It’s time to adopt a comprehensive homeless plan
April 28, 2022
This week, the Anchorage Assembly will consider plans to construct a homelessness navigation...
Community Voices
Articles and other media by community members.
Outdoor Recreation is different in Alaska, our Alaska Long Trail will be too
Haley Johnston March 11, 2022
Outdoor recreation in Alaska is unique because Alaska’s landscapes are different from anywhere else. Our mountains are bigger, our wild spaces more vast and our...
Gray-Jackson & Murkowski make two Democrats in the Alaska Senate race
Kelly Tshibaka February 28, 2022
With the entrance of State Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson into the Alaska U.S. Senate race, there are now effectively two prominent Democrats for voters to consider...
It is time to save the Port of Alaska
Mayor Dave Bronson January 28, 2022
When I came into office, resolving the homelessness crisis in Anchorage was my number one priority. However, as my team and I assessed the dire...
Leaving the Legislature: Why I quit my job as a staffer
Nate Graham January 6, 2022
Monday, January 9th will be my last day as a legislative aide for Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage). When I walked into the Capitol my first...
It’s time for the Board of Game to address trapping on trails in the Mat-Su
Nicole Schmitt January 6, 2022
At the end of January, the Alaska Board of Game will consider Proposal 199, which would require 50-yard trap setbacks from specific, maintained multi-use trails...
Ringing in the New Year with warning bells
Andrew Gray December 26, 2021
A year ago, David Bianculli, TV critic on NPR’s Fresh Air, said: “I cannot tell you how pleased I will be to turn the calendar...
Anchorage Assembly member Jamie Allard deserves to be recalled
Chelsea Foster November 23, 2021
Reclaim Midtown (RM) and Save Anchorage (SA) are two of the most serious and consequential threats to our city. These groups, most popular on Facebook,...
Medical misinformation wars
Dr. Brian Sweeney November 12, 2021
When I started my Internal Medicine residency in 1994 there was an entire floor of AIDS patients. Pharmacology has changed that world and now HIV...
Who should own Alaska’s natural resources
Senator Robert Myers November 10, 2021
Since I entered the government arena last year, I have been saying that the Permanent Fund Dividend is not our only problem but that it...
Murkowski’s votes undercut women’s safety and access to domestic violence protection
Kelly Tshibaka October 19, 2021
Alaska has an extraordinary number of vulnerable people, particularly women who are homeless or victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse, but we do not...
Anchorage Assembly testimony does not reflect our city
Ella Ede October 3, 2021
In recent days, I have tuned in to watch the Anchorage Assembly meetings on YouTube. The endless stream of testimony and disruptions from anti-maskers and...
Surviving COVID-19: Roger Helvie’s story
Kayli Helvie September 28, 2021
Roger, my father, is 59 years old and has been married to my mom, Jodi, for 35 years. He served in the Air Force for...
The COVID foxhole
Dr. Brian Sweeney September 26, 2021
The wrong way to start this piece would be stories about the horrors of COVID-19. I will start with what everybody should do. Keep your...
I’m running to create a brighter future
Les Gara September 7, 2021
I want a brighter future, not a state people have been leaving for a record four years in a row. We can do better than...
In a time of crisis, Alaskans deserve true leadership
Bill Walker and Heidi Drygas September 2, 2021
Leadership means taking strong positions in Alaskans’ best interests, even in tough times. Alaska certainly is in tough times today. Doing nothing about the fiscal...
“You need to tell people how terrible this is:” A report from inside an Alaska hospital
Anonymous August 20, 2021
“You need to tell people how terrible this is,” a patient pleaded with me as we placed him on oxygen support, “this isn’t the flu....
The importance of the Civil Air Patrol in Alaska
Bryan Emerson August 12, 2021
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the longtime civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and is a valued member of its total force. In...
Alaska’s Fiscal Crisis—and a Proposed Solution
Cliff Groh June 30, 2021
The State of Alaska has a problem taller than Denali. We cannot pay for our education, roads, public safety, and residents’ Permanent Fund Dividends. This...
The irony of Kristie Babcock’s attack on Chief Justice Joel Bolger
Anonymous June 4, 2021
The opinion piece by Kristie Babcock recently published in the Anchorage Daily News, in which she accuses Chief Justice Joel Bolger of being a racist...