a photo of the Wrangell Tlingit & Haida Community Council so that we could be transparent as leaders in the Native community. The reason I asked was because I recalled seeing a picture of the local tribal...
Rep. Ortiz wants to hear public's opinions on vetoes
Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month announced his vetoes for the budget passed by the Legislature. After lawmakers had reached a bipartisan compromise, I was ultimately pleased with the final budget numbers that we passed. Therefore, I and a significant...