Readers write: Letters to the editor, Feb. 9, 2016

I recently read Beth Bragg’s interview with Alysha Devine (“When UAA forward Alysha Devine plays basketball, it’s a mane event” Jan 29). I was dismayed that she chose to focus on the length of her hair with little or no mention of her athletic ability, the determination and dedication it takes to rise to this level of play, her ability to balance sports and a demanding college career, or her potential as a role model for young girls in sports.

Hair grows. That is what it does. This is not news. I think you have done this young lady a disservice by neglecting the other, far more impressive achievements in her life. What message do we send to young girls when a woman playing collegiate basketball is remarkable only for the length of her hair and the number of puns it can yield?

— Morgan Jessee

Anchorage

Regarding Charles Wohlforth’s article in the Jan. 31 paper: I think Alaskans had it right in 1953. We should do the same. Get the legislators drunk, sweep them out and vote people like Vic Fischer, people with integrity, who want what is best for Alaska, into the Legislature.

— Michael McKinnon

Anchorage

In us we trust? That’s what Dave Carter (Letters, Jan. 29) says is important ... not “In God We Trust,” because “science, logic and carefully examination of evidence” tells us God is not real.

Well, hate to burst Dave’s bubble, but whether studying the evolution of black holes, quarks or human chromosomes, most scientists agree that while these systems, and all natural systems, can be studied and described, science still cannot answer the ultimate question of how did this all come to be. There is so much that we don’t know and probably never will. This great unknown, that many call God, is the final step in our research, our quest ...to contemplate.

As for “in us we trust,” oh yeah, homo sapiens — who have given the world Hiroshima, Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez oil spill, hundreds of extinctions and global warming — are so trustworthy.

— Jim Lieb

Palmer

Waking early one morning last month, I headed to my favorite diner for breakfast. About 5 a.m. a disheveled, homeless man entered. He whispered something to the waitress, who nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later she reappeared with a small box.

Curious, I asked, “Did you just give that guy a free breakfast?”

“Yes,” she said. “I think it must be hard for them to come and ask for food. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I feel it’s the right thing to do.”

She said she pays for their breakfasts herself.

We look to important people to fix the world, when in reality we each have our part to do. We need to understand change, mercy, help, all these begin with each of us. Big names often don’t solve big problems, thousands of small actions, engaged in by hundreds of “little names” do.

— Jeff Pantages

Anchorage

I am perplexed.

The Permanent Fund dividends are funds set aside for the citizens of this state. It’s part of the Alaska economy. It is part of my family’s budget. The bigger the better, and it goes back into the economy at my discretion, not the government’s.

Now because of uncontrolled spending the government wants to steal those funds from us and tax my income now too. The burden falls on the employed. Almost every day I watch the high-paid union workers go up and down the streets in street graders, scraping asphalt. Is that to ensure street repair in the summer? Where is all that money coming from? Or the millions of dollars spent on mucking up Muldoon Road, when the eastsiders clearly didn’t want it.

Waste all that money when the price of oil spikes, and then cry when it gets back to normal. Within my budget, I have to work within; let the government work within the budget it has, and leave mine alone. Make my budget smaller so yours can be bigger? No thanks.

— Jon Eric Thompson

Anchorage

I’m confused. Whenever consumers complain about the high cost of retail gasoline, they typically point to much lower prices in the Lower 48. They argue that Alaskans should benefit from the local supply of crude oil and the lower costs of getting refined product to retail outlets.

Not so. We are told that Alaska is its own market and responds to local forces of supply and demand. Results in other states are of little or no relevance. Fast forward to the article in today’s ADN announcing — with some fanfare — that the state plans to sell a significant amount of its royalty crude to Tesoro for in-state refining and distribution. Unfortunately, this action is not likely to have any impact on retail gasoline prices. Why not? The state (DNR’s commercial manager) explains that, “The deal may not result in cheaper gasoline and other prices in part because Alaska is affected by national and international mark ets…” So which is it? Are our retail prices influenced by external markets or not? As I said, I’m confused.

— Ted Moninski

Anchorage

Let’s talk about the attraction of professional football. Despite knowing the concussive effects of repeated collisions to the athletes, early demise, onset dementia, and loss of marital relations, why are we drawn Sunday after Sunday and slide as well into Monday barcaloungers for the NFL Monday night game to watch the excitement of the hits? We know, the doctors know the damage of the collisions to the brain.

The league, of course, says players know the risk. The league wants to protect its profits. The NFL, a monopoly, brings in $11 billion a year. The Super Bowls hold the top 20 most-watched TV events in history. Monday night football has been the number one cable show since 2006. Why don’t we condone the damage by watching? Has the league come a long way from the leather football caps to today’s specially reenforced helmets? Have we? Are they safer?

My thoughts are, let’s examine our paradoxical need and attraction for violent collision on the football field and the awareness that the damage to athletes does irreparable harm to the athletes. Should we continue to watch?

— Jim Hanlen

Anchorage

In Monday’s (Feb. 8) paper there were two more letters on Mr. Graff, the ASD superintendent whose contract was not renewed. I have only seen positive letters from teachers and staff. I also remember well the debacles of the Outside hires before and after Superintendent Carol Comeau. The school board could not seem to recognize the value of a homegrown superintendent then either.

Most of us in Anchorage are not privy to what is really going on. Oh, for the days of the Alaska Ear! Then we could get some good background, off-the-record gossip to explain what the heck is going on!

— Lynn Hartz

Anchorage

In response to Nathaniel Grabman’s response to UAA’s Devine hair getting more headlines than Ostrander (Letters, Feb. 8):

Having been an ASD coach myself, long before him I imagine, it’s nice to see athletes get press. I think athletes who stay local get more press to help promote local sports teams than those who leave the state. I think we as coaches should be happy for any positive press our athletes get.

— Greg Svendsen

Anchorage

In my letter of last week, I left out one very important addition. We need to reimpose the state income tax. I am totally aligned with Jay Hammond and Clem Tillion that the tax should never have been repealed in the first place. And the way we did the tax was so easy and cost effective: When a person went through all the effort to produce the federal tax number, the state simply took a percentage of that final number as the state tax.

At least that way we would get a part of the revenue that the nonresidents take from us each year. Maybe a sales tax would be almost as good, but I am not advocating that yet.

— Orin Seybert

retired founder of Penair

Anchorage

Gov. Walker, please harken to voices of Alaskans regarding the blatant frittering away of money on enterprises that most of us now know were ill-conceived and wasteful from their onset. Every day more information is brought to light of the skullduggery of a runaway Legislature and their corporate beneficiaries. Money being poured down cleverly marketed “ratholes” of projects that should never have been born. “Golden fleece” enterprises that you initially said would be put to rest.

It is clear that the people involved in these projects have, and continue to live the “good life” on the rest of us, and will do anything to keep it that way. Every day these enterprises, under the pretenses of study money already committed, siphon away potentially significant assets from the state.

The controversy is not going away. It’s time to do what you said you would. Ask yourself what Jay Hammond would have done.

— William Gossweiler

Eagle River