Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, April 12, 2015

Aleutian time zone is fine

Initially, I thought Sen. MacKinnon's daylight saving time bill was fantastic, but after seeing the recurrent TV ad put out by the businessmen of Alaska, I took another look at what is being proposed. Because the bill wants to change our time zone to a different one, remaining on a singular time in Alaska would not be feasible for our state. Hawaii, like us, is on Aleutian time. That state does not observe daylight time. It appears that the sky has not fallen and leaving their time on regular time works for them. They continue to do the same things as we do, except we go through the twice yearly ritual of changing our time. Why wouldn't remaining on Aleutian time and not observing DST work for us? I think most Alaskans would agree that they don't want to continue springing forward and falling back. I know it takes me a couple of weeks to get "back to normal." It would be greatly appreciated if our legislators would listen to the people and in a straightforward manner, without adjusting the time zone, cease the needless time changing twice a year.

— Judie Wolfe

Anchorage

Cyclists ignore road rules

Bicycle safety will never exist in Anchorage as long as bicyclists continue to show a total disregard for vehicle driving rules.

They frequently run red lights and stop signs, think they own the sidewalks and everyone has to get out of their way. They don't believe they are actually vehicles and should follow the rules of the road. When they are on a sidewalk/"bike path" running parallel to a road, they don't see a need to stop at each cross street or slow when passing pedestrian or animals, rather assuming they have the right of way.

This total disregard for safe and proper vehicle operation has and will continue to place them in harm's way.

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— Gerry Guay

Anchorage

Education instills success

The time has come to raise a fist to fight for education. Right now, legislators are debating about the base student allocation for next year and they need to hear from us. We need to ensure that our kids are given the best educational opportunities possible through retaining outstanding educators, continuing to offer a variety of coursework, and supporting our schools with the supplies to help students succeed.

Districts around the state have mission statements that promote the making of productive citizens, but how productive will they be if they are failed by our state in obtaining an education anything less than excellent. Mediocrity has never had much of an appeal and definitely does not reflect greatness. Please flood the phones, and email inboxes of our legislators with the demand to fund our future productive citizens and preserve the greatness of our state.

— Darcy Mueller

Homer

School cuts harm economy

I am appalled at what is happening in our state Legislature. Devastating cuts are being made to vital programs across the state, yet in the next two years, under the oil tax passed in 2013, Alaska's will pay out $500 million more to oil companies than we get back in production taxes. Why are some laws sacred, and others not? The oil companies control too many of our legislators.

The $79 million in total school cuts will directly impact our students in the classroom with larger class sizes and no sports, arts, or music programs. These cuts to public education will result in the loss of hundreds of employees and have a devastating impact on our children's future as well as the economy of each of our communities. We cannot solve our state's fiscal problem on the backs of our children. We should be moving forwards or maintaining status quo. We cannot make cuts that will cause our state to go backwards, cutting programs that have taken decades to develop.

Keep the promise of funding what was provided last year in House Bill 278. Don't threaten our children's success and our state's economy.

— Virginia Morgan

Cooper Landing

Disgusted by budget cuts

After reading about the budget cuts, I am disgusted! We voted for these people. We need to hold them accountable for their actions. They need to cut funds elsewhere. Education should be the last place we cut funds.

— Maggie Matheson

Fairbanks

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.

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