Spencer Knutsen

We’ve lived here for 10 months and really like Homer. I see so many anti-Pebble Mine stickers, and I also see people complaining about the rising cost of fuel, sales tax, property tax and utilities hike. I come from a small community in Bristol Bay, and fished the Nushagak for more than 20 years. We were forced to move because of the rising cost of living, such as groceries and fuel. I felt bad for moving, but when you have to decide between buying a loaf of bread for your kids, or buying a gallon of fuel to heat your house for a day or two, or buying a gallon of gas to go look for a job, it became very clear to me to move my family.
Which brings me to my opinion to all you anti-Pebble Mine people who don’t know how hard it is to live in a village or town where the cost of living is more than they can make in a year. Without the job opportunities that Pebble Mine offers, good people make bad decisions such as drug-dealing or bootlegging.
Back to Homer’s problems: You have half the community complaining about the rising cost of utilities and trying to look into alternative ways to lower their utility bills such as coal, geothermal and wind generators. (I have not heard a complaint about solar panels yet.) The other half  complains about air pollution from burning coal, water pollution from geothermal,   and the latest one, wind generators creating noise pollution and (I really like this one) visual pollution. There is no happy medium in this town.
I’ve been watching, listening and reading all these complaints and good ideas. To all those people who have alternative ways to lower your cost of living, good job. Don’t let your negative neighbors get the best of you. Do they pay your bills? Do they put food on your table? Do they provide clothes for your children?
And to all the negative people who complain about the rising cost of living – turn your power off or cut off your utilities, park your car, sell your computer and recycle your cell phone. And leave your power boat out of the water. There is no such thing as having your cake and eating it too –  unless you’re Sarah Palin or our lovely President Obama.
I know this letter will offend a lot of locals, but let’s not flood the Homer Tribune with negative opinions because of mine. I would love to hear from you, negative or positive. I will try to answer every e-mail one at a time, in a timely matter. E-mail spencer_4_hire2002@yahoo.com

Spencer Knutsen is “an anti-Sarah Palin and President Obama, truly yours, born and raised, never left-Alaska supporter of Pebble Mine oil and gas Native.”

Izetta Chambers

I was dismayed and frankly, disgusted at the recent Supreme Court decision that would allow the Kensington gold mine to dump industrial waste into a freshwater lake. Those of us who depend upon the salmon fishery are frustrated that the Clean Water Act could be subverted in such a way.
My family and I have commercially fished the waters of the Bristol Bay watershed for four generations. I formed and now manage Naknek Family Fisheries, a family-owned and operated fishing business located in Naknek, on the shores of Bristol Bay. Our livelihoods are now threatened more than ever by this dangerous legal ruling.
One of Northern Dynasty’s options proposed for waste disposal has been to pump it into Lake Iliamna. Even if they decide against this option, the tailings pond could wipe out Frying Pan lake, a spawning ground for juvenile salmon.
Regardless of whether it’s Lake Iliamna or Frying Pan Lake or another nearby lake, the high court’s decision opens the door for the proposed developers of the giant Pebble deposit to place an estimated 2 billion tons of mine waste into water bodies that produce fish.
Pebble Mine Development Concept 12 envisions deep-water storage of mine waste in Lake Iliamna, Alaska’s largest lake and some the world’s most important wild sockeye salmon habitat. The Pebble developers have yet to settle on a mine plan, so the public has no way of knowing if they still want to sacrifice Lake Iliamna or if they have their eye on one of the other countless lakes in this watershed.
Dumping waste into a lake saves Kensington’s owners money, and dumping tailings into Lake Iliamna would also save Northern Dynasty and foreign-owned partner, Anglo American, a lot of money. Pumping the waste into the lake would mean that the developers would not have to spend millions, if not billions, of dollars to build the super-sized dams and tailings impoundments that a project of this magnitude would otherwise require.
I have no doubt that by raising these concerns the Pebble developers and their supporters will say I’m exaggerating the risks and that I should “wait and see” what their final mine design looks like before I condemn the project. But by the time they release their mine plan, the train will have left the station. I don’t feel that Alaska Department of Natural Resources has the power or the will to stop this project.
Now, with the nation’s highest court ruling that it’s okay to put mine waste into a natural lake – something the Clean Water Act was written to outlaw – my alarm bells are sounding. It’s time for Alaskans to tell Gov. Palin to protect Bristol Bay’s headwaters with stronger safeguards and to declare Lake Iliamna and other nearby lakes, streams and rivers off limits to mine waste.

Izetta Chambers is the owner and manager of Naknek Family Fisheries and holds a law degree from the University of Arizona, College of Law.

