Juneau Independent

The Alaska Marine Highway System has never fully paid its own way with ticket revenues; it’s always needed state money to cover the gap between what it costs to operate the fleet and what it can collect from travelers.

While some Alaska salmon runs remain strong, sharp declines in others are causing a crisis for numerous Western Alaska communities.

Juneau has developed a habit of confusing opposition with wisdom. For years, major transportation investments have been met with skepticism, delay, and, ultimately, a reflexive “no.” The justification is almost always the same: the project is flawed, the benefits uncertain, the costs too high. Each objection may be defensible in isolation. Taken together, they reveal a deeper problem — short-term thinking that mistakes preservation for strategy and resistance for leadership.

A report published last week by the University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) gave Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) new fodder to better frame an old argument. “ISER clearly stated the most regressive form of balancing our budget is to rely on cutting the PFD,” he wrote in his latest newsletter. 

The Assembly should close a costly loophole in Juneau’s election code for citizen initiatives. The current ambiguity around when petitioners get extra time to gather signatures undermines the charter’s clear standards and invites unequal treatment from one campaign to the next.

Everyone needs a break from reality — myself included. It’s a depressing and distressing time to think about what’s happening in our country and the rest of the world.

Following the killing of Alex Pretti last Saturday, and the deviant attempt by members of the Trump administration to label him a domestic terrorist, Sen. Lisa Murkowski justifiably called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem to step down. It’s the right thing to do. But treating the symptom of the disease won’t put an end to the president’s war on the truth. 

Sen. Sullivan replied to most of my letters, but didn't address any of the issues I raised. As for Rep. Begich, he did not reply at all. So last August I wrote to the senator and congressman to say I was finished writing to them because they didn't care about my constituent issues.

I was raised in Sunday school to follow the Golden Rule, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in the final year of his 2,918-day, two-term career in the job, is picking at the plate of a long-term fiscal plan for the state, much like a kid skips the broccoli and wants to move straight to the dessert. The governor talks about a full menu of legislation to build a balanced budget for years to come, with enough revenue to meet expenses — a goal which has eluded Alaska for much of the past decade as the state has burned through its savings.

What is happening in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the country with ICE is unconscionable.

The winter of 2026 is a time of unsettled and unsettling politics for Alaska and the country. In Alaska, a deepening fiscal crisis is exacerbated by the federal administration’s cuts or holds on federal funds appropriated by Congress, including funds for education, work programs, health care, energy projects, disaster relief and food assistance programs.