Support school bonds
I am often asked, "Why doesn't ASD plan for operations and maintenance of schools in their operating budget instead of bonding for projects?" As you can see from the figures below, we definitely do!
Operations — $19.29M
Maintenance — $21.14M
Building Plant Operators (BPOs) — $7.19M
In short, the district budgeted $47.62M in 2016/17 to sustain, maintain and clean its facilities. This amount is inclusive of wages, benefits, supplies and materials and term contracts. It does not include utility costs.
The Legislature chose not to include major maintenance in the BSA funding formula. Instead, they set up a system to pay for rural capital projects 100 percent and require municipalities and boroughs with taxing authority to bond and seek reimbursement from the state at 60 percent-70 percent. This reimbursement has been frozen until 2020, so urban taxpayers are currently responsible for 100 percent of their capital projects. Any new school renovation projects have been delayed until 2020, but roofs, HVAC systems and seismic and safety concerns cannot wait. Please support the school bonds that keep taxpayer owned properties in our city safe and well-maintained.
— Starr Marsett, school board
Anchorage
Teachers should work for less
To go along with the article "Senate education plan could cut hundreds more jobs statewide" by Dermot Cole, teachers statewide should consider taking a reduction in pay during this state of Alaska budget crisis to help save some of their peers' jobs!
— Richard N. Ramirez
Anchorage
Berkowitz refuses to remove snow
I can't believe we are actually paying Mayor Berkowitz a salary! Snow falls at record levels, I called his office, contacted the muni officials directly responsible for removing snow and guess what happened, NOTHING! However, you know, I have grown used to that under his leadership. God forbid emergency services need to get into areas massed with snow piles; they couldn't, nor can the trash man. The mayor's lack of leadership is truly a disgrace on all fronts in this city, and this is a great city.
The last time I saw the mayor either in person, media or anything else was on a flier when he ran for office; he seems to love being under the radar. The best thing that could happen is to bring President Trump in here with his team and start draining the municipal swamp — starting with Mayor Berkowitz, who is no Dan Sullivan.
— Marty Bettis
Anchorage
Vote Constant for Assembly
Christopher Constant has proven himself a dedicated and active supporter of our students and schools. He has earned the endorsement of the Anchorage Education Association. But even more importantly, he has already been active in the fight to protect our neighborhood schools.
Last winter, Inlet View Elementary and Central Middle School were threatened with closure. I found myself organizing parents and other active community members to stand up and protect our children's future and our neighborhood infrastructure. When the Anchorage School Board decided to target both our neighborhood schools — purportedly because of low census — we had to do something.
We convened a series of meetings with parents, school board members and other active community leaders. We organized. Through that conversation and engagement in the political process, we managed to protect our schools. Christopher Constant was right there at the table with us as we planned our response. He provided important input on how we would be most effective.
Our neighborhood schools play an important and vital role in maintaining the health of our community. Christopher Constant understands how important these schools are, and he has shown this understanding by showing up to help when we needed him.
I am supporting Christopher Constant for Assembly in the upcoming election on April 4 because he shows up. He is already a proven champion for schools and education. I hope you will support him too.
— Jennifer Schrage
Anchorage
No reason for Senate
to override FCC's privacy rules
I was earnestly surprised to see the Senate vote to override the FCC's privacy rules for telecommunication companies. I've looked at over a dozen news sites trying to find a coherent argument for the vote, and the best I could find was some collection of buzzwords about the free market, quoted straight from a telecommunications company spokesman.
The only reason I can find for the change is a whole string of information about how much the telecommunications industry donates to campaign funds. This isn't me trying to be cynical or manipulative; I'd love to see another compelling reason for a yes vote here. Some other reason besides the fact that according to followthemoney.org, our Washington delegation has received more than a third of a million dollars in campaign funds from the communications and electronics industry.
Normally I struggle hard to try to understand both sides of any given issue. But I can't here. I can't see the argument for letting our ISPs gather and sell our private data without even having to ask our consent.
The only silver lining here I see is that both GCI and Alaska Communications have said they won't sell our private information. Kudos for that. I guess we'll just have to trust them. And right now I certainly trust them more than Congress.
— Colin Ossiander
Chugiak
ISPs need to safeguard our info
I appreciate that some Alaskan internet service providers (ISPs) have assured Alaskans that they won't sell our internet histories — today. But changes in leadership, ownership or financial condition can change this in the future. And the more data is collected, the more attractive it will be — to hackers and future buyers alike.
Our ISPs cannot sell, lose or be compelled to disclose what they do not possess. I call upon Alaska ISPs to publicly declare, and to include in their Terms and Conditions, that either A. they explicitly do not collect internet histories, and will notify all customers if that changes, or B. they retain histories for only a short period for troubleshooting, and to disclose how our internet usage is protected, anonymized, and/or destroyed.
— Royce Williams
Anchorage
Snow removal has been shoddy
Kudos to Jana Barlow for addressing the snow mounds in the cul-de-sacs in the Anchorage area. We have called the mayor's office repeatedly to no avail. We have also called the streets department who said they would send a supervisor out to address the issue. Well, the mound is still there. And it's huge.
There are many problems with this monster mound of snow: Firetrucks could not get in here, we have not had garbage pickup because the trucks can't get back here, and we have three houses for sale and the moving trucks are having difficulty maneuvering their way through.
I have never seen such shoddy snow removal. This is beyond ridiculous. Is the mayor on vacation or asleep at the wheel? If there is nowhere to put the snow (which I doubt) and there are no chemicals in it, then dump it in the Inlet. What's a few pebbles? It's so full of silt anyway.
