Let the sun set on daylight saving time, Gov. Walker
It was a delight to read Julie Wolfe's letter "Anybody really know what time it is?" in last week's ADN. Our new governor or any elected state senator or representative would be a real hero to abolish daylight saving time in Alaska. It has no place here, the land of the midnight sun. Nor is it necessary with worldwide Internet connections.
During daylight saving time, Anchorage is two hours off its solar time. What sense is that? Changing to daylight saving time is difficult for everyone I know, taking a week to adjust. And for what use? Several states such as Arizona and Hawaii don't use it, why should we? I am encouraging Bill Walker, our new, innovative governor, to push to end daylight savings time in our state. It's a big deal. Abolishing it will be much appreciated and recognized by the bulk of Alaskans.
— Karen Avila-Lederhos
Anchorage
Stay closer to home, ADN
Enough already, ADN. For a brief few weeks after the Dispatch took over the old Anchorage Daily News, I thoroughly enjoyed the shift from being a newswire affiliate to an actual Alaska newspaper that focused on Alaska issues. In the last few weeks, the editorial laziness has returned.
One of the things I love about living in Alaska is the supportive community. It's a place where people don't hyphenate their nationality. We're proud to be "Alaskans." Yet the paper lately is full of New York Times wire reports and divisive editorials written on topics that aren't major issues here.
I purposely stay away from the modern divisive cable news cycle. Now I can't even run from it in my adopted hometown paper.
We're not Ferguson or NYC. Get back to Alaska, or at least change the name to accurately reflect your news values. Northern Inquirer perhaps?
— Chase Spears
Eagle River
Hypocrisy and torture
Following WWII, America executed Japanese soldiers for the war crime of waterboarding American soldiers. But I guess it's OK if we do it, the moral high ground and all.
— James P. Welch
Eagle River
Where are our priorities?
I just received a robot call from some lady claiming to be with the IRS and in order to stop the criminal proceedings against me I needed to call her back and she gave me a 202 area code and number. My phone captures the incoming call number; this one was a cellphone. So I took the time to look up the number of the Wasilla State Troopers office and was transferred to the Communications Division. The lady told me that this was a scam, which I already knew.
When I told her I had the cellphone number of the caller, she informed me, "There are too many phone scams out there for the authorities to investigate any of them."
Apparently the logic of the numerous telephone scams being perpetrated on our society being directly attributed to the lack of anyone trying to stop them was lost on her.
However, let some guy in New York City sell individual cigarettes on a street corner and avoid paying the city, state and federal taxes, and the authorities will deploy a whole team of cops to apprehend the perpetrator to the point of utilizing deadly force.
Makes one wonder who is driving this bus.
— Jack Miller
Wasilla
Keep Shell out of the Arctic
Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a public hearing in Anchorage on its draft supplemental environmental impact statement on Lease Sale 193 in the Arctic Ocean. That document states that if Shell develops the offshore tract, there is a 75 percent chance of a large spill involving at least 42,000 gallons of oil.
BOEM admits that a major oil spill could "result in the loss of large numbers of polar bears" and could result in "many thousands of seals dying from cured oil exposure, especially ringed seal pups."
This scenario sounds familiar — 25 years ago the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
BOEM's own analysis makes clear that it's not a matter of if a spill will happen, but when. This week's $12.2 million criminal penalty against Shell's contractor, Noble Drilling LLC, reinforces that likelihood. The federal government should not allow Shell to drill in the Arctic Ocean.
— Nicole Whittington-Evans
Alaska regional director
The Wilderness Society
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.