David Rigas

Commentary: A note from the publisher

Beginning May 3, the Clarion will be printed off-site in Alaska, and delivered on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

  • Apr 17, 2023
  • By David Rigas
David Rigas
Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Alaska Voices: We live in a real world — or do we?

Events taking place today in the energy world should be of critical concern to our country, our Congress and our president.

  • Apr 15, 2023
  • By Frank Murkowski
Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
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Honored to have been judges in Alaska and committed to a fair and impartial judiciary

In Alaska all judges are subject to the Alaska Code of Judicial Conduct

  • Apr 15, 2023
  • By Walter “Bud” Carpeneti, Elaine Andrews and Niesje Steinkruger
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Bob Shavelson (courtesy photo)

Point of View: Our politicians should listen to Alaskans on public school funding

The Alaska Policy Forum is actually part of a sprawling and coordinated web of lobbying groups and so-called “think tanks”

  • Apr 13, 2023
  • By Bob Shavelson
Bob Shavelson (courtesy photo)
Jesse Bjorkman (Courtesy)

Opinion: Our next big fight — The erosion of Alaska’s wildlife management authority

The National Park Service is targeting Alaska’s wildlife management practices on preserves

  • Apr 13, 2023
  • By Jesse Bjorkman
Jesse Bjorkman (Courtesy)
A sign offering tips on how to recreate safely around bears can be seen on Thursday, July 1, 2021, on Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Voices of the Peninsula: Got bears? Protect yourself and keep Kenai bears wild with electric fencing

Electric fences are an effective and relatively inexpensive way to keep bears out of gardens, beehives, chicken coops, garbage, and other attractants

  • Apr 12, 2023
  • By Isabel Grant
A sign offering tips on how to recreate safely around bears can be seen on Thursday, July 1, 2021, on Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Dan Sullivan’s convenient amnesia

Here’s a history lesson that Sullivan’s public persona is desperate to forget.

  • Apr 7, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Lawmakers must step up and increase school funding

There’s no excuse for depriving the funding needed to ensure our students’ learning.

  • Apr 6, 2023
  • By Luann McVey
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
State Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, inquires about election legislation during a committee hearing Tuesday at the Alaska State Capitol. Carpenter, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, is sponsoring bills to decrease business taxes and implement a 2% statewide sales tax that were heard. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Proposal is a fiscal plan, but not a good one

The numbers don’t add up.

  • Apr 5, 2023
  • By Larry Persily
State Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, inquires about election legislation during a committee hearing Tuesday at the Alaska State Capitol. Carpenter, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, is sponsoring bills to decrease business taxes and implement a 2% statewide sales tax that were heard. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alex Koplin is a founding member of Kenai Peninsula Votes. (courtesy photo)

Voices of the Peninsula: Let’s work to understand each other better

It is hard for me to understand why our governor would want to create a bill that marginalizes some Alaskans

  • Apr 3, 2023
  • By Alex Koplin
Alex Koplin is a founding member of Kenai Peninsula Votes. (courtesy photo)
Students and teachers gather with pinwheels in hand in front of snow painted blue at The Study in Soldotna, Alaska, as they commemorate Go Blue Day on Friday, March 31, 2023, to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Voices of the Peninsula: Building a positive path forward for Alaska’s kids

Many of Alaska’s children do not have those positive experiences surrounding them

  • Apr 1, 2023
  • By Abby Struffert
Students and teachers gather with pinwheels in hand in front of snow painted blue at The Study in Soldotna, Alaska, as they commemorate Go Blue Day on Friday, March 31, 2023, to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Dunleavy is punting tax hikes to his successor

The only promise he hasn’t broken is not raising taxes.

  • Apr 1, 2023
  • By Rich Moniak
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks in support of an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Goldbelt Inc. to pursue engineering and design services to determine whether it’s feasible to build a new ferry terminal facility in Juneau at Cascade Point. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

State, labor and utilities are aligned on modernizing the Railbelt grid

Today, Alaska has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capture federal infrastructure dollars and stabilize Alaska’s aging Railbelt electrical grid, bringing it up to modern standards. If… Continue reading

  • Mar 29, 2023
  • By Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Doug Tansy
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks in support of an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Goldbelt Inc. to pursue engineering and design services to determine whether it’s feasible to build a new ferry terminal facility in Juneau at Cascade Point. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

No to 67%

Recently, the Alaska State Officers Compensation Commission voted to raise the pay of legislators by 67%. Although that is a simple sentence, what transpired was… Continue reading

  • Mar 29, 2023
This image available under the Creative Commons license shows the outline of the state of Alaska filled with the pattern of the state flag.

Opinion: Old models of development are not sustainable for Alaska

Sustainability means investing in keeping Alaska as healthy as possible.

  • Mar 23, 2023
  • Adeline Raboff
This image available under the Creative Commons license shows the outline of the state of Alaska filled with the pattern of the state flag.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy unveils proposals to offer public school teachers annual retention bonuses and enact policies restricting discussion of sex and gender in education during a news conference in Anchorage. (Screenshot)

Opinion: As a father and a grandfather, I believe the governor’s proposed laws are anti-family

Now, the discrimination sword is pointing to our gay and transgender friends and families.

  • Mar 21, 2023
  • By Rick Bierman
Gov. Mike Dunleavy unveils proposals to offer public school teachers annual retention bonuses and enact policies restricting discussion of sex and gender in education during a news conference in Anchorage. (Screenshot)
Kenai Peninsula Education Association President Nathan Erfurth works in his office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Voices of the Peninsula: Now is the time to invest in Kenai Peninsula students

Parents, educators and community members addressed the potential budget cuts with a clear message.

  • Mar 20, 2023
  • By Nathan Erfurth
Kenai Peninsula Education Association President Nathan Erfurth works in his office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: An accurate portrayal of parental rights isn’t controversial

Affirming and defining parental rights is a matter of respect for the relationship between parent and child

  • Mar 18, 2023
  • By Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Dr. Sarah Spencer. (Photo by Maureen Todd and courtesy of Dr. Sarah Spencer)

Voices of the Peninsula: Let’s bring opioid addiction treatment to the Alaskans who need it most

This incredibly effective and safe medication has the potential to dramatically increase access to treatment

  • Mar 15, 2023
  • By Sarah Spencer
Dr. Sarah Spencer. (Photo by Maureen Todd and courtesy of Dr. Sarah Spencer)
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Opinion: When the state values bigotry over the lives of queer kids

It has been a long, difficult week for queer and trans Alaskans like me.

  • Mar 15, 2023
  • By Amelia Hanrahan
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