There were blue skies and mountain views in Alaska last week, but you had to go to Tok to see them. I know because I drove from smoky Haines to hazy Anchorage and the gas station of a town that bills itself as “Alaska’s Main Street” offered the only respite from the grey veil that descended on us. When Tok…
Former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, who was sometimes a visionary, said Alaska one day would be the OPEC of fresh water. Wally dreamed of a pipeline to carry Alaska’s water to the thirsty parts of the American West. His point was well-taken. Oil, as a commodity, is replaceable with new technologies. But there’s no substitute for fresh water. It’s the…
Two weeks ago, I felt compelled to contact the news media: I ate a juicy peach in Haines. My experience was purely accidental, as I don’t buy peaches at local stores. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy peaches as much as anyone, probably more, and I shop at home. But buying a ripe peach in Haines – or in Alaska,…
One of our town’s most sublime experiences is a meal in the Hotel Halsingland dining room, followed by a drink in the bar perhaps and a walk around the Fort Seward Parade Grounds on a warm summer evening. For a short spell, a person can escape the grit, callouses and heartbreak that come with living year-round in a small town…
“This is the time to infuse government resources into nonprofit organizations to maintain critical public services.” Economic Report by Alaska’s Foraker Group, January 2018 If you think the Haines Borough won’t zero out grants to non-profits, you haven’t been watching lately. Non-profit funding, the amount of money the government sets aside for competitive grants to citizen groups…
I am learning to go on with my daily life despite corruption and imbecility in the White House. I am developing personal acceptance that all three branches of our federal government, much of our state government and oftentimes our local government are either directly controlled by or at the beck and call of selfish, malevolent interests. I’ve come to understand…
One day soon, the Haines Borough will need a pile of money and the best way to get it is taxation that taps into pockets of special interest wealth rather than broad-based taxes that are generally regressive, forcing all to pay an equal percentage of their money for services that are not enjoyed so equally. Exhibit A of these special…
As it has been for years, the recent negotiation of a union contract with Haines Borough employees was a secretive, then rushed affair that did not serve the interests of the borough, its elected leaders, union workers, or the general public. About 15 years ago, the union and borough leaders agreed that all negotiation issues – such as what workers…
The Haines Borough may soon be asking you for more tax support to keep it afloat. That’s understandable. Our government leaders in Alaska and Washington, D.C. at one time believed that they owed support to places like Haines, and we received it. That was about 30 years ago, before our national ethos shifted from “women and children first” to “every…
Three years ago last March, a living-room-sized boulder rolled off a mountainside and into the ferry terminal parking lot. The boulder wasn’t just big, it was preposterously big. At the sight of it, people either laughed or swore. Smooth and rounded at its edges like a giant beach pebble, it resembled something drawn by an animator of the old Flintstones…