On Jan. 9, the Anchorage Assembly finally decided to rename the Port of Alaska after late U.S. Rep. Don Young. This process started March 18, 2022, after Young passed away. That is almost two years of postponing and delaying a topic that could have been decided in 10 minutes. And keep in mind: This is simply renaming the port.
It has no impact on the Alaska economy, yet the decision could not be made in a timely manner. And if it weren’t for Don Young’s wife and Mayor Dave Bronson showing up to the Assembly meeting and pressing the members for a decision on the matter, it likely would have been pushed out even further.
This begs the question: If they cannot make a simple decision to honor an Alaskan that fought for and brought billions of dollars to Alaska, does the Anchorage Assembly have any urgency when it comes to matters that do have an impact on our economy? Or are they delaying decisions that are impacting Alaskan’s day-to-day life as well?
Another decision was delayed that could have potentially garnered more tax income for the city. That decision was related to marijuana dispensary drivethroughs and free samples. The Assembly decided to postpone their decision and denied these new regulatory changes for this current meeting. Granted, they did say that these will be discussed further in the future, when the state makes regulations regarding the matter so the local regulations will follow suit. But this does not dispute the fact that we are now potentially missing out on more tax-income that marijuana drive-throughs and free samples may have brought in.
I personally do not care what the port is called. That does not affect our community infrastructure, social issues, etc.
What does have a major impact is delaying decisions which could better our city’s economy. That should be our Assembly’s primary objective; to bring in more tax income and maintain a responsible budget.
Not bickering about naming issues.
— Cody Haxby
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.