Anchorage Daily News

Bear hunt not the only solution

Re: (July 15) "Grizzlies leave nerves frayed on Peninsula."

In Cooper Landing, some say a hunt may be the only solution. What about better care when out in the wild? Stash away things that would lure wildlife into where you and yours may be. Why must killing ("hunt") be the answer?

-- Sandra Quinones

Anchorage

Kill or relocate urban bears

I am retired and I just got back from the "wilds" -- where I do pack a 12 gauge or a .44 magnum pistol. No bear, or no dozen bears, is worth the pain, disfigurement and/or potential loss of life that poor young girl endured in Bicentennial Park. People built the cities, trails and even plastic garbage cans for people -- not for wild animals. People (hundreds of thousands of us) should be able to enjoy our endeavors without the fear of wild bears and moose. However, there is a small minority of people that insist we should suffer, endure fines and not protect ourselves -- for any reason -- because they are in control and "love" ... (whatever)?

The solution is simple: Relocate (a minimum of 200 miles from civilization) or exterminate every bear within 50 miles of city boundaries and thin the moose populations 50 percent to 75 percent within cities (giving the meat to the needy). Thinning moose would protect many people and their cars from (many) severe injuries and damages.

-- Mike Golick

Anchorage

Conservation a sign of patriotism

Reflecting on our 232 years of working together to find "a more perfect union," it became evident to me that the highest indicator of patriotism for regular citizens is not the giving of one's life in a battle theater, especially a theater the stage of which has been propped up by autocratic politicians, but the competent conservation of "energy" (which is, per Einstein, not just oil!) to solidify the foundation of our future republic.

Call it conservation, prudence, economics or self-sacrifice, we all do it gladly for our own children; shouldn't a real patriot be the one doing it for his or her country?

-- John S. Sonin

Juneau

Things haven't changed in Alaska

On July 13, articles in the Daily News made interesting statements about Alaskans. One suggested that Alaskans like to think of themselves as rugged individualists while also being addicted to government largesse ("Palin rebate proposal makes sense"). The other argued that Alaskans tend to be less religious than Americans generally ("Believe it or not, Alaska's one of the nation's least religious states"). Both of these claims are correct and both go back a long way.

While researching a book on early Nome (1898-1934), I was struck by the lack of religiosity there and also by the fact that those who did go to church were very tolerant of others. I have noticed the same thing in research for a book on early Anchorage. It's not just religion: There was a degree of equanimity in early 20th century Alaska (or at least Nome and Anchorage) that is striking. Sometimes historians have focused on racial conflict, but compared to the Outside there was little of it in Alaska's towns -- even though early Anchorage was highly diverse ethnically and religiously. Life was challenging enough.

As for simultaneously loving and hating government, it's everywhere in Alaska's historical record. Often in the same newspaper, one article will denounce intrusive government while the article next to it demands more government goodies. This is a constant in the history of Alaska.

-- Preston Jones

professor of history

John Brown University

Siloam Springs, Ark.

Try insuring Pebble mine project

Northern Dynasty has enveloped us with ads lately about the safety and sensibility of their proposed project. Despite the risk that the mine poses to the Bristol Bay fishery, Northern Dynasty should be allowed to go forward with the project, under one condition -- that they are willing to obtain insurance for their venture. The way they have described it to the public is that there is little or no risk in the project, so they should have no problem finding an insurance company to cover it. As a start, they would need to insure against the tens of thousands of fishing jobs that would be lost should the fishery be contaminated, the cleanup of Bristol Bay, and the rehabilitation of the fishery, drinking water and the economy. An insurance company would laugh them all the way back to Canada, so why aren't we?

-- Cameron McFarlane

Anchorage

Other religions deserve a voice

It would have been in keeping with Anchorage's great diversity to have had the voices of the Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic and Hindu religious communities heard in the article "Believe it or not, Alaska's one of nation's least religious states." I am the resident priest of a local Buddhist temple and I would have been happy to respond to the article's findings. As a member of one of the tolerated religions in Anchorage, please do not forget that the efforts of all communities of faith can bring about compassion and wisdom; Anchorage could only benefit from our combined prayers.

-- Rev. Jishin Diane Johnson

Anchorage

Construction workers not exempt

Yes, summer is here and so is construction and we all see the signs posted for double fines and reduced speed ahead. Most follow these, but I have also observed semis, utility trucks and construction trucks in the field going from one spot to another that are speeding through these double-fine zones.

I watched one semi go through a red light and we had to wait a good 10-plus seconds for him to get through the light so we could have our turn. I watched a truck of the company that is working on the road project speed through and pass when it says no passing. So why are they not following the signs they put up?

-- Leslie Little

Eagle River

This calls for a Gary Keeler zinger

Ya know, I've seen a lot of cockamamie Yankee Doodle yips, yaps and yelps in the ADN letters section over the centuries -- and let them pass -- but Wade Hampton Miller's clueless assessment of Garrison Keillor's column "got," as they say here in Northern Hades, "my goat." Not since Truman Capote sniffed and minced, "... eeeeww, Kerouac? That's just typing," has someone so misappraised and misprized an artist of this caliber. "Ramble, ramble, ramble ...?" Ja shure, Keillor at times, adopts the casual, folksy cadence of the prairie ... but he hardly rambles. And if he mentions "The Current Occupant" frequently and in less than flattering terms, is that anything but local color or accurate realism? The beauty of Keillor's columns is that his voice rings as true in print as in a Guy Noir episode. I can sometimes hear him speak when I read his columns.

If I had to find fault in the gentleman, it would stop and end with his name. "Keillor" -- indeed. "Garrison" -- snort. This bit of Scottish affectation is unbecoming to the greatest writer of the people since Dickens and Twain. Nothing a quick trip to a notary and the Lake Wobegon department of vital statistics couldn't fix, however.

In short, Mr. Miller, you can kiss Gary Keeler's zither; you're not half the mandolin he is. And on that note, good night.

-- Greg Granquist

Anchorage

Polar air route worth trying again

Apparently Anchorage was once an international air traffic hub. During the Cold War, Soviet airspace was closed to flights from Europe going east to the Orient. It was economical for cargo and transport flights headed for Japan and Asia to fly the polar route, stop and refuel in Anchorage and continue on to Japan, et al. This was a direct link to Europe that was apparently discontinued when the Soviet government collapsed. It became economical for Asia-bound European flights to fly east over the previously forbidden Soviet territories.

With the U.S. dollar dropping in value, the favorable exchange rate for the euro has seemingly caused an increase of European visitors to Alaska. If airlines are encouraged to fly regular nonstop international routes eastward, rather than just westward, more European visitors and dollars might come into the state other than by tour.

According to Google Earth, the direct route from Anchorage to London is approximately 4,500 miles. The common Seattle-to-London nonstop route is 4,700 miles. Going through Chicago totals over 6,800 miles and through Seattle, 6,200. The detours, plane transfers and airport hassles are what make Alaska seem so isolated. Could direct air travel between Alaska and some European hub make sense again?

-- Ken Green

Cooper Landing

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