Juneau Independent

Help Wanted: Unique opportunity to lead the largest state in the country, with more miles of coastline, taller mountains, more fish and game, more dreams and less reality than those other 49 pipsqueaks.

The recent closure of the Back Loop Bridge due to flood damage reminds us of something we all know deep down but don’t like to think about: bridges don’t live forever, and neither do our backup plans. It’s a timely nudge to revisit the idea of a north channel crossing — not as a luxury, but as a step toward resilience.

During the Eaglecrest Board of Directors (EBD) Aug. 7 meeting, four former Eaglecrest Board members expressed their collective concern and lack of confidence in Eaglecrest’s management team and Board of Directors (EBD) for failing to adequately represent ski area users with sound policy and operational direction to the new general manager.

I am sympathetic to the need for more housing in downtown Juneau, but perhaps there is a solution that adds housing to our hill without destroying the neighborhood as a whole. It is not too late to alter course.

The past three years of Mendenhall River floods show why a property tax cap would hurt Juneau. When disaster struck, the city had the flexibility to step in and help. Without that, families and the whole community would have been left worse off.

The “peace summit” between Presidents Trump and Putin with the notable absence of President Zelensky taking place in Alaska on Aug. 15 is morally reprehensible and a travesty. It is not normal.

The memories and ghosts that inhabit Telephone Hill are hard to hear above the noise and clamor of cruise ships and tour buses, but on an early morning, in the shade of trees and homes that still stand, you might still hear them.

The state is taking money that was appropriated for one bad idea almost a generation ago and spending it on an equally wasteful idea.

When one mentions the application of the 2001 Roadless Rule to the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska the listener thinks of large-scale timber cutting. But the Tongass was created near ancient volcanoes and consequently is one of the richest Volcanic Massive Sulfide (VMS) districts in North America.

Grante Creek Basin. (City and Borough of Juneau photo) As many readers may know, I recently fell, broke my ankle and had to get...

Anyone who’s attended a conference, convention, or large meeting knows the scene: after registering and picking up your badge and other information, you look around the foyer to see small groups of colleagues greeting each other, setting appointments, and making plans. Networking, sharing information, and the business of business has already begun. 

(Official photo from the State of Alaska Office of the Governor) Jordan Shilling, who really should take his talents to the private...