Anchorage Daily News

It's important for voters to know the makeup of the Supreme Court

Alaskans are a conservative lot. We are business friendly and we vote Republican.

Now the Supreme Court has slashed punitive damages for the greatest maritime accident in our state's history. Who are these justices? Who appointed them?

Siding with the majority were two appointees from Reagan (Scalia and Kennedy), two from H.W. Bush (Souter and Thomas) and one G. W. Bush appointee, a man with Alaska history, Roberts.

The dissenting (liberal?) Justices Ginsberg and Bryer are Clinton appointees while Stevens was appointed by Ford.

Think first. Vote later.

-- Jeffrey Bannish

Anchorage

Alaska pays price for voting GOP

Congratulations! As a reliable Red State that keeps feeding the hand that bites you, you have now (after 20 years) discovered the true loyalties of the GOP and its Supreme Court. Yep, it's Big Oil. Do we feel sorry for you? Not that much. Too bad about the fish, birds, etc. Not to worry. In another few months you can vote for another four years of fraud and corruption.

-- Robert Conner

Olympia, Wash.

TransCanada deal is so obviously backward, why get involved?

I am confused about the TransCanada deal. If the gas line project is so wildly economical as the governor says, shouldn't TransCanada pay us, rather than us paying them for the exclusive right to build a gas line?

Why spend $500 million of Alaskans' money for a contract with a Canadian company for the purpose of giving an exclusive agreement to build a gas line, when other projects just might be better?

Why tie ourselves to one outcome and spend $500 million in the process?

-- Debbie Mosley

Anchorage

Owners of aggressive dog breeds must take extra precautions

Arguments have always been made that aggressive dogs such as pit bulls were "made mean by their owners." I am not against pit bulls by any means; they make great family pets. However, I have always maintained that fighting is an instinct for them and can be made worse by the owners, but the owners did not "cause" it.

A recent incident illustrates this. A gentleman was walking his 6-month-old German shorthair on a leash. He noticed two loose pit bulls, whose owner was driving the truck while they ran. He stopped, brought his dog to his side and had her sit. Without provocation, the pit bulls attacked the pup. The owner of these two dogs had been very responsible in raising them (except for her choice of how to exercise them) -- they attended basic pet manners classes, socialized with other dogs and people, were spayed/neutered and vaccinated. They had not shown any previous signs of aggression.

Just as a Labrador has an instinct for birds and a cattle dog to herd, pit bulls have a genetic instinct to fight. Also, their bite is much worse because of the power of their jaws, and they usually do not let go.

Aggression in dogs can be, and often is, an inherited trait, not just in pit bulls, but in many breeds. Hopefully, owners of these dogs will take extra precautions to avoid incidents like these and only breed dogs that have stable, friendly temperaments.

-- Kathryn Hawkins D.V.M.

Valdez

Cyclists are entitled to use city streets and need more protection

Bicycling is a responsible, fuel-saving, environmental and health measure, and the municipality should strongly encourage it.

Sadly, as a recent writer to the Daily News confirmed, many motorists are perfectly willing to "squash" anyone riding a bike on the streets.

The municipality's official policy is in this Anchorage Police Department Web site tip for bicycling safely:

"The peak traffic hours from 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. are the most hazardous for cyclists. Avoid busy streets as much as possible and try to plan your biking before 4 p.m."

In other words, "The car is king, so bike at your peril and stay out of the way." This policy has to change. Bicycles are as entitled as motor vehicles to use the streets, but very little has been done to make it safe in practice.

For instance, there is a dedicated bicycle lane on Cordova between Mulcahy and 10th Avenue. This spring, the municipality repainted the lane line but not the "bicycles only" notices, which have faded into illegibility. Motorists routinely invade that lane.

The "bicycles only" warnings must be repainted in all dedicated bike lanes, and we need more bike-only corridors to, and within, downtown and Midtown. More people will ride bikes when they can cycle city streets safely in dedicated lanes. That will be good for all of us.

-- Dave Millen

Anchorage

Sure, smoking is legal, but watch where you swing that chain saw

A recent letter by Andrew Krause ("Smoking is legal, so stop trying to dictate where people can do it," June 22) complained about smoke-free workplace laws, arguing that smoking is a "legal" activity. Just because something is legal doesn't mean you can do it anywhere, anytime. Driving a car, shooting a gun and operating a chain saw are all legal, but it's unquestioned that those who engage in these inherently dangerous activities have the responsibility to do so in a manner that does not injure or kill others.

