Wire Service

Refuge Notebook: The roles of morels

Refuge Notebook: The roles of morels

While people have been taking advantage of the abundance of morels following last year’s Swan Lake Fire, I have been asked many questions about them.… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: The roles of morels
Willy Dunne is a member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. (Courtesy photo)

Vote by mail is safe, fiscally responsible

All registered borough voters would receive a ballot in the mail a few weeks ahead of election day.

Willy Dunne is a member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. (Courtesy photo)
It’s time for a real living wage

It’s time for a real living wage

The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009.

It’s time for a real living wage
Residents line the Sterling Highway, in front of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office to oppose Pebble mine on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen | Peninsula Clarion File)

Pebble Mine opponents say new federal change favors project

Oppositions groups are angry about a preferred route for metals leaving the proposed mine.

Residents line the Sterling Highway, in front of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office to oppose Pebble mine on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen | Peninsula Clarion File)
A sign on the door of the state labor department office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, May 22, 2020, shows the office is closed to the public through the end of May. A report released by the department Friday showed the number of jobs in Alaska in April was down sharply compared to April 2019 amid coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Alaska’s April job numbers are down sharply

Alaska had 42,200 fewer jobs in April than a year earlier.

A sign on the door of the state labor department office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, May 22, 2020, shows the office is closed to the public through the end of May. A report released by the department Friday showed the number of jobs in Alaska in April was down sharply compared to April 2019 amid coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Refuge Notebook: Spruce beetles 2020

Refuge Notebook: Spruce beetles 2020

Spruce beetles are at it again. I am sad to see large trees in Soldotna with patches of missing bark that indicate woodpeckers are finding… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Spruce beetles 2020
Alaska Voices: Oil taxes, what oil taxes?

Alaska Voices: Oil taxes, what oil taxes?

Alaska needs a fair share from the sale of oil to economically recover and have a meaningful future.

Alaska Voices: Oil taxes, what oil taxes?
Juneauites gathered signatures to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in late February. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)
Juneauites gathered signatures to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in late February. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

Pay PFD now, make long-term fiscal plan for Alaska

The Ship of State, our government, has lost direction.

COVID-19 harms children in seen and unseen ways

There has been an alarming decrease in all routine health care, including routine vaccinations.

Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson testifies before state senators during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Juneau. (Becky Bohrer | Associated Press File)

Clarkson: Even during pandemic, there is help for domestic violence victims

As a community we have a responsibility to care for and seek to protect our most vulnerable.

Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson testifies before state senators during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Juneau. (Becky Bohrer | Associated Press File)
Opinion: Finding the intrinsic beauty of sadness

Opinion: Finding the intrinsic beauty of sadness

Knowing sadness can be a healthy thing.

Opinion: Finding the intrinsic beauty of sadness
The last strand of elodea on the Kenai Peninsula was found during a survey in May 2019. This fragment is brown and brittle, signs of dying from having been treated with herbicide since 2017. (Photo by Matt Bowser/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge).

Alaska Voices: Can Elodea be eradicated?

Infestations have been found on the Kenai Peninsula, around Cordova, and in the Fairbanks area.

The last strand of elodea on the Kenai Peninsula was found during a survey in May 2019. This fragment is brown and brittle, signs of dying from having been treated with herbicide since 2017. (Photo by Matt Bowser/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge).
Dave Reaves (courtesy photo)

Alaska Voices: The time to invest in Alaska is now

We call on Gov. Mike Dunleavy to help move job creating infrastructure projects forward.

Dave Reaves (courtesy photo)
Alaska state Rep. Jennifer Johnston, an Anchorage Republican, gets her temperature taken by Roy Johnston, a captain with Capital City Fire/Rescue, at the state Capitol on Monday, May 18, 2020, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska Legislature planned to reconvene Monday to address use of federal coronavirus relief funds, with protocols in place aimed at guarding against the virus. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Lawmakers reconvene with virus protocols

The protocols, released by the Legislative Affairs Agency, say legislators may refuse screening.

Alaska state Rep. Jennifer Johnston, an Anchorage Republican, gets her temperature taken by Roy Johnston, a captain with Capital City Fire/Rescue, at the state Capitol on Monday, May 18, 2020, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska Legislature planned to reconvene Monday to address use of federal coronavirus relief funds, with protocols in place aimed at guarding against the virus. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Quarantine and taxes

When the first stay-at-home mandates came out, I jumped into it with a “carpe diem” kind of energy.

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks to constituents during a town hall at the Funny River Community Center in Funny River, Alaska on Jan. 9, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Carpenter likens virus screening stickers to Star of David.

“If my sticker falls off, do I get a new one or do I get public shaming too?”

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks to constituents during a town hall at the Funny River Community Center in Funny River, Alaska on Jan. 9, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Ready, set, edit!

Ready, set, edit!

Even as a follower of Jesus, we can often feel like we keep needing editing.

Ready, set, edit!
Tangled Up in Blue: In the long run

Tangled Up in Blue: In the long run

Someone asked me if time has been going by quickly or slowly these days. During the coronavirus pandemic, are my mornings flying by? And in… Continue reading

Tangled Up in Blue: In the long run
Refuge Notebook: One person’s trash is another’s artifact

Refuge Notebook: One person’s trash is another’s artifact

Archaeology. OK, what was the first thing that came to your mind when you read that word? I hope it wasn’t Indiana Jones, or dinosaurs!… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: One person’s trash is another’s artifact