A map from the Alaska Redistricting Board shows proposed House Districts in Anchorage, two of which were the subject of a lawsuit against the board for their being paired together in a single senate seat.The Alaska Supreme Court Ruled Friday the board acted unconstitutionally in one of its Senate district pairings. (Screenshot / Alaska Redistricting Board)

Opinion: Gerrymandering — the cooked books of redistricting

Proposal prioritized party’s electoral goals over democratic principle.

  • Apr 6, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
A map from the Alaska Redistricting Board shows proposed House Districts in Anchorage, two of which were the subject of a lawsuit against the board for their being paired together in a single senate seat.The Alaska Supreme Court Ruled Friday the board acted unconstitutionally in one of its Senate district pairings. (Screenshot / Alaska Redistricting Board)
Shown is a primary demonstration ballot at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Voices of the Peninsula: It’s a very special election

This is an open primary meaning all party and unaffiliated candidates will be on one ballot.

Shown is a primary demonstration ballot at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Jan. 21, 2022. Alaska elections will be held for the first time this year under a voter-backed system that scraps party primaries and sends the top four vote-getters regardless of party to the general election, where ranked choice voting will be used to determine a winner. No other state conducts its elections with that same combination. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Jason Grenn (courtesy photo)

Opinion: Alaskans are ready for our new election system

This is an opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of the system

Jason Grenn (courtesy photo)
Charlie Pierce stands in his home on Thursday, March 11, 2022 in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Voices of the Peninsula: Alaska fishing resources should be supported equally

We are Alaskans and fishing is an Alaska resource. It is time to recognize commercial and sport as one.

Charlie Pierce stands in his home on Thursday, March 11, 2022 in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: New goals and oversight are needed to protect disabled psychiatric patients

Reduce unnecessary trauma that people face during treatment inside locked psychiatric facilities.

  • Apr 2, 2022
  • By Faith J. Myers
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
Michael McCarthy. (Photo provided)

Voices of the Peninsula: Don’t allow directional drilling

The environmental risk of opening Kachemak Bay to fracking is incomprehensible.

Michael McCarthy. (Photo provided)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Alaska Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Juneau, Alaska. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Time is now to resolve Alaska’s great contradictions

Now more than ever, we must take control of our destiny that is envisioned in our state motto of “North to the Future.”

  • Mar 30, 2022
  • By Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Alaska Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Juneau, Alaska. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Michael Schallock. (Photo provided)

Point of View: Understanding daylight saving time in Alaska

It would be healthiest if Alaska adjusted our clocks back two hours this fall

Michael Schallock. (Photo provided)
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Opinion: Permanent daylight saving time is the wrong answer

Last week, by unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate passed the “Sunshine Protection Act”

  • Mar 28, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
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Alexander B. Dolitsky

Opinion: A red-brick house and memories

I cannot predict what will be the final outcome of this war.

  • Mar 24, 2022
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
Bunches of fresh greens are displayed at the first Farmers Fresh Market of the season on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion file)

Opinion: Agriculture is growing in Alaska

Don’t wait till Ag Day to take notice.

  • Mar 23, 2022
  • By Pete Pinney
Bunches of fresh greens are displayed at the first Farmers Fresh Market of the season on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion file)
Grace Ridge Brewing co-owner Sherry Stead. (Photo provided)

Point of View: SB9 will end new tasting rooms in Alaska

I am asking the Legislature to keep the current population limits for breweries, wineries and distilleries

Grace Ridge Brewing co-owner Sherry Stead. (Photo provided)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The good, the bad and the ugly in Alaska’s renewable energy bill

Things get messy when we get to the bill’s definition of renewable energy

  • Mar 22, 2022
  • By Dyani Chapman
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Image via dps.alaska.gov

Opinion: Rethinking the Village Public Safety Officer program

We must rethink the limitations to realize the program’s full potential

Image via dps.alaska.gov
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Opinion: Building a friendlier world starts at home

We’re bound together by the history that gave birth to the freedoms that allow us to be different.

  • Mar 21, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
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A “Vote Here” sign is seen at the City of Kenai building on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (File)

Voices of the Peninsula: Let’s talk about why we vote

Democracy can hang by a thread and some political analysts write that today in the U.S. it may be shredding

A “Vote Here” sign is seen at the City of Kenai building on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (File)
A fishing boat can be seen in the summer of 2017. (Photo courtesy of Axel Kopun)

Alaska Voices: A tale of two salmon

By MARY CATHARINE MARTIN THE SALMON STATE Bristol Bay’s sockeye run began breaking records in 2018. The same year, Chignik, which is on the other… Continue reading

A fishing boat can be seen in the summer of 2017. (Photo courtesy of Axel Kopun)
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Opinion: As job vacancies linger, businesses need unemployment insurance reform

Both employers and workers deserve reforms to the unemployment system.

  • Mar 15, 2022
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Opinion: Choosing Ukrainian aid over energy relief

I’ve got two problems with the energy check proposal.

  • Mar 14, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
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Opinion: Oil, gas and the winds of war

The war in Ukraine is a grim reminder of how dependent we’ve become on fossil fuels.

  • Mar 12, 2022
  • By Doug Woodby
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