Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 845
Budget cuts corrected To the Editor: A possible objective look at our new governor’s budget to me looks as follows: 1. The governor only needs 16 votes to keep any of his budget cuts the legislators want to overturn. The legislature needs 46 to overturn a veto. 2. In the legislative public forum on Tuesday, March 5, over 50% of the respondents supported the governor’s cuts and wanted their $3,000. 3. The majority of Alaskans probably do not need libraries, pools, rec. centers, schools, ferries, medical facilities, senior services, Med...
Why a free pass? To the Editor: How is this fair? The Borough Assembly just voted to put a proposed ordinance on the ballot this fall to change the way Borough Assembly Member seats are elected. This issue was brought forward by Don Koenigs, a concerned citizen who went to a few assembly meetings and talked to a few people about his idea. How is it fair that he gets his idea on the ballot with such a minimal amount of effort? The Borough Assembly refused to help the proponents of the ATV and...
Education is too critical a part of our state's future to allow for reduced funding of that line item at the expense of a super-sized Permanent Fund check. K-12 funding should be left intact as was agreed to at the close of the legislative session last year. This week, 130 Alaskans were evenly split on the super-sized PFD as outlined in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Senate Bills 23 and 24. In testimony last week, two-thirds of the public comments were against the super-sized PFD. From 2016 to 2018, the...
Best defense - good offense To the Editor: I hope the Assembly would look at setting up a committee now to look at plan A,B,C&D. for July, our next fiscal budget. Also publish all borough expenses so people know our costs. I would suggest having a couple of Assembly members, Steve, Jodi, Karl, the Alaska Air/airport manager, Rich Patterson from the ferry terminal, Erika, Tom Abbott, Phil Hofstetter and ? to plan for the upcoming cuts and related borough reorganization. Southeast does not have...
Okay Governor Dunleavy, you have our attention; our full and undivided attention. Like you, we're in favor of eliminating unnecessary spending by the state. We're in favor of a balanced budget. But the proposed budget simply ignores the impacts that will be spread across communities, families and individuals statewide. No one can undo years of deficit spending in a single budget, with little to no consideration of the hardship it will place on citizens, schools, state transportation and other go...
Zoning carry over To the Editor: Last week I complained about surprise multiple and problematic zoning districts for a single lot that showed on the most recent draft zoning map from the Planning Commission and staff. I wrongly assumed it was a proposed zoning change by the Commission. It was not. Although the Planning staff is still researching the history, it appears to be a carryover from zoning maps many years back, unrelated to the current rezoning. As property owner, it was my...
Climate Change is now part of all our lives To the Editor: The age of oil is over, or we are? Human kind has made use of the miracle power of oil for over one hundred years. The power of oil and petroleum products moved mankind out of the darkness and the muck of the earth. Like mice who stuffed themselves on a cake that was left unattended, little did they dream there was a price to be paid for such high living. So it is with ourselves. Oil's price tag has finally come due. Now it threatens...
Pastor Eric Olsen from the Petersburg Lutheran Church preached at the First Baptist Church this week. He is one of many who have delivered messages before the congregation as the search continues for a permanent pastor for the Baptist church. He posed the question, “Have you ever left anyone behind?” The question pertained to Jesus parents leaving him behind in the temple at Jerusalem after they departed for Nazareth (Luke 2:41-50). For me, the answer was yes. It happened in 1982, shortly after the birth of our eldest daughter Jennifer. I, the...
Grateful for Secret Santa To the Editor: I have recently arrived in Petersburg, in town visiting family when I ended up with an abscessed tooth. I had just recently started working and I have no money. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Secret Santa that enabled me to receive the dental care I desperately needed at Dr Lister’s DDS office. Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year. Dustin Creek Good on our promise To the Editor: Thank you for putting in our letter about the dog poop on our playground at Stedman Elementary. We have come u...
To those with concern of the Sitka herring fishery, This letter is in regard to the upcoming Sitka herring fishery in 2019. There are a few intentions in taking the time to write this. I understand much of the wording involved here is best to include a bit of care so as not to be mistaken or misunderstood. Plainly, I’d like to point out this: our chances of harvesting the allotted quota for 2019 is very slim. I see an importance in writing this letter to explain why. Maybe it’s best to introduce myself before I continue. My name is Chuck Ske...
We all too often make the mistake of only focusing on our challenges rather than all the good things going on in our Community. In this vein, I asked the Department Heads to give me two statements each for this last meeting in 2018: “Your work-related accomplishment you are the proudest of this year,” and “Your work-related thing you are the most thankful for.” Starting with mine: I am the proudest of our Department Heads who are new or who have taken on new challenges; Chief James Kerr, Karl Hagerman, Chris Cotta and Deputy Clerk Daniell...
The secret is out about Secret Cove Charters. 31-year charter boat captain Dan O'Neil has let the cat out of the bag in his nearly tell all book, "Dropping My Lines." Through humorous, sometimes irreverent prose, O'Neil recounts the highlights of his fishing career including stints aboard commercial crab and halibut boats along with tales of daily life aboard his own fishing charter vessel. You'll chuckle your way through this entertaining collection of short stories that are colorfully...
Problem at playground To the Editor: We have a problem on the Stedman Elementary playground. People are not picking up their dog's poop. I have a suggestion. Reuse your bread bags, cereal bags and plastic grocery bags. Tie them on your leash, then scoop your dog's poop. Emi Anderson, 3rd Grade Stedman Elementary Student Council Slow down and consider impacts To the Editor: I was born in Petersburg in 1947, completed grade and high school, married and raised my family, invested in some...
