Compass

COMPASS: JEFF PANTAGES

Gold is a good investment, right? Wrong

What is it about gold? Its price is soaring in the market and is now over $1,000 an ounce. There are more and more TV ads exhorting viewers to "Buy gold, now!" The higher it goes the louder the ads seem to get.

COMPASS: BRADFORD H. TUCK

Connecting highways won't solve problem

The H2H project is based on a flawed premise. The problem is time-of-day traffic congestion in downtown and Midtown (including the U-Med area) Anchorage, largely related to commuter travel. Connecting the two highways does not address the problem and will not solve the problem.

COMPASS: DEIRDRE CRONIN

Our youths are faces of homelessness

Recent news coverage has thrust the issue of homelessness into the spotlight. Most of the attention has been focused on chronic inebriates and providing housing alternatives to makeshift homeless camps.

COMPASS: SUSAN H. BOMALASKI

Bus cuts hurt those who need service most

I respectfully disagree with the reductions in the People Mover service proposed in response to the municipal budget shortfall for 2010.

COMPASS: VINCE BELTRAMI

Fagan uses fuzzy math in his attack on Begich, unions

I read Oil Can Dan (Fagan's) latest in a series of political attacks on Mayor Begich, but his figures don't exactly reflect reality.

COMPASS: J. JAMES ROHACK, M.D.

Let's repeal Medicare payment formula

Despite the best efforts of Sen. Begich, legislation that would have preserved the security and stability of Medicare recently fell victim to Washington politics.

COMPASS: DAVE MAYO-KIELY

Ride to school keeps homeless kids on track

MJ is in third grade. Sometimes she stays with her father; sometimes she stays with her grandmother. Since July, her father has had five different addresses. He is looking for work and is on the waiting list for housing assistance. He's concerned that MJ might be falling behind in school.

COMPASS: HILARY A. MORGAN

Invest in solutions, not more plans

As saddened as I have been to read about the numerous deaths of homeless street alcoholics over the summer in Anchorage, I am equally stunned that the city appears to be starting from scratch to address this issue.

COMPASS: JEFF DILLON

Anchorage can't afford to let parks deteriorate

The city is facing serious budget decisions as we struggle to find a balance between paying to "take better care of what we have," or slashing budgets to reduce property taxes. We all want a safe and healthy community, but at what price?

COMPASS: JIM MINNERY

Consent for flu vaccine but not abortion?

If it wasn't so irrational and detrimental, it might just be comical. A quick nasal puff of the H1N1 flu vaccine cannot be administered to underage schoolchildren without parental consent. Common sense tells us that parents should be involved in even the least intrusive of medical treatments of their underage children right?

COMPASS: MICHAEL HOWARD

H2H study needs to have broader scope

Folks around town were startled to receive a postcard telling them the state is looking at running the proposed Highway to Highway "through their kitchen," as Rep. Les Gara aptly put it. People immediately protested and Community Councils passed resolutions opposing the freeway through their neighborhoods.

COMPASS: GENEVA WALTERS

Kids, have some sugar; Halloween's just fine

This year for Halloween I'm going all out. I'm carving jack-o'-lanterns, decorating the front porch with fake cobwebs, miniature skeletons and plastic spiders.

COMPASS: BILL WALKER

Alaskans must build their own gas pipeline

It is time for Alaska to start acting like the owner state that we are and prepare to build a state-owned gas pipeline to Valdez.

COMPASS: KAREN ZEMAN

Most teens are doing something right

Turn on the local news on any given day and you are likely to hear a story about a young person headed down the wrong track. Teens who commit crimes and abuse alcohol and other drugs are headline news and the public hears enough about it to get the impression that it is the norm. This is not a true snapshot of teens in Anchorage, Alaska, or very possibly anywhere.

Times are tough, but your generosity can make a big difference this fall

Winter is coming and we all have friends, coworkers, neighbors, and even family who will need our help. I know that Alaskans always rise to the occasion. We lift one another up no matter what is going on with the economy or the weather.

COMPASS: JIM CRAWFORD

People die and AHFC isn't doing its job

Sunday brought another death in an Alaskan mobile home fire. That is two in a couple weeks, one in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks. Killer fires know no regional boundaries.

COMPASS: GAIL PHILLIPS

Foster served Alaskans with honor

Alaska lost a great champion with the passing away of Rep. Richard Foster.

COMPASS: PERRY MERKEL

Status quo no option for small businesses

It has become clear to me, as a small business owner, that the debate about health care reform has reached a critical moment. Over the summer, a shrill minority monopolized the public stage by playing on people’s fears in their attempt to derail much-needed change.

COMPASS: SEN. MARK BEGICH

Administration put city on the right track

Through the fog of political accusations about who told who what when, the issue over the Anchorage Assembly's consideration of employee labor contracts last year boils down to this: Should they have been approved?

COMPASS: SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI

Congress, not the EPA, should lead climate battle

Congress is currently engaged in one of the most complex policy debates of our time -- how best to mitigate climate change without harming the economy.

COMPASS: TIM TROLL

Flu nearly wiped out Bristol Bay communities

For the last year newspaper headlines have suggested the H1N1 flu may blossom into a worldwide epidemic.