LIO wasnt originally meant to house lawmakers office
The Legislative Information Office was established in the mid '70s as a program to provide information to the citizens of Alaska about bills filed, committee hearings, votes and scheduling of bills, hearings and votes. The office was inspired by the League of Women Voters to assist the citizens in obtaining accurate information about the legislative process and how individuals and groups could have an impact on the process. Additional credit for the establishment of the LIO goes to Sen. John Rader, a true statesman.
The LIO began in what is now the visitor information log cabin at Fourth Avenue and F Street. No heat — only the fireplace — and one telephone. Two women volunteered, both league members, later paid a small stipend, and only during the legislative session. The office migrated to Sixth and K but still was strictly an information office.
The LIO was never intended to house offices for legislators and their staffs. What little staff legislators had usually consisted of a secretary or a volunteer spouse. Legislators conducted business in Juneau during the session. During the interim, their responsibilities were managed from a desk, a study if one's home had a spare room, or on the kitchen table.
One can argue (and I do) that the business of legislating is more complex today than it was 20 or 30 years ago and legislators need additional resources. However, our constitution provides for a citizen Legislature. Hire staff for expertise, not just because you chair a committee or are in the majority. When space is needed for hearings, meetings with constituents or other legislative business, we have ample space in schools, libraries, museums, conference centers and even public parks. For all other business, use the telephone, fax, computer or even a letter in the mail (all of which are deductible on a legislator's personal income taxes).
The legislators' arrogance and failure to appropriately address the critical fiscal issues facing Alaska has led to the LIO fiasco. Get over your caucus and do your job.
— Heather Flynn
Anchorage
Despite change in comment system, vitriol is increasing
In keeping with the "new journalism" — where content is increasingly provided for free — online commenters are now expected to take on editorial tasks as well. Alaska Dispatch News' new "Civil Comments" system basically forces online commenters to edit (rate) other comments before they can post their own. The "civility" of online comments under this clumsy system is rapidly deteriorating. The trolls have figured out they can say just about anything … so long as they don't actually spell out the naughty words.
A bright spot is that the "work online" spam comments have virtually disappeared. And "Civil" did delete one harassing commenter's wildly off-topic and inaccurate personal attacks after I flagged them.
Some very informative comments make a comment system worthwhile. However, allowing anonymous comments seems to have offset any gain in cleaning up the spew. Online comments appear to be escalating in vitriol and coarsening exponentially. Off-topic, insulting, repetitive, partisan, meaningless … and, yes, downright stupid and uninformed. I say, have Dispatch personnel delete the obvious spam, require real names and real identities of all commenters, get rid of this ungainly "Civil Comments" system (and whatever it costs), and then stand back! These comments are enlightening … often in unintended ways.
— Rudy Wittshirk
Willow
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.