NBC Olympic coverage stinks
Sally Jenkins had it right in her column (ADN, Aug. 6), that NBC's coverage of the Olympics is turning off viewers who actually hoped to watch a sport.
I looked up NBC's listings for gymnastics two days ago (on their own website, nbcolympics.com), and made a note of the times. Such as 11 a.m. Monday through Thursday this week. But lo and behold, today those slots have been replaced by their preferred mishmash of several (other) sports, ads, and retrospectives. I'm disappointed and frustrated.
Will the corporations that pay to broadcast all those ads ever figure out that viewers are giving up on NBC?
— Vivian Mendenhall
Anchorage
Like any fad, Trump will fade
"Pokemon Go" has swept the ticket and players are trying to contain their Bulbasaur.
— Ken Flynn
Anchorage
Legislators liable for collapse
I don't want to lose my Permanent Fund dividend. I don't want to see services go down. I don't want an income tax. I don't want a sales tax. I support reasonable funding of education. I love giving tax credits to industry. Unfortunately, I also believe we are facing a real financial crisis and don't want to see our state go bankrupt.
So, what should we do? Let our legislators waste a three-month session, take another month of inactivity, and then waste their time and ours in three special sessions? No!
Tell then to get off their butts and take steps to protect our kids' future. If they are too afraid to act, how about taking the necessary drastic steps with a 2-year sunset? At least by then we should know if oil will rebound.
If they continue to do nothing, how about holding them financially responsible if our economy collapses?
— Gerry Guay
Anchorage
Make intersection safer
My office overlooks the corner of Eighth Avenue and I Street and today I witnessed what I believe is the 11th or 12th car crash between a car traveling north on I Street in the westernmost lane and a car headed east on Eighth Avenue. This scenario replays itself so frequently. If parked cars along I Street didn't impede Eighth Avenue, most of these collisions would not happen.
Granted, there'd be a certain loss of revenue from the lost parking spots, but it would be a much safer intersection.
— Bruce Falconer
Anchorage
Young can toughen gun buys
Here's an open letter to Rep. Don Young about common-sense gun legislation.
Dear Congressman, very large majorities of American voters and even NRA members support the idea of making background checks mandatory and eliminating gun show loopholes. In many states owners can sell guns immediately, and for cash, to complete strangers at gun shows without so much as checking IDs. This must stop.
How much money in campaign donations and other financial benefits do you receive every year from the NRA? The National Rifle Association notoriously fights in Congress to suppress common-sense legislation, even against the wishes of its membership. It does this to follow its marching orders from gun manufacturers who are their biggest benefactors. Google "corporate donations to NRA" sometime and you'll see what I mean.
It is time to break those bonds, Rep. Young, and do what is right.
I'm not asking for greater gun control, I'm asking for greater control over gun purchases. That will not impede anybody's Second Amendment protections.
— Del Jessen
Girdwood
Restore Trans-Alaska Trail
In bits and pieces, an incredible trail across much of Alaska is being rebuilt. I cheer Monday's news about a new paved pedestrian pathway along the Seward Highway near Portage. When we improve this popular scenic highway, it is prudent to include pedestrian pathways.
A 7-mile stretch of trail from Mile 75 to Mile 82 will connect dipnetters to Twentymile, railroad passengers to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and bicyclists to Portage Valley as soon as it is built. This trail will also allow for continued restoration of the Southern Trek of the Iditarod Trail, a National Historic Trail from Seward to Nome with branches to Hope, Whittier and Anchorage.
The bulk of funding for the trail project is federal highway transportation money, distributed by the Alaska Department of Transportation. We are wise to put it toward a high-use area in Alaska's "playground" of the Kenai.
My hope is we build on this infrastructure over time to restore the full historical Iditarod Trail, a network of trails based on established Native trade routes, blazed by gold rush entrepreneurs, and once linked by dog team mail runs before the railway and road. This echoes the vision of the Trans-Alaska Trail, with the perk of unified coordination (by BLM) of multiple landowners already in place.
— Lia Slemons
Anchorage
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