Letters to the editor (9/22/09)

IM testing is one of the big reasons we have better air quality in Anchorage. Do the IM critics prefer pollution to clean air? Is it such an inconvenience to have one's car tested every other year so everyone can benefit from a cleaner environment?

-- Tom Hughes

Anchorage

Vision rehab needs to be covered

When my husband had a knee replaced, his physical and occupational therapy was covered by insurance. You might be surprised to learn that services by certified vision rehabilitation professionals are not covered by insurance, private or government. These professionals teach people with vision loss (due to macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and other conditions) new techniques for living healthy, safe lives in their own homes.

With one in four adults over 40 projected to suffer significant vision loss by 2030, this gap in coverage leaves too many citizens at high risk for falls, home accidents, medication mistakes and social isolation. Much more costly medical care can be prevented when people have access to functional rehabilitation offered by certified low vision, orientation and mobility and vision rehabilitation specialists.

We encourage Alaska's members of Congress to add these midlevel professionals to those covered by insurance in health care reform legislation.

-- Karla Jutzi, executive director

Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Anchorage

Firefighters need vehicles at hand

Contrary to Mr. Mark Flaker's letter (Firefighters, EMTs wasting money," Sept. 18), firefighters are on duty to and from the station when and if they stop for groceries with their fire truck. I have seen them just get up and leave their groceries, coffee, video rentals, etc., and run back to their trucks for a call.

Why, during a 24-hour shift, would you want them to use their personal vehicles? If a call did come in for your house/building, they would have to go back to the station and then respond. Your house or office would be gone by then.

In the same way, you might assume the APD's "drive your cruiser home" program to be a waste of money, but I personally have slowed down from the average 73 mph on the new Seward Highway because I "saw a cop" when indeed it was an off-duty police officer. It is a deterrent for speeding and any unlawful activity by just having an increased presence, whether the officer is on duty or off duty.

Who pays for the gas? We do, as citizens ... but it is worth every dime.

-- Andre C. Horton

Anchorage

Alaska's wild lands need support

Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski have an opportunity to help safeguard Alaska's unique landscapes and unparalleled wildlife resources on which all Alaskans rely. As the U.S. Senate negotiates comprehensive climate and energy legislation, I hope the final bill will reduce emissions and dedicate adequate funding for actions that sustain our natural resources. To do so, the Senate needs to dedicate approximately 5 percent of the total allowances from a climate bill to environmental jobs and conservation initiatives. Our nation's wild lands provide ecosystem services we all too often take for granted. Our naturally clean water, clean air and abundant game are free to us if we look after them. Once we degrade these natural resources, however, the monetary cost is very high to replace and manage them. The growing uncertainty that comes with climate change makes this foresight even more essential. While these values cannot be easily or adequately quantified into dollar amounts, they are at the top of the list for needed attention.

-- Melanie Smith

staff biologist and GIS analyst

Audubon Alaska

Anchorage

Rate cut is less than it seems

I am rolling on the floor laughing as Enstar states we may get a rate decrease for the gas cost adjustment by maybe 10 percent. They have increased the cost of gas by 100 percent over the last seven years (1 percent, 13 percent, 17 percent, 19 percent, 30 percent, -2 percent, 22 percent). I keep all the billing statements. Now that the cost of gas has bottomed out again, you would think a 30 percent decrease is proper.

It is insulting to hear the supply-and-demand rhetoric for price increases, but the same doesn't apply when we have less demand (recession) and supply is the same. That is why market prices have plunged now. Consumers don't want to hear double-talk.

Either Enstar isn't negotiating good contracts or they are convincing the regulators not to have lower rates when market prices are low. Either way, we are getting ripped off.

-- Ron Grether

Anchorage