Thanks to city for Loved & Lost bench approval
Thank you to Homer City Council, the Parks, Art, Recreation and Culture Advisory Commission, and the Homer Public Library Advisory Board for approving our requests to gift the Loved & Lost memorial bench to the city and to place it at the library when it is completed this fall. Thank you to these groups and individuals, as well as those who wrote letters of support, for recognizing the importance of this memorial bench.
Loved & Lost will honor Duffy Murnane and all the lost ones and those who loved them, and will draw attention to the immense and tragic issue of missing individuals in Alaska, the nation and around the world.
Christina Whiting, Project Manager,
Loved & Lost memorial bench
There they go again
Dear Editor,
Joe Biden and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lost all credibility. Last Tuesday the CDC flip-flopped and is again recommending vaccinated individuals wear face masks indoors. On Thursday Biden followed up with a mandate all federal workers get vaccinated. Well, which is it?
Either the vax works, or it doesn’t. If it works, we wouldn’t have to wear masks. If it doesn’t, why push to vax people? The CDC says this new mask mandate is due to a surge in cases from the delta variant of the disease. Left unsaid is that the vaccine does not seem to be as effective against this variant.
Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb has commented these new policies aren’t based on facts and are doomed to fail. His argument is that delta variant cases have already started declining in England and there should also see a similar decline in the United States in 2-3 weeks.
Since the CDC first allowed the vaccinated to stop wearing masks on May 13, deaths and infections have all trended down in the United States. Covid fatalities today in the U.S. are at the lowest level since the pandemic started last March. Based on these facts, it is unlikely that people will accept these new mandates. That ship has sailed.
Respectfully,
Greg Sarber
All about getting older
I’m 66 years old and good with that. I’ve been looking for a job for awhile now. Yes, I realize I have limited computer skills, but all I want is part time work. We are very dependable, on time, and I’m a great customer service person. Why are we not given a chance to prove ourselves ?
I was a caregiver for 10 years with my sweet husband. No, I can’t do this now. All I want is part time work to prove myself. All older folks that want part time work, give us a chance. We are a great addition to society.
Debi Ross
Greetings, fellow Alaskans
My name is Huhnkie Lee, and I’m running for 2022 U.S. Senate as an independent Alaskan.
What would be ideal qualities of a good politician? As a voter myself, I’d love to see a candidate who can sing, dance, entertain, and make me laugh. I’d also want the candidate to be innovative, creative, bold, brave, courageous, intelligent, and knowledgeable. And it’d be super nice if the candidate has a fantastic social skill and reaches out across the aisle and knows how to compromise a little, to make something happen. The kind of candidate who is not bound by partisan political agendas.
Sorry to be narcissistic, but ladies and gentlemen, I was describing myself. At the very least, I strive to be such an ideal politician, everyday. Now, let’s have some fun. Let’s talk about Pebble Mine, shall we? No other subject matter concerning Alaska these days is as controversial as Pebble. People’s emotions get all riled up on Pebble. Some are pro-Pebble, others are anti-Pebble. Me? I’m pro-Pebble. Whoopsie …
Say a fisherman kills a salmon. That’s good because we make money off of a salmon’s death. I think that’s better than a volcano killing a salmon, or even a grizzly killing a salmon. Why? It’s because such salmon’s death caused by a volcano like 1912 Novarupta, or by a hungry bear, we don’t get to make any money off it.
What if Pebble Mine kills just one salmon? More here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3890437
Thank You!
Hunkie Lee, Wasilla
Explore packaging alternatives to plastic
Good news!
The Washington Post reported a couple weeks ago that “Maine became the first state in the nation to require companies that create consumer packaging to pay for the costs of recycling it. … The legislation on EPR for packaging will charge large packaging producers for collecting and recycling cardboard boxes, plastic containers and other packaging materials, as well as for disposing of nonrecyclable packaging. The income generated will be used to support recycling efforts in local communities that have long relied on taxpayer dollars.”
I am overwhelmed with a mixture of disbelief and relief. Disbelief that regulatory legislation like this could pass any congress these days. Relief of course that it did. For now. Will other states follow? We have all seen pictures and video of the rafts of plastics floating in the ocean. We have heard that recycling plastic is a money losing business, that it’s more profitable for companies like Shell to use their oil to produce new plastic, especially now that alternative energy is slowing the gas markets.
China doesn’t want our dirty plastic. Americans are not willing to clean their plastics. The numbers 1 and 2 plastic containers we locally and faithfully take to the landfill go where? Some small businesses are getting creative and manufacturing products made out of used plastic we can choose to buy. I am haunted by videos of small poor countries with miles-wide piles of plastic garbage in their communities that children roam through. Plastic trash is one of the largest legacies this era of humanity will leave for future generations. It is now everywhere, not just the oceans and shores. It is found in our soil, fish, wildlife and us. It has grave impacts.
Alaska, being a Republican anti-regulation state, probably would never ever consider passing legislation like Maine. Inevitably it is up to the consumer. Walk down the store aisles and note all the plastic. Just consider yogurt. Our local grocery bakery has been closed, and we are sad about that. But the land fill is getting a break from all that single-use clam shell plastic conveniently housing those yummy baked goods being dumped in it.
There are packaging alternatives that don’t involve plastic. I’ve written to food companies and asked why they package things in plastic that can’t be recycled and are harmful. No answer. Whenever, I can I try to choose the product not wrapped in plastic. Or maybe I don’t need that product after all.
Therese Lewandowski
Homer Foundation history has been enjoyable
I have been enjoying Tom Kizzia’s history of the Homer Foundation. As I recall, Steve Yoshida had a community meeting at Land’s End to announce his vision to establish a foundation. Based on his experience with his legal clients, there were those who wished to leave something to the community, and what better way than a foundation, whose funds are invested, wisely, and that income could then be used to support many of Homer’s organizations when the oil money runs out?
The idea of the oil money running out then was almost inconceivable, yet I recalled the 1980s downturn during my tenure on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board. We had no choice but to make unpopular cuts to the education programs. So, what Steve suggested made a lot of sense to me. And wow, what a blessing that foundation is now. The investments into Homer are priceless.
Also, the ice rink was not built with Exxon Valdez funds, but that was funded thanks to our Uncle Ted, Sen. Ted Stevens. He served on the U.S. Olympic Committee and was very interested in amateur sports, coauthoring the Amateur Sports Act. He generously helped the Kenai Peninsula as we prepared to host the Arctic Winter Games. I served on the Borough Assembly at that time, and recall that very well. The Kevin Bell Ice Arena has been a huge blessing for our young people. I am so grateful it was built in Homer.
Milli Martin
How’s that secure border working out?
We had a secure border until Biden came into office. How’s he doing so far?
Ray Dawson
