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For many people online, you may be hearing about a certain “Tiny Fishing Village.” And a certain race for the Senate. Well, for roughly 3,000 of us, we call this place home: Petersburg. Yesterday, while doing what most mothers do when we feel that October breeze, I went into one of our local shops to buy some gloves and a warm hat for my son. While there, I was met by some CBS News officials, clearly looking like they were new to town-looking for the scoop on the latest political happenings. It struck me as odd. There is so much more to our com...
Confusion To the Editor: Doubtless there are times when people might not know where their donations actually go. For instance, in a December 10, 2019 press release from the New York Attorney General’s Office, “New York Attorney General Leticia James today released the following statement after Donald J. (that’s an initial!) Trump was forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Trump Foundation for political purposes.” In other words, “for his own polit...
Thank You from Viking Swim Club To the Editor: On behalf of Viking Swim Club, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Petersburg community for helping make our annual swim auction another wonderful success! This event would not be possible without the incredible generosity and support of our community. To the businesses and individuals who donated auction items, the community members who purchased raffle tickets, attended the auction, bid on items, joined us for dinner, or simply cheered us on from the sidelines – thank you! We a...
A U.S. Senate seat in Alaska is worth the same as one from any other state when Democrats and Republicans try counting to 51, the number needed to control the chamber. All 100 senators get an equal vote, regardless of whether they represent states of far less than 1 million residents, such as Alaska and Wyoming, or more than 30 million, such as California and Texas. The men who drafted the U.S. Constitution almost 239 years ago — yes, it was all men, 133 years before women finally won the right to vote — had to find a compromise between the...
Dear Leaders on the Borough Assembly To the Editor: I am writing to urge you to take steps to avoid destroying the fire department training structures at Scow Bay with no replacements. First, let me introduce myself. I served as the chief of Fire and EMS. from 1998 until 2008. I also was the full-time fire marshall for five of those years. I served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT for 25 years, since 1983. During my tenure as an officer, I attended five sessions at the federal National Fire Academy in Maryland. I finished the correspondence...
The political flyers overflowing my mailbox, the pop-up videos overwhelming my mood every time I check sports scores on a website, the campaign ads overpowering my senses when I listen to my favorite commercial radio stations, they are making October a thoroughly depressing and miserable month. No matter what I do to avoid the electioneering, it creeps into my life, darkening everything it touches. It’s like black mold that infests your shower or the cabinet under your sink — you did not invite it in, you don’t like it, it just appeared and h...
Keep ‘dark money’ out of our elections To the Editor: ‘Outside money’ and ‘dark money’ are two labels often used interchangeably to discredit or cast doubt on a politician or political campaign. These terms, however, do not mean the same thing and this distinction is incredibly important as the latter is on the ballot this November and will proliferate in our elections if Ballot Measure 2 passes. ‘Outside money’ refers to campaign contributions from outside of the state, be that national advocacy groups, large corporations, or Lower 48 PACs....
Volunteers needed To the Editor: Petersburg Rod and Gun Club is looking for volunteers to help with free firearms safety and etiquette clinics for high school hunters. Discussion items will include firearm safety, their transportation, cleaning and more. Parents should know that their children and their friends are as prepared as possible when handling firearms and that the proper handling of hunting rifles and sidearms will be taken seriously at all times. Anyone interested in helping can call Jake at 907-518-4025. Additionally, ADF&G hunter...
If Pinocchio had been in the room, his nose might have grown long enough to equal several of the 115,000 sections of 40-foot steel pipe that would be needed to construct the mythical mirage of the Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline project that has mesmerized state leaders for decades. There were that many lies spewed in the Oval Office during President Donald Trump’s Sept. 30 announcement that South Korea would unconditionally invest $54 billion in the Alaska project. “Thanks to the agreements my administration has secured with the Republ...
Vote yes on increasing the sales tax cap To the Editor: I am writing to address Petersburg’s current sales tax cap and its impact on our community. As inflation continues to affect our daily lives and local businesses, it has become increasingly clear that the current sales tax cap no longer aligns with the economic realities we face. The sales tax cap, initially set to provide a stable revenue source and prevent excessive taxation, has NEVER been adjusted to keep pace with inflation. Since its implementation in 1959, the cap of $1,000 (...
Preserve our election transparency laws To the Editor: Many groups and individuals, including lots outside of Alaska, are paying for ads for and against Proposition 2. How do we know this? Because of our election transparency laws. These laws will end if proposition 2 passes. I think it is good to know who the big donors are, like Elon Musk. He has contributed $1,500,000 to the Yes on 2 campaign. I also like open primaries. I want to be able to vote for the people I think are the best candidates for Alaska, whichever party they belong to....
Thankfully, only one of the four candidates for governor in the Nov. 3 statewide general election needs a refresher course in math. The rest know that 2 plus 2 equals 4. But Republican Bernadette Wilson, running for her first elected public office, is proving to voters that numbers don’t need to add up when you want to win bad enough. Wilson, who garnered a mathematically unremarkable 10% of the votes in the August primary election, which was good enough to make the Final Four, is campaigning for governor on the promise of a bigger Permanent F...
We feel so fortunate To the Editor: Thank you, Petersburg, for joining us in celebrating our 70th wedding anniversary and Shannon’s 90th birthday. We feel so fortunate to be part of such a caring community. Our children and grandchildren were nurtured and educated here, and now the fourth generation of our family is growing up here in this encouraging environment. You welcomed us when we arrived in 1971, and you continue to be a blessing to us. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you...
