Category: Commentary

Commentary: Sitka students deserve full access to school libraries

by Bridget Hitchcock, Beth Short-Rhoads | Jan 28, 2019 | Commentary, Local News

My name is Beth Short-Rhoads and I’m Bridget Hitchcock. We represent Families for School Libraries, an advocacy group that formed last fall when Blatchley Middle School lost its librarian due to budget cuts. We are a diverse group…. school library volunteers, concerned parents, teachers, and education advocates. Read More

Commentary: Commercial herring seining and subsistence are my family traditions

by Chuck Skeek | Dec 21, 2018 | Commentary

I’d like to state that as a consumer of herring subsistence that I am in support of subsistence and commercial harvesting. As a commercial fisherman, I’ve spent my time supporting both ways of life, and I would say to this day that I am thankful to have had the opportunity to benefit from both. -- Chuck Skeek Read More

Commentary: Voting “Yes” on Prop 1 protects salmon for future generations

by Irish Nash | Nov 1, 2018 | Commentary

Alaskan, commercial fisherman, and mother. Voting "Yes" on Proposition 1. We cannot forget our ecological dependence and the responsibility to protect salmon birthing grounds--or our "Alaskan way of life" will be no more. Read More

Commentary: How relaxing the Roadless Rule worsens global climate change

by Joe Sebastian | Oct 17, 2018 | Commentary

At this point in time, there is no machine or machinery that draws CO2 from the atmosphere – yet that’s what trees do, old growth trees. Does it make any sense to chop down our friends and allies who ask nothing in the return, while they help us clean up the mess that we ourselves have made? Read More

Commentary: Reconciliation and agreeing to disagree about Alaska Day

by Dionne Brady-Howard | Oct 16, 2018 | Commentary

We mourn at the bottom of the hill to raise awareness and to grieve the effects of generational trauma. Those who don’t feel that same sense of loss do not have to feel it, but they can at least learn to empathize. Read More