Anchorage no place for bears
Bill Sherwonit (Commentary, Nov. 29) is at again, defending Anchorage-area bears. The supposedly "appalling high" kill of bears in 2017 …" is disturbing" and "unacceptable."
And many of Anchorage Bowl residents apparently are under the mistaken notion that "a bear is a bear and that means serious danger."
I would suggest that such Anchorage residents are not that mistaken (and are not "rogue"). A bear is a bear and as such poses a potential danger to humans under specific circumstances. This is not intended to bad-mouth bears, which are magnificent top predators. But bears do not belong in dense urban environments. The Anchorage Bowl is long overdue for a change in its bear management program. As I've pointed out in the past, intensive bear hunting will reduce numbers and educate bears to the danger of close human contact. Any such program for the Anchorage Bowl would involve less than 1 percent of bear habitat in Alaska.
For those wanting up-close and personal contact with bears there are near unlimited opportunities out there … in the other 99 percent of Alaska. For the rest of the Anchorage Bowl, you can contact the Alaska Board of Game, the Director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation, and the Commissioner of Fish and Game, and let them know that the time is long overdue for a special intensive bear management program in
GMU 14C. Contact info for all three entities is on Fish and Game's website.
— Jim Lieb
Palmer
Story highlights oxymoron
I found the article of Nov. 28 "'Elitists, crybabies and junky degrees:' A growing disdain for universities," very entertaining. The fellow complaining about the value of degrees is mentioned as having succeeded because of his college education. He also rails against government support for education while having received the benefit of education and his military experience through government support. Because of his government support he was able to get functional degrees that helped him move up in the corporate world with defense contractors (aren't these contractors paid by the government?).
It gets better with this fellow; he is glad his children are not hanging out with weirdos at institutions that allowed him to move up the corporate government ladder. No sir. Son number one lives at home working the 40-acre ranch in Arizona. Is that an oxymoron? Son number two has thumbed his nose at over-funded government institutions and enlisted in the Army. Am I missing a logic disconnect? Someone please help me.
— Jon Stewart
Palmer
Paper's name a day short
The name change should have been Anchorage Six-Days-A-Week News.
— Myra Barnes
Anchorage
Consider other news sources
As a 40-some year subscriber to an Anchorage daily newspaper, I was looking forward that with the change of ownership of our daily paper we would perhaps see a more diverse publication of national and world news articles and opinions. But no, it is still just the East Coast Liberal publications of The New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post (WP).
For instance, in today's (Nov. 30) paper there is one WP and two NYT on Page 1, one WP and one NYT on the Memory Page, two NYT on the Economy Page, four WP and one NYT on the Nation and World Page, and one of each on the Sports and Outdoors Page.
Did you editors ever consider publication of articles from The Wall Street Journal, Fox News or any of the other publications with different views and opinions from those of the East Coast news papers?
— Hank Warren
Eagle River
Trump is no role model
One of the more effective parenting strategies is to help our children identity positive role models. U.S. presidents have often been held up as examples: Washington who couldn't tell a lie; Lincoln who walked 3 or 4 or more miles to school each day and was known as Honest Abe. How does our current president stack up as a role model? Unable to lie? I don't think so. Love of learning, not apparent. Honesty, hardly. What does he model? Bullying; name-calling; disregard for the truth; disrespect for women; intolerance; insensitivity; rudeness. The list goes on.
Are these the characteristics we want modeled for our children? I think not. If he's not fit to be a role model for our children how can he be fit to be the leader of our country?
— Susan Soule
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@adn.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@adn.com.