Do legislators even care?
They are not listening. There are letters pleading for adequate school funding, letters to expand Medicaid. Yet the legislators continue to pursue only their own interests and not the public's they are expected to serve. They are not listening. Do they even care?
— Shirley Fraser
Anchorage
Delegation should support program
Motherhood — the joy of being a mother; the memory of a mother's love. We celebrate Mother' Day with cards, flowers, dinners out. For many mothers, especially those in the poorest places in the world, that joy is tempered by loss. Each year 6.3 million children under 5 years of age die of preventable and treatable illnesses. As well, approximately 289,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes.
Working in partnership with developing countries to increase access to vaccines, better nutrition and other effective interventions, the U.S. has been a key player in saving the lives of children and mothers. This spring new bipartisan legislation will be introduced to improve the effectiveness of our contributions through the U.S. Agency for International Development. It will call for increased accountability, clear and measurable goals, and the establishment of a maternal-child survivor coordinator. With a centralized and coherent strategy this bill will maximize our investments, measured in lives saved and healthy, prosperous, more stable communities.
We ask that Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan co-sign this bill when it is introduced in the Senate and Rep. Don Young in the House. This is not a request for additional funding, rather a more efficient use of money already allocated.
— Patricia Kennish
Anchorage
Society is judged on how it treats its children, aged and needy
Herbert H. Humphrey, President Lyndon Johnson's vice president once said, "The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life — the children; those who are in the twilight of life — the aged; and those who are in the shadows of life — the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
Please listen to the majority of the voters in this state and put children first by re-prioritizing the budget to restore cuts to education and passing Erin's law. Show compassion and justice to those who need health care by passing Medicaid expansion. It is the right thing to do.
— Janet B. Jones
Anchorage
GOP legislators give us bleaker future
To you legislators who sent the governor a $5 billion budget with only $2 billion to cover it: How is this different from any one of us who voted for you deliberately writing a hot check?
It appears you have not noticed that this state is in a tight, and posturing and chest-thumping on the part of the GOP is not taking us anywhere we need to go but only to bleaker outlooks for our children, who are our future; sicker, less-productive people who want to work; and a failure of compassion and protection for the little ones who face abuse.
For the record, I am a registered independent.
Also for the record: What on Earth are you thinking?
— Cheryl Chapman
Anchorage
Cyclists should go with the traffic and live to bike another day
Let me start off with the fact that I lost my friend Bill to a bicycle accident a couple of years ago. I was enraged that the driver got off while Bill's fiancée and friends were left with the pain of his loss. So, therefore I am somewhat sensitive to the biking community.
With that said, this morning as I traveled to work near Northern Lights and C Street, waiting to make a left-hand turn from a one-way to a one-way, (which is a legal turn) out of nowhere came a bicyclist to my left going through the crosswalk. I luckily caught him out of the corner of my eye as I started to inch out and stopped. Needless to say I almost tagged him. This made me so angry.
First of all, aren't bicyclist supposed to go the same direction as traffic? The biking community (speaking in generalities) doesn't seem to understand they cannot randomly choose where they go. It makes me angry they don't seem to know whether to be drivers or pedestrians running through intersections randomly, but expecting vehicle drivers not to hit them when they pop up in a crosswalk going the opposite direction.
If bikers are pedestrians and going against traffic, aren't they supposed to dismount and walk their bikes through the intersections? And if they are traveling in the same direction as the cars, they need to follow the flow of traffic even if they are on the sidewalks. Not the opposite way.
They constantly put themselves at risk by not following the common rule. If you are a bicyclist, please go with the flow of traffic. If you are a pedestrian, go against traffic as not to be hit. Dismount off your bicycle and walk the intersection. And above all else make eye contact with the vehicles regardless if you are a pedestrian or a bicyclist. I ride motorcycles and that's one of the first things you learn entering an intersection. And be aware of your surroundings.
Don't be so arrogant and assume everyone sees you because you are a bicyclist and it is the driver's responsibility to be aware of you at all times, and can read your mind. As a bicyclist it's your responsibility to stay safe. Wear reflective and highly visible gear and go home everyday to your families. I am not saying that every death or mishap is the fault of the bicyclist, but I can guarantee that at least 90 percent of all near-miss situations are because they are going the opposite way of the traffic. This is a problem and something needs to be done.
— Judith Smith
Anchorage
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