Next mayor must invest in Anchorage
In July 2009, my bike was stolen while I was playing with my children at Tikishla Park. While I should have locked the bikes, or kept them in view, I didn't think I had to since there were many neighbors coming and going enjoying the park. Mayor Sullivan had taken office three weeks prior, and I joked that my bike never was stolen when Mark Begich was in office. Six years later, no one is joking about public safety.
The negative impact of the Sullivan administration is all too clear. Sunday afternoon, someone was stabbed on the bike path just south of this playground. Far too frequently, the news reports shootings and other violent acts happening in our city.
Property tax payers might have saved some money during this administration — at a cost to public safety and other assets in our community. Mayor Dan Sullivan and "fiscally conservative" Assembly members should be ashamed of this legacy. I hope the next mayor is willing to invest in Anchorage — including police, schools and social services — that will address both violent and non-violent crime. I want my family and neighbors to feel safe on the bike paths, in parks and throughout Anchorage again.
— Heather Ireland
Anchorage
Simplistic solutions are what we have
For Pete's sake. I love Pete Buist's math (Commentary, Monday). Compare predator and prey populations in Denali National Park with GMU 20A. Ha, ha, that is a good one. Talk about apples and grapefruit.
I also love his conclusion that to get more wolves we should apply ADFG intensive management to the park. Pardon me? I believe the default action by ADFG is to kill predators, wolves included. Let's see — we can't control climate, we don't know much about disease and habitat modification on a scale that would make a difference requires a Department of Defense scale budget.
I've got it. Kill predators. Funny, I don't see more wolves in GMU 13A though. Great example of intensive management. I wonder how the caribou herd will do in the long-term? Face it, predator-prey relationships are complex with a bunch of external influences that we do not control. Examples are plentiful, deer herds on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, elk populations in Yellowstone National Park, whitetail deer in the Midwest, feral pigs now in 36 states, etc.
Simplistic solutions to these issues are only found in politics and that is what we have in Alaska.
— Mike McQueen
Copper Center
A healthy US needs disclosure
Right now, provisions in election law can make it difficult or impossible to know which contractors are funneling money to super PACs and joint fundraising committees that use these donations to fuel misleading attack campaigns. "Social Welfare" (?) groups such as Karl Rove's "American Crossroads" and the Koch Brothers' "Americans for Prosperity," have figured prominently in efforts to stop Medicaid expansion. We cannot elect effectual leadership based on demeaning human traits. That then is the path we're led down. Need our 29th Alaska legislators abide with this sneaky insurrection of democracy? Can the health and welfare of Alaska be realized, its financial solvency be maintained, if electioneering models establish the avoidance of being seen a worse choice?
A key problem is that, while super PACs and fundraising committees are expected to report donations on a quarterly basis, the organizations feeding their coffers can be entities that need not reveal the groups of individuals or corporations endowing them. At the national level, we must demand contractors who benefit from our treasury reveal upon whom our monies are used to endorse for public office! It's the only healthy choice we have, at this current cultural juncture.
Come protest this oxymoronic twist of campaign funding in front of Alaska's Capitol at noon on Thursday, April 2.
— John S. Sonin
Juneau
PAC ushers work under strange rules
The ushers at the PAC operate under some pretty strange rules. They strictly enforce the "no dancing in the aisles" rule during concerts performed by dance bands such as Asleep At the Wheel, Los Lobos and Beau Soleil, but allow babies to scream during Beethoven's Ninth, and, worse than that, the Bach memoriam piece for a departed member of the orchestra.
— Sean O'Hare
Anchorage
Hands up, dont shoot is disconcerting
I found the letter to the editor on Tuesday titled "Recent cartoon alleging Iran nukes is not based on reality" to be typical of the very vocal minority who have no clue as to the realities of both the Iranian nuclear issue and the current "hands up don't shoot" movement. The writer was upset with the depiction of the president in a cartoon, but went on to voice his opinion to issues related to it. While the Iranian portion of that letter demonstrates his lack of knowledge concerning Iran's actual stance and motives, more troubling is the "Hands up, don't shoot" stance that actually is disconcerting.
Since 2009, 900 officers have been killed in the line of duty. I am not sure which one study Mr. Kennedy used as a source for his number and the date range, but mine comes from the FBI's Crime Statistics database and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. I am certain that there are people killed by law enforcement officers in unjustified situations; however, the reality is that most are justified. The U.S. Attorney General found this to be the case in the Ferguson incident, which, strangely enough, is the foundation for the "Hands Up, don't shoot" movement.
I wonder if the writer and readers of ADN are familiar with Officer John Moynihan, who was shot in the face at point-blank range last Friday? After the perpetrator, an Africa-American, was killed, a hostile mob of screaming "Hands up, don't shoot" was only held at bay because of Boston Police Department Superintendent-in-Chief William Goss — an African-American who calmly spoke to the crowd and was taunted with racial epithets by his co-ethnics for doing so. Strange times, indeed.
Trying to compare Iran's overall ambitions to the law enforcement related deaths, both civilian and officer, speaks to a very narrow and biased view of reality. Also, newsflash, it isn't "long live America" being chanted in the streets of Tehran, but the complete opposite.
— Jeff Lafferty
Anchorage
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 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.