Juneau Independent

I urge you to reject Ordinance 2025-13(c).  Please do not inflict ranked choice voting (RCV) on the Juneau voters. 

Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan called the longest government shutdown in history the most unnecessary and useless one he’s ever seen. He argued Senate Democrats needed to do “the right thing” and “show a tiny bit of courage” by standing up to their minority leader.  

I think that it is important to point out what the Glory Hall has been accomplishing, despite the temporary changes to our services, which began at the end of August. 

I don’t want to be unreasonable. Candidates and public officials should be allowed to raise unlimited funds from donors to pay the fines. It’s simply adding to the cost of their free speech when it’s dishonest speech.

You've always had a seat at the table — why not pull up a chair? If you haven't tuned in to an Assembly meeting lately, now's a perfect time to take a look.

Juneau’s finances are not in crisis. They require discipline, clarity, and a renewed commitment to honest fiscal stewardship. The path forward isn’t to raise taxes — it’s to right-size spending and rebuild confidence in the numbers that guide our decisions.

The election only reduced the property tax rate by 0.16 mills (10.24 to 10.08). That’s $80 off a $5,120 tax bill on a $500,000 home. No reasonable person would consider this 1.56% reduction significant.

Respect is the first word that emerges for me when looking back at the 7 million plus Americans that peacefully protested in the No Kings rally on Oct. 18.

In his cover letter attached to the “Analysis of the Proposed Cascade Point Ferry Terminal” Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT) Commissioner Ryan Anderson encouraged “all Alaskans — especially residents of Juneau and the North Lynn Canal communities, to review the findings in full and engage with us in follow-up discussions.”

As I muse on my disappointment over the recent local election, I find myself wondering, “What did that cost?” What was the cost of the campaign to convince Juneau voters to implement a lower property tax mill rate cap? What was the cost to the backers of this mill rate cap to lower their own property taxes?

Taking photos has always been easier for me than other forms of art because of my disabilities.

I use a tablet to read newspapers. It started maybe a decade ago, when an increasing number of national newspapers stopped shipping their print editions to Alaska. I am addicted to reading papers, so I dropped my resistance to the electronic world and bought a tablet.