Juneau Independent

In reference to the article "City surveying residents about budget priorities as leaders face post-election spending cuts," it makes sense to poll residents about their funding priorities. But the city's survey is flawed in some important ways that limit its usefulness and risk misleading both respondents and decision-makers.

This is for all of us who don’t have perfect hair — and for those of us with no hair left to style, fluff, slick or comb. It’s for those of us who haven’t had our teeth straightened, capped and whitened. Or our bodies surgically enhanced. Our eyebrows shaped, our muscles toned by a private coach, our clothes selected by a private shopper or our shoes polished by a private valet.

Americans voting in the 1980 presidential election were challenged to make their choice by answering one question, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" In November the question may well be: “Do you feel safer than you did two years ago?” 

If President Trump orders units from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Ft. Wainwright, to deploy to Minnesota, the soldiers and officers — to a person and/or by unit — would best serve their country by refusing to obey this probably "illegal" order, as discussed recently in a video by five veterans now serving in Congress.

Some of you might remember Jeff Brown as the funny, freewheeling prankster of the storied newsletter The Juneau What? Today Jeff Brown is living with advanced Parkinson's disease. As his health declines, he and his family now face eviction from the home they have occupied for nearly half a century — in the middle of winter — despite agreeing, in writing, to vacate at the end of February.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has rarely been afraid to stand up to President Donald Trump. But this week she endorsed one of Trump’s reliable enablers.

I have lived in Haines for the last 30 years, year-round. As a senior citizen I oppose the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal because it establishes a barrier, rather than an improvement, in our ability to travel from Haines (or Skagway) to Juneau.

I am writing about the 22nd annual 12 x 12 Exhibition at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. The theme for this year is “Monochrome in Color.” I would like people to know more about it so they can submit a piece of their work if they are interested. 

Our wake-up call to get the roof of our house shoveled this year was the chicken coop collapsing. (Note: No animals used in this essay have suffered harm.) I heard it collapse and the dogs rushed across the deck to be let in. We love these dogs dearly but they are City dogs and not very courageous.

Condolences to the family of Jirdes Winther Baxter, who led a long and storied life. The delivery of the diphtheria serum that saved her life became known as the Nome Serum Run. The Serum Run was a one-time occurrence, prompted by a public health crisis. Today, lifesaving medicine is delivered to places like Nome by air.

It’s an election year for governor and the Legislature. Which means it’s a chance to elect people who will help pull our foot out from under the fence and get Alaska back into the game. Sitting on the fence is not an answer.

Too often in recent months this childhood taunt has come to mind as I have listened to or read accounts of forceful interventions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or border patrol agents in deportation raids that are rocking cities (mostly Democratically-governed) around the country.