Medicaid expansion, reform is wise
Like the majority of residents in this state and those of us who care for all patients regardless of ability to pay at our 28 community health centers across Alaska, I am sincerely in support of Medicaid expansion and reform. Expanding the program is the morally responsible thing to do for thousands of hardworking residents and families who fall in the eligibility gap. Reforming the program is the financially responsible thing to do to manage state resources wisely.
Delaying expansion and reform by hiding behind historical contractor performance issues may appear politically expedient, but is not effective policy-level decision-making. Expand now. Reform now. These go together as a complete package of necessary policy-level changes.
— Patrick Linton
Seward
Glad to see box scores, but beef em up
Very glad to see baseball box scores back. One sentence about a game just doesn't cut it. We need all the information, batting averages, RBIs, steals, pitching stats, wins and losses, ERA, Ks and BBs and more.
There's more to life in sports than football, hockey, basketball, soccer. There's the best of them all — BASEBALL!
And don't forget the Alaska League.
— Vincent Rozkydal
Palmer
Cuts to schools are ploy for vouchers
Republican legislators are out to gut public education so they can say our public schools have failed. Then, they think they will have support for providing state funds for private schools.
This is absolutely wrong. It is morally wrong; it goes against our Constitution; it goes against all the people of Alaska.
The proposed Republican cuts to public education will not make even a small dent in the deficit the state faces this near and next, so why are they making so many of us angry, sad and feeling that our elected officials will not listen?
These are the same people who say Medicaid must be fixed before it can be expanded. No. Expand it and use the savings to fix it if it is indeed broken.
— John Blaine
Anchorage
Legislators are like Outsider experts
Yeah, Mike Dingman pretty much nailed it and, surprisingly, with little political party diatribe involved (ADN, April 22).
Don't we Alaskans get miffed whenever anyone from Outside says, in effect, "You Alaskans certainly can't figure this out for yourselves — you need help from us experts. Here, let us tell you what's best for you." That stings whether the hornet is Seattle business interests or the biggest sting-in-the-butt of all — the feds. Must we add our elected representatives to this list of Outsiders?
— Keith Muschinske
Eagle River
Republicans fund projects, not people
It is almost ironic to watch this legislative session in extended session. In the past decade, the "fiscally-conservative," "family-values" Legislature has been lead by the Republicans. Those in power have truly squandered our savings. They have allowed oil companies to have amazing tax breaks. In recent years, they have voted to help pour money into the poorly planned port project, served up monies for a tennis court for a select section of Anchorage, backed essentially a blank check for the Knik River bridge project and finally granted a lease for the "Gold & Ivory Taj McHawker" with a half a million dollars in furniture. This same group of Republicans are now wringing their hands saying we have no money. Not really a surprise, because they spent it!
Notice none of these projects involves education, children, women, elderly, homeless, poor or medical benefits, in other words the people of Alaska. Instead these legislators have voted for big business and corporations.
For many years, we all have known that oil monies were decreasing. What has the Legislature done to try and find new revenue sources?
I am a "supervoter" and never have voted for one party or another. Instead I vote for the person I think will reflect myself and the constituents of my area. From now on I will be voting against Republicans and their wasteful spending.
— Sherry Girard
Eagle River
Angels box scores were heaven sent
My Angels were held to one hit by the A's, yet won the game 2-1.
Without box scores this very rare stat would have gone unnoticed.
Thanks for reconsidering.
— Matt Chicklo
Anchorage
Goldsmiths plan should be used now
The report by economist Scott Goldsmith, as reported in ADN, Friday, struck me as both sensible and timely. No question the loss of oil revenue is a serious concern for Alaska. No question this Legislature clearly seems to lack the vision and will to do what is right for the majority of Alaskans. And no question there is a source of funds we have been saving for more than 30 years that was intended, at least in part, to address this very loss of revenue.
To use an overused example of family finances, the Alaska Permanent Fund is the state's savings account. Now that our "family" has lost a source of income, we need to tighten our belt. But what family would ignore its savings account (or in this case, the interest earned on the savings) if that would mean losing the car or the house? Especially if using the savings account interest would not only keep that from occurring but also give us time to find another job or a reasonable alternative?
If the plan proposed by Goldsmith will "make total and efficient use of the resources we have" and do so "without a big debate (over) an income tax or sales tax or cutting the dividend," what reasonable person could have any serious opposition to this plan?
The Legislature should quickly review and implement this plan so that it can stop wasting its/our time and money and put an end to its dawdling in Juneau.
— Brad Owens
Anchorage
Berkowitz can unify Anchorage
Can you believe Anchorage is 100 years old? We are getting through our troubled adolescent years and are ready to mature and start building a city we can be even more proud of. We have a diverse population and a lot of potential. We need a mayor who can bring us all together with a vision of safety, security and diversity. Instead of dividing us, Ethan Berkowitz can bring us together. That's why I'm supporting him. He cares about my safety as I commute to teach school on my bicycle. He's a parent, like me, and he's concerned about his children's education. Please vote early at Loussac Library or City Hall for a mayor we can all be proud of: Ethan Berkowitz.
— Jay Stange
Anchorage
Need mayor that respects diversity
As a young Anchorage resident I'm excited about Ethan Berkowitz's candidacy for mayor. I attend public school here and it's absolutely vital to me that we have a mayor who's advocating for my fellow students and I by opposing the devastating cuts to education funding that some are proposing. Ethan also stands for an inclusive community, and that's something Anchorage needs going forward. Our LGBT community members deserve the same rights as everyone else, and I refuse to support a mayor who won't fight for the rights of our LGBT citizens to exist without discrimination. Trust me, as my generation looks for places to live in the future, these are the things we will be looking at. We need a community that respects diversity so that all of Anchorage can thrive.
— Kira Hamilton
Anchorage
Personal agendas run the Legislature
Since arriving in Alaska in 1963, I have identified three governors that truly took the long-term needs of the state into account in the way they took the state forward. They were: Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel and Tony Knowles. All the rest focused on short-term programs and investments, which have squandered billions of dollars. The so-called experts have been mostly wrong in forecasting the state's revenue stream and our tax policies have been utterly chaotic.
Our reliance on one unpredictable source of income for most of our budgetary needs is the height of stupidity as we are finding out. We need to prioritize our spending in a manner that will promote diverse economic growth. To do this, our main priorities must be public education, public safety and accessible and affordable medical care, areas we are behind most other states.
The current impasse in Juneau clearly demonstrates that personal agendas are more important than the real needs of the state. Sadly, I do not expect any improvement to this situation.
— Peter Jenkins
Eagle River
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