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Dear Neighbors To the Editor: I humbly ask that you look beyond the two names at the bottom of this letter. See us all as we are: your Neighbors whose children play with yours, who celebrate holidays beside you, and who have built lives here in Petersburg. Tonight, I wonder who’ll be next – taken simply for where we were born, what we believe, how we worship, or whom we love. Dear Neighbor, will you be there for us? When you see me at the grocery store, you smile and wave. Your son and mine jumped off the Blind Slough bridge together last sum...
I figured all terrorism was equally bad. No distinctions allowed. Aiding in the murder — stealing of life, liberty or property — from innocent people deserved strong punishment. Terrorism by the far-left or far-right, foreign-born or U.S.-born, religious zealots or atheists, rich or poor, people wearing burkas, balaclavas or Brooks Brothers suits are all equally punishable under the law. Anyone and everyone who encourages or helps terrorists belongs in prison for the public’s protection. Except in the Trump administration, where who you know,...
The legislature continues to work on the operating budget. Diverse legislative priorities and less income from oil and gas are making it challenging to agree on a budget as a legislature this year. However, I will continue to work with my colleagues from all parties in the House, Senate and the governor’s office to come up with a compromise budget. This will be a deep dive to explain why it is so difficult to put together a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Our budget is a mix of federal revenue (almost always designated for certain purposes...
We felt loved and cared for To the Editor and this wonderful community: One year ago I came very close to dying. I got very, very sick with three upper respiratory viruses which allowed a strep infection to turn into pneumonia which caused sepsis or toxic shock syndrome. All in a matter of days. Luckily, I live here in Petersburg, the best place on earth. The doctors, nurses, and staff at Petersburg Medical Center were amazing and got me out on a medivac as quickly as possible. The outpouring of love, prayers, good vibes, cards, and gifts was...
Education Funding To the Editor: Article VII of the Alaska Constitution requires the Legislature to “maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State.” Alaska Statute (Alaska Students’ Educational Bill of Rights (3)) states “A quality education for students of all ages is a concrete investment that vastly improves the future prosperity, welfare, productivity, and vitality of society.” The indisputable, mathematical fact is that at least for the last 10 years (years in which I served in the Alaska State House), the Legis...
Alaska’s two U.S. senators both believe that President Donald Trump’s pro-development administration will be good for the state’s natural resource economy, creating jobs, boosting tax revenues and building long-term prosperity. Both support the president’s initiatives to unlock resources that had been placed off-limits by the administration of Joe Biden and others before him. And both want the federal government to operate efficiently and reduce spending. Beyond those shared beliefs, however, the two came across as worlds apart in their a...
Securing our Nation To the Editor: This week, our most senior defense and intelligence professionals discussed details of an imminent military attack on their cell phones over an unclassified, commercial chat app. We only know about this grievous conduct because a journalist was accidentally included in the dialog. What is shocking, and should raise grave concerns for every proud American, is the lack of judgment from people in the highest positions of our government. The fact that these leaders used unprotected cell phones, in locations that...
We Can Protect Each Other To the Editor: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” as James Baldwin reminds us. So let us look at what is happening to people like Fabian Schmidt, Camila Munoz, and Dr. Rasha Alawieh. All have been living in the United States legally. Schmidt has a green card, Munoz is in process of obtaining citizenship as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, and Alawieh has her H1B visa as a kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University. Nevertheless, Schmidt and Mun...
Worth a listen and a reread To the Editor: Please listen to Hannah Flor’s Petersburg Medical Center Live from February 26, and read the article covering this in last week’s Pilot. The link to the meeting can be found on the KFSK website, kfsk.org. A couple of points stood out to me while listening. Alaska’s Medicaid expansion (a way to insure more people by increasing the income threshold to decrease medical disparities) receives 90% of its funding from the federal government. What happens if this is drastically cut? How does Alaska make up th...
Veterans, our heroes To the Editor: Flying the inverted American flag is a recognized distress signal. Recently we hung our flag in this manner to sound the alarm as a wake up call to the seriousness of all that is happening since January 20, 2025. Musk is creating chaos and catastrophe, and it’s hurting veterans who put their lives on the line for the country we love. Veterans are 30% of the federal workforce. The DOGE’s illegal firings of these brave men and women has been cruel. Veterans’ groups are raising the alarm about what they call ind...
Essential Air Service To the Editor: On Wednesday, February 19, I asked Senator Lisa Murkowski during a live and recorded town hall meeting if Essential Air Service would be protected from DOGE cuts. She stated she is “very worried about Essential Air Service.” Essential Air Service is a U.S. Department of Transportation program serving 65 rural communities in Alaska along with over 100 communities in the Lower 48, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The program was put into place to guarantee that communities that were served by certificated air car...
The first cruise ship of the year will arrive April 14 in Juneau. Large cruise ships will soon be calling at communities around the state, bringing more than a million tourists this season. While cruise ships boost Alaska’s economy, they also impose health, environmental, wildlife and subsistence costs on individuals and communities. The growing use of scrubbers on cruise ships is causing multiple unnecessary costs and risks that are currently going unaddressed. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the toxic poisons from scrubber d... Full story
Forest Service terminations To the Editor: 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees have lost their jobs across the nation. 10 of those FS employees live in Petersburg. These firings were not based on performance. That is a false agenda this administration is pushing to make you not care and look away. These terminations were inflicted on employees that were still in their probationary period, usually their first year of work. They are predominantly young, motivated people starting out their careers. This will not only leave a gap in the Forest...
