When will we stop erasing mementos of Confederacy?
Since the South Carolina church shooting there has been an unending push to remove or ban all Confederate flags from government buildings, stores, online sales and even from long-standing state flags like that of the great state of Mississippi. The origin of this push for removal and banning is the belief by many, not all, that the Confederate flag ONLY represents the oppression and enslavement of black Americans. I certainly cannot and will not attempt to alter their beliefs, nor should they attempt to change the beliefs of the many who view the Confederate flag in other terms. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs.
There are some individuals that feel as though the removal of the Confederate flag should only be a start. In Maryland, Baltimore County leaders called on Baltimore city officials to give the county approval to change Robert E. Lee Park, named for the Confederate Civil War general, to Lake Roland Park. In Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper, a Democrat, took to Twitter to call on state leaders to remove a bust of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol. Down in Texas, a Change.org petition is asking school officials to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, from the University of Texas' main campus in Austin. And on and on and on.
Where will this stop? How long before we hear the call to remove the last remaining Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids of Giza, because the pyramids were built by slaves?
— Eric Olenick
Anchorage
Priorities must change
On the front page of the July 22 ADN there was an article about the Anchorage Police Department, with six to eight officers having drawn their weapons, seizing a van. This van had just delivered marijuana and its seizure was part of an ongoing investigation.
Over the several months that these delivery services have been in operation, to the best of my knowledge, none have been the cause of, been involved in, or even been close to, any violent crimes. Violent crimes would include fights, assaults, knifings, shootings, home invasions, rapes or murders.
Over the same several months, across the Municipality of Anchorage, there have been numerous violent crimes, including fights, assaults, knifings, shootings, home invasions, rapes and murders.
A recent poll of the APD indicated that morale was low due to being short-handed.
The policy of cracking down on a non-problem (delivery of a legal product) is an embarrassing misallocation of limited resources.
I would have thought that the new mayor would have prioritized using law enforcement resources for public safety issues, i.e. prevention of, or arrest for, violence against its citizens.
— Bill Hearn
Seward
Bypass is very old news
As difficult as it is to believe in far-off Alaska, DOT authorities have bickered about a Cooper Landing traffic bypass longer than any other environmental impact study in U.S. history. Millions of dollars have been spent and mostly wasted on alternative studies and surveying. In the nearly 50 years this has been going on, the decision could have easily been made to improve (i.e. widen) and straighten the Sterling Highway through the Mile 45 to Mile 48 bottleneck. It is such an obvious fix, regardless of whether or not a bypass ever becomes reality, that one can only think some screwy political agenda has kept it from happening.
This week's fatal wreck shows the urgency of improving this stretch of highway beyond the half-measures that were installed in recent years to mollify complainers: new cramped guardrails and bolder painted lines that actually narrowed the road in places. If a bypass ever happens, there will be a safer entrance road to Cooper Landing and the Russian River fishing area, so it wouldn't be money wasted.
— Ken Green
Cooper Landing
Fight states tyranny over massage therapists
A new board of regulations has been created in Alaska to remove more of our freedom to run our businesses as we wish. Whenever any new regulatory agency is imposed in a free society, some overwhelming reason why it is necessary to remove our freedom must be shown. I have never been shown any sufficient justification for imposition of this new regulatory board. Where are the people who have been seriously injured by massage therapists in Alaska? In my 15 years of practice as a massage therapist, I have never heard of a single case of anyone seriously injured from a massage in Alaska. Heck, that's why our malpractice insurance premiums for massage therapy are only $99 a year!
Please write letters to your representatives asking that the new massage regulations in Title 12 AAC, which have arisen out of HB 328, be repealed. That bill was pushed forward in 2014 by a powerful lobby from special interests. HB 328 was ill-conceived. All new regulations and the board arising therefrom have no place in Alaska, because they stand against freedom of our people.
— Dan Russell, former massage therapist
Willow
APD didn't respond to thefts
I witnessed a crime of theft on July 22 at a local "big box" Anchorage store. I watched as a young man ran from the store with large box under one arm, being chased by a good Samaritan, and then watched as the kid jumped into a waiting getaway car. I was in my car, and followed the kids, got the license number and vehicle info, then called the store. Their security person informed me that this gang of kids had routinely been robbing them, in plain sight, and the store was attempting to catch them in the act. I asked if the police had been called, and yes, they had, but it seems our police are so short-handed that even with a vehicle ID they won't respond to such calls.
What a sad state of affairs our city is in.
— Maryann Frazier
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.