The borough assembly wisely voted against sending Mayor Jensen’s letter to Viking Cruise Lines asking them to refrain from bringing their ships here until Petersburg can determine what level of tourism it can handle. The letter suggested that Petersburg can only handle 250 visitors per day. In fact, Petersburg regularly handles much larger numbers throughout the summer in addition to summer cannery workers and visitors arriving on the airlines and ferries. Sales tax revenue from visitors is needed to replenish the borough coffers as more and m...
Don’t understand To the Editor: My family recently traveled from near and far to spend Thanksgiving in Petersburg. My kids surprised my husband and I with a beautiful Christmas gift of a photo shoot for the family. Fourteen of our family members (and photographer) gathered at Sandy Beach and spent a couple of hours enjoying the beauty of the outdoors and capturing the memories of our time together. It was lovely. What wasn’t so lovely were the piles and piles of dog crap. It was everywhere! We had to watch every step we took or we would mos...
Felt truly blessed To the Editor: I recently stopped in Petersburg to visit my son after attending the wedding of my granddaughter in Anchorage. However, due to a medical emergency, my visit was extended for a short while longer than was planned. What started out as a medical emergency ended with a tremendous feeling of gratitude and thankfulness. I want to express my appreciation to all of the kind hearted and warm people that I had the good fortune of meeting while I was there. I am so impressed with the staff at the Petersburg Medical...
Context needed To the Editor: Context was missing from the article about the visitor industry information meeting (November 7). For example, we had approximately 9,000 cruise ship visitors this summer, down from a peak of 18,000 in 2006. And now there’s a marine passenger fee. At $5 each, that means an additional $45,000 for our community. Imagine if we had that in place when we had double the passengers we get today. Did you know we already have days where 400+ people are in town when multiple ships are here at the same time? Yes, it can g...
The town that fish built To the Editor: Ocean acidification and global warming do scare me. This letter is to relate my ideas about what is going on with the politics and perils of the heating of the atmosphere. Many of the people of the modern world are in this moment burning fossil fuels and causing the warming of the atmosphere of the earth. This is degrading economic opportunities. Many of these same people are working to create strategies to reduce the use of fossil fuel. This will help man...
The assembly needs to reconsider their vote to initiate a training session to disseminate information about state law regarding the open meetings act. It’s important that all assembly, board and commission members be aware of the requirements of the law as they carry out the duties of elected office. The $5,800 cost of the training proposed at the assembly meeting is a modest sum to pay if it prevents a lawsuit resulting from an open meetings violation. Furthermore, since it will be convened as a public meeting, citizens can learn more about t...
Don’t miss the Tues., Nov. 6 meeting in the Assembly Chambers to discuss the impacts of cruise ship passengers on our community at 5:30 p.m. Petersburg has welcomed summer visitors since the 1960s and before that hunters and sport fishermen made less frequent visits to the ‘burg. Even today, Petersburg attracts guests because we’re, “off the map,” and are able to maintain our small working-town atmosphere. Despite the laments of a few, Petersburg businesses have grown the visitor industry into a viable part of the local economy. We all benefit...
Roadless rule non-supporter To the Editor: Wow. Now that you have heard all the negative talk about the Roadless Act here is some positive. I am a supporter of logging in a mangeable manner. I also support road building, wildlife support and management. Southeast Alaska needs all of these things. The roadless rule/act has taken all this away. I lost my job to the Roadless Act. I cut timber in Southeast and no one gave me a subsidy check. Logging helps our wildlife thrive, they love the new sprouts. Deer, moose and bear feed in these clear...
Thank you To the Editor: A bit of excitement at the Tuesday night PHS Music Concert? Yes. Is everything all right now? Yes. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a wonderful community of people we live in. From the EMTs who immediately came to help, to the nurses who also came, talked us through it, or followed us out the door, to all the friends who inquired after us and wished us well, this town is comprised of some big-hearted individuals. Each of the individuals who came to our aid ended up taking time away from watching the...
Roadless areas are the cornerstone to the economy and well being of southeast. The Roadless Rule is working for its designed purpose which is to ensure that the 99% of the economy that depends on intact old growth forest is protected from the less than 1% that wants to clearcut it and export it round. It is a myth that old growth is a renewable resource. There is a limit to how many 300 yr. old logs can be piled on a log ship bound for China. The ecosystem itself probably takes three times that long to mature. It’s simply unsustainable. A...
The 2001 Roadless Rule, covering 58 million acres of National Forest Land, including the Tongass and Chugach National Forests, was pushed through the entire national rulemaking and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes in 15 months. The 2001 Roadless Rule was promulgated by the outgoing Clinton Administration just eight days before President George W. Bush was inaugurated. The Roadless Rule was justified by the Clinton Administration’s claim that a national level “whole picture” review of National Forest roadless areas was neede...
Passage of Proposition 1 will reimburse citizens who most desperately need the sales tax exemption — the elderly people living on various assistance programs. It’s pure folly to have millionaires and well-off retired and elderly residents benefiting from the exemption while the Petersburg Borough administration cuts quality of life programs that benefit the youth in the community. Parks and Rec. programs such as the aquatic center, weight room, racquetball courts, gym, park maintenance will be cut back or eliminated first. Cuts will follow in o...