Smoke-free indoor air laws protect everyone's most basic and fundamental right -- the freedom to breathe. Smoke-free indoor air laws don't prevent smoking, they only require that smokers not injure or kill others when they light up. You can't run over pedestrians, shoot up a mall or swing chain saws in a crowded theater. The question has never been whether to allow smoking, only where. Even the vast majority of smokers agree they should respect the rights of nonsmokers and take it outside.

If Mr. Krause wants to harm himself by smoking, that's his choice, but he should accept responsibility for that action and not harm others. Seventy-two percent of Anchorage democratically voted to keep all enclosed workplaces smoke-free, recognizing that one person's discretionary lifestyle choice to smoke shouldn't be allowed to cause workers and nonsmokers around them heart disease and lung cancer.

-- Eric F. Myers

EDITOR'S NOTE: Eric Myers is past chair of Keep Anchorage Workplaces Smokefree.

New I/M proposal in Assembly is just a tax on low, middle incomes

The new I/M program proposed by Assembly members Sheila Selkregg, Matt Claman, Harriet Drummond, Elvi Gray-Jackson and Mike Gutierrez is nothing more than a tax on the low- to middle-income people of Anchorage.

The state and the municipality say the I/M program is not necessary. They have continually tested the air and have detected negligible amounts of automobile emissions for the last 13 years. This past winter was more proof when we had several severe cold spells of minus 20 degrees and still passed all federal, state and city air monitoring.

The proposed I/M program exempting the newest six model years makes this a tax almost exclusively on low- to middle-income people. The majority of wealthy to upper-middle income people drive vehicles newer than seven years old and therefore will never pay this I/M program tax. Some of the Assembly members voting for this new I/M program might never pay the I/M program tax themselves.

All of the residents of Anchorage and especially those with low to middle incomes should remember these five Assembly members and any others who vote for this I/M program tax.

-- Robert Armbrust

Anchorage

Anchorage Museum's addition should get architectural 'awards'

Here are my nominees for 2008 Anchorage Architectural Achievement Awards:

• Greatest Distance Traveled to Find an Architect to Design a Simple Glass Box: Museum Addition (The architect is from London).

• Best Public Art: "Alaska Life" office building at 800 A St. The crumbling, weed-choked concrete planters and cracked sidewalks create a daring and thought-provoking metaphor for post-oil Alaska.

• Most Thorough Success at Completely Dispensing With Every Last Design Element in an Architect's Concept Drawing: Museum Addition.

• Most Extensive Use of Striped Glass: Museum Addition. Distant Runner-Up: The new building at Benson Boulevard and C Street. It uses the same glass for its parking garage floors, but the designers didn't have the vision or courage to cover the entire building with it. Pikers.

• Most Elaborate Effort to Convert a Sow's Ear Into a Sow's Ear: J. C. Penney parking garage.

• Best Reference to a Classic Alaska Architectural Vernacular: Museum Addition. The design pays reverent homage to the old Alaska tradition of slapping a huge CDX plywood lean-to on to the side of a beautiful old 1956 Spartan "Royal Manor" trailer.

• Most Spectacular Funding Prioritization of Bulk Interior Space Over Attractive Exterior Design: Museum Addition.

• Best Christmas Season Building: Museum Addition. The addition of a giant red bow on the roof would complete the uncanny resemblance to a box wrapped in inexpensive foil paper.

Guess the overall grand champion is obvious.

-- Ken Higgins

Anchorage

In tally of public servants, don't forget to include school teachers

Say that you are laying out an outline for an imaginary town and all the businesses it needs to have. A question that might come to mind is: What can't a city do without? What is absolutely necessary?

Sure, the first thing that comes to mind is public safety. Police officers, firefighters, hospitals, they are extremely important to society. Without them, we would be a mess.

But many of us forget about our teachers. Without an educated society, we would be nowhere. We wouldn't be able to read street signs, figure if we were staying inside our budgets, or even get good jobs. So if you can read what I just wrote, pick up the phone, call your teachers and thank them for how much they helped you.

-- Claire Lacey, 11

Anchorage

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