As if years of political interference and, for many elected officials, disinterest weren’t enough to sink the Alaska Marine Highway System, rust and age could finish the job. Maybe the answer is some duct tape to keep the ships running just a little longer until they turn 65 years old and could qualify for Medicare. But that’s too long to wait — the marine highway needs urgent care. The ships are aging, which is a polite way of saying they are long past their prime and getting older and rustier. Salt water accelerates the process. The Matan...
Words are powerful To the Editor: My wife and I attended the Council meeting Tuesday regarding the proposed new dock that would be partially paid for by American Cruise Lines, which comes with a 60 year commitment to their priority and continued use. Taking money from large corporations always comes with strings attached, many of which aren’t fully realized until it is far too late. That being said though, I believe that all my feelings were more clearly expressed by all the other speakers. In fact, I am no more opposed than anyone else in t...
Bait and switch To the Editor: Remember back in high school when the teacher would want to talk about current events? In my day it was usually about what was going on in Vietnam. We were a captive audience so we had to pay attention, sort of. There was usually a test. If nothing else, maybe we learned to be interested in what went on in the world. I looked away for a while when I was kind of busy making a life. That happens to most of us. The last few years, and in particular the last couple weeks, I couldn’t look away and I have to say what I...
No matter what any crowd-pleasing elected official says, Alaska cannot afford a long-deserved increase in state funding for schools and a large Permanent Fund dividend. There just isn’t enough money in the state checkbook to do both this year — not unless Alaskans want to start paying an income tax or a state sales tax, which are both even less popular than a middle seat in the last row of a six-hour flight. More than 90% of the spendable dollars in the state budget comes from two sources: An annual draw on Permanent Fund investment ear...
The Pilot has been trying to ride out the storm of production cost increases over recent years without passing higher costs on to our newspaper customers, but we've stretched our ability to do so as far as possible. Beginning next week, the cost of a single edition of the newspaper goes from $1.50 per copy to $2.00. Well, actually $1.88, as the two dollars includes local sales tax. Our subscription rates will also have to bump up commensurately. A local subscription will be $82 for the year -...
Remembering Linda Herf of Kinder Komfort To the Editor: I would like to thank everyone who has come into Kinder Komfort since Linda Herff passed away in late November. You have shared your stories and memories and shown your support with your patronage. Kinder Komfort first opened in 1986, so there is a lot of history associated with the store. There are many second generation customers. Many of you told me how Linda always made you feel special. She loved to talk and engage with customers because she was genuinely interested in people. Linda...
New Year, new ideas To the Editor: It’s a new year, and it’s time for some new ideas. I’m an artist so I always have ideas. I love Petersburg – but sometimes I think there is a tendency to dwell in the past. Japanese buyers are no longer paying a premium for everything we catch. Maximizing fish production is not the golden ticket anymore. As a remote Alaskan community, we should be thinking hard about how we can offer value to the world. Official charts predict population decline here. It’s not hard to become a ghost town (hint: there’s a...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s transition report to the Trump administration accuses the Biden administration of carrying out a four-year assault on Alaska’s economy and that the Trump administration needs to repair the damage. Somehow in the equation for what constitutes creating economic opportunity and being pro-Alaska, the massive Willow project doesn’t count. Nor does the $10.1 billion in public investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. Nor does aiding Alaska’s visitor industry in a time of post-pandemic need. What about b...
It has been a very busy year filled with lots of successes. I hope all have had great and joy filled holidays, and I wish for you each a very happy and safe celebration as we welcome in the new year. Below is a brief summary of many of the accomplishments achieved in 2024 and a few things I am looking forward to working on in 2025. January started off with huge transitions after a record-breaking voter turnout and a resignation resulted in five, out of seven, new Council members being seated. The Council has been filled with seven citizens...
United we stand, divided we fall. To the Editor: I am moved as I watch the solemn funeral proceedings of former President Jimmy Carter in the magnificent rotunda of our nation’s Capital today, January 7, four years and one day removed from the disgraceful desecration of this historic place, the violence against law enforcement, and the attempts to physically harm lawmakers doing their Constitutionally mandated duty – to formalize the results of a free and fair election. Let us NEVER forget the heinousness of January 6, and let us stand str...
Certifying the election To the Editor: In a week, Congress will meet to certify the presidential election. I wonder if the disappointed candidate will gather a crowd near the White House and urge them with the words Trump used in 2021: “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” and then watch as this angry mob of gullible goons assaults and ransacks the United States Capitol. That looked to me to be an attempt to end almost 250 consecutive years of peaceful transfers of power – a corners...
Late last year, when I went to sign up for my 2024 health insurance on the federal Obamacare marketplace, the options all seemed expensive — more expensive than what I paid in 2023. A perk of being an independent news publisher is that instead of just grousing about this to my family and friends, I also had a legitimate pretext to ask Alaska’s top insurance regulator: What’s going on? She responded 16 minutes later with exactly what I was looking for: a chart showing that, indeed, the plans offered by my insurer, Premera, rose an average of 16....