THANK YOU!! To the Editor: To the friendly and talented employees and medics of the Joy Jansson Clinic and Petersburg Medical Center, My name is Bill Springston. I’m 94 years old, but if you met me, you’d swear I was only 92. My wife, Susan, is just a kid (80 years). We’ve been here since May of 2025. We were lured to Petersburg by our daughter Gina and her family (Paul, Sam, and Nate and a larger-than-life dog, Captain). My wife wanted us to consider moving to Petersburg to retire. I replied, “WHAT?” She wanted us to put our names on a wait...
The state treasury is flush with oil revenue. Not because of investment in new production in Alaska — though that certainly is underway — but because the U.S. war with Iran is driving up oil prices faster and higher than drivers can afford. The average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. drove past $6 last week, speeding to a record high. The average price for gasoline was $4.31 a gallon on Sept. 13, up $1.13 from a year ago, according to AAA, the country’s largest motoring and leisure travel membership organization. Those prices are bad news fr...
To the Editor: Rita and I want to thank all those who attended and helped with our wedding on Saturday, August 29. It was truly a special day full of community, celebration, love, and friendship. Many of those who came to help us tie the marriage knot did so to support and recognize the right of those of the same gender to marry, which only became legal a mere 21 years ago. While we both are happy to exercise this long-awaited right, we also hope someday that the stigma of “gay marriage” will be recognized simply as “marriage.” A big ‘thank...
7th anniversary of 9/11 To the Editor: It's hard to believe that it has been 25 years since the 9/11 attack. It was a day I'll never forget and more than just ‘something on the news.’ I was living and working in the Washington, DC, area on 9/11, though I grew up in New Jersey, just a few miles from Manhattan. My parents knew I was flying that day, so when I realized what was happening I tried to call them repeatedly, hitting ‘redial’ for over an hour and a half. Obviously, the communications trunk lines in and out of the New York City area we...
The federal government last week finally, behind schedule and without any plausible reason for the delay, released money that will go toward running the Alaska Marine Highway System. The grant funds, originally authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill during the Biden administration, were expected last year, but the Trump administration dillied and dallied and delayed its decision until this year, just because. The Aug. 21 announcement came with all the hoopla expected in an election year, with Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is...
To the Editor: I walk my dogs a lot. I’m sure many have seen me walking my three huskies. I try to diversify our paths but I do often walk around the ball field, mostly in the early mornings. It’s quiet and lovely with the summer foliage. One morning, though, about a month ago, I was dismayed and incredibly disheartened to walk around the fields and find that a young, healthy tree had been pulled out of the ground, exposing all its roots. It was killed, though its leaves didn’t know it yet. I knew we hadn’t had weather significant enough...
Compared to federal spending, the average American is downright frugal. The federal debt is now at $40 trillion, doubled from 10 years ago. If you add up all the credit card debt, car and truck loans and home mortgages held by Americans, excluding commercial properties, you don’t even get to half of the $40 trillion the federal government owes lenders. It’s hard to think of Americans as thrifty when the average credit card debt is about $6,600 — but compared to the president and Congress, most anyone can look like a responsible spender. That...
To the Editor: My husband Toby is off fighting a wildfire in the Lower 48 – which, around here, is a standing invitation for the gremlins to show up. I’ve stopped blaming coincidence. A vehicle battery dies. Or two. The smoke detector thirty feet up, the one that needs the tall ladder, starts chirping. And my pup Jax saves his most creative accidents for when his dad is in another time zone. They all happen every. single. time. He leaves on a work trip. This time, the truck battery drained – check. Jax fell out of bed in the middle of the night...
In May 2024, when then-Congresswoman Mary Peltola introduced a Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act and Bottom Trawl Clarity Act, the bills drew immediate backlash. Peltola, a Democrat, received a letter signed by 53 trawl interests and nationwide fishery stakeholders urging her to withdraw the proposed legislation saying, “These new federal mandates and timelines are utterly unworkable.” Fast forward to 2026. In her current campaign to unseat 12-year incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, Peltola introduced a similar “Fighting for Alask...
To the Editor: I thank my grandfather for a phrase he used with my siblings and me decades ago, “Check your moral compass frequently.” I was five when I first heard it and had no idea what it meant. I do now. He taught me to stop from time to time and ask myself whether something feels right. I have known Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins since he was a kid. I have watched him grow and generously give his time to Sitka’s high school exchange students during their annual legislative visits. I respect him for running for governor. That is why I have been...
o the Editor: When Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins first announced his bid for governor, it was a breath of fresh air. He reminded me of the times when Alaskans joined together to make things happen, help each other thrive, and build strong resilient communities with purpose and promise. It’s time to restore that Alaska can-do spirit. JKT’s boundless energy, innovation, and enthusiasm for problem solving will revitalize Alaska. Over a decade of public service in the legislature, JKT built a reputation for integrity, humility, bipartisanship, and put...
“There oughta be a law” is a common expression when people are frustrated with the behavior of others, the rules of society, the actions of their elected officials. Well, Alaskans will have an opportunity in the statewide primary election Aug. 18 to approve a new law, limiting the dollar size of donation checks to political campaigns of candidates running for the state Legislature and governor’s office. This is the chance for voters to do something about taking the money out of politics, limiting big-donor influence and fighting infla...
