Juneau Independent

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.

In a letter sent to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) last week, attorneys for Jack Smith said they were “compelled to correct inaccurate assertions made by you and others concerning the issuance of a grand jury subpoena for the toll records of eight Senators and one Member of the House of Representatives.” 

“I told the president, it’s like Christmas every morning,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at last week’s staged event in Washington, D.C., where the Department of Interior secretary signed off on federal approvals to expand oil drilling, mining and road building in Alaska.

The day after seven million Americans attended "No Kings" demonstrations, House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that if “President Trump was a king,” the demonstrators “would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise.”

Approximately 7% of Juneau residents — or roughly 2,200 people — receive SNAP benefits, in the form of a debit card used at grocery stores. It’s loaded with the monthly allowance on the first of each month. Without a resolution to the Congressional budget standoff, that won’t happen on the first of November.

Scientists use the seemingly benign term “tonic immobility” to describe the temporary paralysis that various species of animals experience when they spy a predator. This fear-based response is a survival instinct intended to last until the predator loses interest.