Letters to the Editor Archives - Juneau Empire

MY TURN: Focus on issues important to Juneau, not personal attacks

none — Sat, 30 May 2026 19:30:00 +0000

You need to respect individuals’ right and commitment to put their ideas before the community

LETTER: In search of Alaska’s silence

none — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:30:00 +0000

The shop near my London flat sells Scottish salmon under a light that makes it look fresher than it is. I buy it. It is fine. Now and then they carry Alaska salmon, and I notice the price first, the distance second: thousands of miles and a markup riding along with them. I usually put it back. Paying a stranger to ship me something I once had for free feels like pretending. Up there the sea was close enough that the fish still tasted of where it came from. I miss it, and the closeness that made it ordinary.

MY TURN: The cost of turning Southeast Alaska into an industrial tourism corridor

none — Sat, 23 May 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Send your opinions to editor@juneauempire.com

MY TURN: 1% seasonal sales tax would provide boost to recreation in Juneau

none — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Send your opinions to editor@juneauempire.com

OPINION: The pesky implications of the full picture of Alaska mining project

none — Sat, 09 May 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Send your opinions to editor@juneauempire.com

LETTER: Missing and murdered Indigenous women can’t be forgotten

none — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:30:00 +0000

This most recent death of Kelly Hunt has hit me deeply and viscerally. Missing and murdered Indigenous women is very real. The federal and state governments have made token efforts to deal with this ongoing problem. I was a part of Operation Lady Justice, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.

LETTER: Separate is not equal and Alaska should know better

none — Sun, 03 May 2026 21:30:00 +0000

As a leader within the NAACP, I do not take lightly the responsibility to speak when history echoes in our present. Right now in Alaska, we are hearing those echoes.

LETTER: Slow down revision to the Tongass plan

none — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:30:00 +0000

I make my living on the water in Southeast Alaska. Like a lot of people, I don’t look at the Tongass as some distant policy fight or paper exercise. I look at it as the forest that surrounds our towns, feeds our salmon streams, and helps support the communities that still depend on working natural resource industries.

LETTER: Funding cuts will leave many Alaskans out in the cold

none — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:30:00 +0000

A successful state-funded program that helps people onto a path of safety and stability faces devasting cuts this legislative session. On behalf of Alaska homeless service providers, we express our strong support for continued and sustained funding of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s Homeless Assistance Program (HAP).

LETTER: Alaska fisheries in jeopardy

none — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Alaska is running out of time. The scale of bycatch in 2026 — including more than 10.5 million pounds of discarded halibut and continued interception of chinook and chum during some of the weakest salmon returns in memory — shows how human activity can overwhelm the oceans we depend on.

LETTER: Juneau is your city, stop dumping on it

none — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 03:30:00 +0000

Criticism is an essential element of democracy, and of good government. However, in recent times, an anti-tax, anti-government movement has emerged in Juneau. Their relentless attacks on the Assembly and city staff are misguided and damaging to the town they undoubtedly love.

LETTER: Juneau doing its part to save the Earth

none — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Happy Earth Month. Good things are happening!

LETTER: Congress must put the people first

none — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:30:00 +0000

When members of Congress are elected, they swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States as public servants to the people who elected them. Too many members of Congress have become long-term “professional politicians,” placing their own self-interest ahead of the people.

OPINION: ICE in Alaska

none — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:30:00 +0000

On Feb. 17, a Soldotna family was torn apart when federal ICE agents took a mother and her three children from their home. Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her 16- and 5-year-old children were deported to Tijuana, Mexico. Her 18-year-old son, Alexis Arriaga, was separated from the family and is currently being detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Mrs. Arriaga’s husband, an Alaskan and American citizen, witnessed the aggressive arrest. Mrs. Arriaga has been in the United States since 2023. She has no criminal record and was legally seeking asylum.

LETTER: Juneau families care deeply about how schools are staffed

Wire Service — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Juneau families care deeply about how our schools are staffed, supported, and funded. The first draft of the Board of Education’s FY26 budget revision highlights how important it is that financial decisions align clearly with what students and educators experience in classrooms.

Letter: Trump’s language seeks to diminish an entire community

Wire Service — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:30:00 +0000

“Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”

Letter: Affordable housing in Juneau

Wire Service — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:30:00 +0000

Dear Editor,

Letter: State solicitor general position: Wasteful, frivolous, outrageous

Wire Service — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:30:00 +0000

On Oct. 27, the newly installed Attorney General spawned an astonishing sweetheart scheme: importing an Indiana lawyer, with no Alaska ties or experience, presently working remotely, to occupy a freshly invented “State Solicitor General” post. The lawyer is now on the state payroll, working remotely and will be relocated later. Implausibly, he claimed Alaska needed this position to supposedly “strengthen the state’s appellate advocacy” and to now seemingly churn out even more superfluous amicus briefs in far-flung courts across the country. While Alaska is drowning in budget shortfalls, classrooms statewide are underfunded and essential programs are starved for resources, this is wasteful and frivolous.

Letter: The Power of Voting: Our Voice, Our Future

Wire Service — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:30:00 +0000

In Alaska, less than 60% of eligible voters cast ballots in the last statewide election yet every vote has the power to shape our communities and our future. Voting is more than a civic duty; it is our voice, our representation, and our protection against decisions being made about us without our input.

Letter to the Editor: United Way campaign helps the Southeast

Wire Service — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:30:00 +0000

I am honored to serve as Chair for this year’s United Way Annual Giving Campaign of Southeast Alaska. Having lived in Southeast Alaska for more than a decade, I have seen our region grow and change — and I’ve also seen the strength, resilience, and compassion that make this community so special. As a business owner and long-time contributor to many local organizations, I know that when we come together, we can accomplish extraordinary things.