Anchorage Daily News

Who has answer about gas price?

I don't get it; can someone please explain to me. Oil is down $18 a barrel over the last two weeks but the cost of gasoline has only come down a penny! What economic principle am I missing here? Not supply and demand, at least as I understand it. Greed, hmm ... I don't get it; please help!

P.S. I don't work for the oil industry!

-- Tim Brady

Anchorage

Nothing's cute about urban bears

Citizens of Anchorage, wake up! There are bears in our city limits and there has been no outraged public outcry to get them away from our homes, families and children.

People think it's cute to see a bear in their tree; they take pictures; the paper publishes them. A bear comes within inches of permanently crippling an athlete; a teenage girl is mauled, traumatized emotionally and physically with scars that will last a lifetime and no one rises to scream that this is insane to allow bears to live among us?

Well, I'm doing that now. This is outrageous!

Those animals are wild, they are not tame, and they are predators. There should be open season on any bear within the city limits. At the very least they should be drugged on sight, trapped and released in the distant wilderness.

I have children and grandchildren here that I don't want to see mauled or killed by animals that have no business being among us.

We used to have thousands of Canada geese all around town, that is, until an Air Force jet was brought down by colliding with a flock of them. The whole crew perished. What human sacrifice will it take to rid us of the bears?

Please, Anchorage, join me and demand that our city officers rid us of this threat.

-- Leslie Alldredge

Anchorage

Writer opted for fearmongering

It is rare that I am so incensed by a newspaper story that I have to take a day to cool off before writing, but that is what happened when I read the very negatively slanted headline story about Safe Harbor.

In the first place, Safe Harbor is not a "homeless facility" in the usual sense of the phrase. One has to dig deep into the story to learn that the residents are struggling people trying hard to make a decent life for their families. Lynne Ballew, the founder of Safe Harbor, is the hardest working and most compassionate person I know. As the founder of the program that became Bean's Cafe, she has 30 years of experience and solid credentials in this area.

Her residents are in transition, moving from dependency to homes of their own. As a Muldoon resident of almost 40 years, I welcome this program to our neighborhood and urge my neighbors to do the same. If one wants to learn more about Safe Harbor, phone or visit Lynne -- she'd be glad to give a tour.

I resent the implication that Muldooners are NIMBYs, and I further resent the quote referring to Earl Mayo. Earl has been a civic-minded pillar of the Northeast community for too long to be slandered that way. What a shame your reporter chose to use fearmongering as an attention-grabber.

-- Anne Gauthier

Anchorage

All need affordable housing

While reading your article on the recent influx of Sudanese refugees into our city, I became dismayed with the remarks of Rebecca Kuon, a recent arrival. Kuon speaks of her difficult life in Sudan, fleeing from her village and her journey to freedom that has led her here.

While compassion runs deep in my heart for those who have been displaced for whatever reason, I am dismayed with the way in which Kuon is almost commanding us to prepare affordable housing for the Sudanese refugees. Kuon voices her concern regarding affordable housing and seemingly threatens us with her comment of "There is not enough places to stay. More people are coming. You need to be ready for our people."

Affordable housing needs to be available to everyone in need, not just Sudanese refugees. As I continue to work with the homeless and the ever-increasing new class of working poor, I see the need for affordable housing for all those in need and not just one small community of displaced people.

There are good programs in our community that are already seeking to create affordable housing for those desiring a place to call home. Let us work together as one community of people and support these programs to help solve this widespread problem, instead of catering to small ethnic groups of people demanding special attention.

-- Theresa Langberg

Anchorage

Safe Harbor deserves open hearts

I am so excited about the Chinese restaurant and Ramada Inn being turned into a "safe harbor" for transitional living for the homeless.

I can understand the community and their concerns, but transitional living programs are the greatest thing out there for helping people get off the streets and eventually get jobs and homes of their own. This will not increase crime in the area but help eliminate it.

I live in the Muldoon area. There are people already sleeping out on benches and hanging out around the bars and liquor stores, and sleeping out in tents in the woods, which truthfully is more dangerous for them than for us.

With transitional programs, alcohol and domestic violence are way more controlled than people being on the streets or staying at a hotel until their disability check is gone. Please open your hearts to this very needy program. And everyone that can give, give.

-- LaVonne Geffe

Anchorage

Duties kept Palin from pageant

In response to the July 26 letter "Where was Miss Alaska story?" several of Judi Spry's comments need correcting.

For the record, Gov. Sarah Palin was never Miss Alaska. She does, however, support the Miss Alaska Pageant, so much so that she took time to welcome the participants via video -- a project that our communications team produced. Although the governor was not able to attend the pageant herself, the first gentleman spent two days away from his commercial fishing work to serve as a judge for the event. Gov. Palin had previous commitments the day of the event in both Anchorage and Fairbanks -- one of which was a congressional visit regarding ANWR. She offers her congratulations to Miss Alaska, Stephany Jeffers, and wishes her every success as she competes in the Miss America Pageant on Jan. 24.

-- Rosanne Hughes

Office of the Governor

Stay out of state business, Todd

What is Todd Palin's role in state business? Why is this question even being asked? If Palin wants to be governor, let him run like everyone else. He's the governor's husband and that is where it should end. If he isn't careful he's going to ruin his wife's reputation, and no politician needs that. Not in these times. So, Sarah, tell hubby to back off and leave state affairs to those who are actually elected to do so.

-- Steve Carson

Anchorage

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