— Mary Harvey
Anchorage
Constant deserves your vote
for the Anchorage Assembly
I'm no public figure. I'm not heavily involved in the community of Anchorage. My family now lives in Midtown and I now live in Illinois. But I grew up in Fairview. That's where I'm from. That's what I know.
My parents raised us in a converted warehouse on 1st Avenue. Our only neighbor was the night guard at ML&P, who would throw our play balls back when we'd somehow launch them over the fence. I want to preface this with the fact that I loved my childhood. It was unique and gave me character and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have amazing parents, who provided everything, and wonderful siblings and that warehouse was the foundation for my life. The neighborhood of Fairview was the backdrop.
Our property was adjacent to Brother Francis Shelter. Weekly (and then nightly), I heard the screams of women being raped and the loud drunken wails of the men doing it. Our family dog, Chinook, has rolled in human feces dozens of times on our own property — left there by trespassers. This makes my dad cry. Just two weeks ago, one of my dad's personal storage units was broken into. Among the belongings stolen were prized possessions given to him by his mother, his college ball cap (a token of achievement for a small town boy), and the actual ashes of our first dog, Boomer. Yesterday, he found people living in one of his trailers. The police didn't show up. We've had vehicles stolen. We've had bikes stolen. We've had our dog's ashes stolen. Anchorage Community Patrol's number is burned into my memory.
Fairview is inundated with social services, despite the council's pleas for a city wide spread. I know people who roll up their windows and lock their doors when driving through the neighborhood and this breaks my heart.
The kids I grew up with — who are now full grown adults — have fallen into and continue to fall into devious behavior.
It's systemic. The community feels abandoned.
For years I felt like my father, Ron Alleva, who is running for a Midtown Assembly seat, was one of the only people who felt this was unfair, who saw the treatment of fellow humans and was brave enough to speak up. He still is my champion, but there are many people in this corner. One of them being Chris Constant.
Chris has been a champion for Fairview for the past decade. He has found himself on the executive board for the community council several times. An advocate for those of us with small voices, he has stood firm in his beliefs while being diplomatic. The hours he has put into the community are astounding and he truly does care so much. He cares about people, about Fairview and about Anchorage. And he's willing to listen to you. He wants to listen to you. He will listen to you. I have good faith he will also be a voice for you on the Assembly.
It would be remiss of me not to encourage the people I know in Fairview to vote for him next Tuesday. It would be remiss of you not to.
There are still good bones left in Fairview. If I lived there, Chris would have my vote. He's more than deserving of yours.
— Jasmine Alleva
Anchorage
Long-term planning is best
Nearly 20 years ago the Alaska State Legislature demonstrated the shortsightedness of many of its members. As one of the winners of a tobacco lawsuit settlement, Alaska had won the right to a perpetual payout projected to be between $6 million and $36 million annually. Instead Gov. Knowles and the Legislature sold this right at a substantial discount for a quick payout, arguably violating the Alaska Constitution's Anti-Dedication Clause in the process. Though they said that it was for a good cause, over 200 construction projects in Alaska, they valued the short-term (stuff that would get them votes) over the long-term fiscal health of Alaska.
Each year legislators have the opportunity to make decisions that affect the long-term health of Alaska. Too many decisions where they opt for the short-term gratification rather than the long-term goal and we end up in trouble. When politicians brag about something in order to get your vote, take a close look at that something. Was that something that will help maintain the health, fiscal or otherwise, of Alaska? Or might it more cynically be described as a jobs bill/giveaway for that politician's friends and campaign contributors?
— Alex Koponen
Fairbanks
Time for taxes has come
"Taxes are what we pay for civilized society," wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in a 1927 opinion. The Supreme Court justice was surely correct. In Alaska, however, through remarkably good fortune, we have been the exception to the rule in experiencing a decades long respite from Holmes' dictum. We have enjoyed the benefits of civilization, good schools and so forth, while being taxed far less than most Americans. From the beginning it was known that this respite, one day, would end. That day has arrived. If we are to leave a fiscally sound, vibrant and civilized society to future Alaskans we cannot delay. There is no room for more cuts if we are to pass on what we have enjoyed. The wealthy should contribute their fair share. House Bill 115 strikes the right balance for the future of the state.
— Mark Erickson
Anchorage
State shouldn't regulate meds
In regards to HB 159, prescription pain medications are regulated by the federal government and medical professionals. HB 159 is a state government overreach, which will consequently cause harm to seniors, the chronically ill and those who are recovering from surgery. HB 159 is treating monitored prescribed painkillers as if they were illegal drugs. Taxing prescribed opioid drugs is attacking the weak, those who are undergoing treatment for pain.
Limiting prescribed opioid drugs will make it more difficult for those people who are ill because they will have to rely on others to take them to the pharmacy on a weekly basis vs. a monthly basis. Right now under federal law people who need prescribed pain medicine must see their doctor on a monthly basis. If HB 159 passes, those who are in need of pain management will need to see their doctor on a weekly basis. We do not have enough doctors in Alaska who will work with insurance companies; therefore, it limits patients to only a small number of doctors. Doctors will not be able to handle the increased patient load to prescribe opioid medications to those in need. Another deep concern is for those people who live in remote communities. Only having access to weekly prescribed pain medication means that in poor weather, when planes cannot fly, those who are ill are left to suffer in pain. If HB 159 passes, there is the concern that the state of Alaska will be sued because of the pain and suffering the legislators have brought onto those who are ill if they don't get their pain medication in time. HB 159 does not serve well those who need pain relief medications. Prescription opioid drugs needs to remain up to the federal government to regulate and for the medical professionals to prescribe. Don't fix what isn't broken.
— John Suter
Chugiak
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.