Americans are looking to Congress and the White House to see whether lawmakers and the president will deliver on their promises to reform our healthcare system. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) – which is considering comprehensive healthcare reform legislation – I am committed to working with both my Republican and Democratic colleagues.
However, our success will be measured by whether we craft a healthcare bill that reduces costs while providing affordable, comprehensive medical coverage that ensures continuous access to nurses, doctors, medical health services, and does not interfere with the ability of individuals to continue choosing the healthcare provider of their choice.
As Democrats unveil reform proposals that amount to a massive government intervention, let’s recall the 1965 Medicare law that created the first federally run insurance program for the elderly and the disabled. At that time, we made many of the same promises to the American people that we are making today. We pledged that when you are no longer able to work, Medicare will take care of you. Similarly today, we are touting a government-run health plan, modeled on Medicare, that would provide all Americans with guaranteed access to care and choice in providers.
In Alaska, doctors are turning away Medicare patients who are being forced to pay out-of-pocket for medical care or forgo care altogether. In Anchorage – where half our state’s population resides – only 13 out of 75 general practice doctors are accepting Medicare patients. What doctors and patients in Alaska have quickly learned is that Medicare’s low reimbursement rates and bureaucratic hassles are hurting patient choice and access to care.
Simply put, Medicare is broken – and unfortunately, the problem only seems to get worse. In fact, Medicare is quickly going bankrupt and will actually be insolvent by 2017. Somewhat predictably, Congress is trying to dramatically expand the soon-to-be-bankrupt Medicare program without taking steps to fix or stabilize the underlying problems. I cannot support making a bad situation worse.
Unfortunately, the healthcare reform legislation being pushed in the Senate has not been “carefully crafted” and we still don’t know how this legislation will be paid for. Additional questions are also begging for answers. Should the government require all Americans to purchase health insurance or otherwise face monetary federal tax penalties? With the downturn in our economy, should we force employers to provide insurance for both full-time and part-time employees? This could result in employers lowering wages to pay for healthcare benefits and hiring contract employees instead of new employees to avoid the onerous burdens of healthcare costs. Will a new government-run insurance program, modeled on the Medicare model, put more Americans at risk of limiting access to their doctors like the Medicare program has in Alaska?
Finally – and particularly in light of the massive debt the federal government continues to amass – how much will this reform cost and can we afford the price tag? The United States is already facing a debt of $1.8 trillion for this year alone. We don’t buy a car or purchase a home before we know the price and whether or not we can afford it. Preliminary estimates project the cost of the pending healthcare reform plan well in excess of $1 trillion. Shouldn’t we explain to Americans how we intend to pay for this?
The stakes are simply too high to rush a bill through Congress, particularly if the result is to expand a severely broken Medicare program and drive the nation trillions of dollars further into debt. The “reform” currently being touted by the White House and congressional Democrats would deny millions of Americans their choice of a doctor and leave crucial healthcare decisions in the hands of government bureaucrats. This is not the kind of healthcare reform I would support, nor is it a plan the nation can afford.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, one of the key panels involved in drafting comprehensive healthcare reform legislation.

Lonnie Keene

First off, thanks to all who have contributed to the Eagle Lady Memorial Fund. Every single penny has been deeply appreciated. I know times are tough and the fact that we have received contributions from so many  that I know are struggling means so much. There have been checks from people on the upper end of the financial spectrum, as well as from those  I know are on fixed incomes.
Although I have tried my best to make people aware of the memorial fund, I have also tried not to actively solicit contributions. Unfortunately, however, things haven’t gone quite as well as I had hoped. With the help of many, we have reached a total of $5,539.94 for the permanent memorial. The reality is that we need about $9,500 more to make sure  we have the funds available to establish a very special lasting memorial for my mom. Make no mistake, there will be a memorial of some kind. Every donation given will be utilized to make sure that happens, whether we have $5,500 to work with, or $15,000.
The process has been a little frustrating, as there have been lots of false starts and people who have made promises that didn’t always pan out. I trust that these promises were made in the best faith, but I also understand that sometimes life gets in the way. So I am asking for a little help. And while I am not talking specifically about financial help, it is obviously the main focus. I would also appreciate any ideas anyone might have for spreading the word.
I have thought about asking some of the photographers and others to  donate something for an eBay auction, and I’ve also thought about posting something about the fund on some of the photography forums.   I know Mom had literally thousands of friends and fans all over the world,   and part of me thinks that if I just had a way to get the word out, we could make our goal.
There are essentially two ways to help. Checks can be mailed to the Homer Council on the Arts at 355 West Pioneer Avenue, Homer, AK 99603. Please be sure to reference “Jean Keene Memorial Fund” on the check. Or, funds can be deposited directly in Wells-Fargo account No.  2527103044 from any Wells Fargo Bank. And please remember that donations are tax deductible.
I humbly ask for any help anyone can provide. I promise you that the memorial will get built one way or another. It just has to.

 
Lonnie Keene is Jeane Keene’s son. 

Jim Hornaday

It is with a deep sense of regret that I find it necessary to veto Ordinance 09-22(A)(S)(A) and Resolutions 09-47(A) and 09-48(S)(A). Although I respect the various views expressed, the vetoes are required in my view for the following reasons:
Although water and sewer rates have been under Council discussion for a number of months, in my view the citizens of Homer are not sufficiently aware of the proposed increases as we are now basically into the summer season and citizens are involved in numerous other activities—graduations, ball games, fishing, travel—and many who depend on the summer season for substantial revenue to enable them to get through the winter are not aware of the proposed water and sewer increases.
I believe that, at the least, the matter should be postponed for additional public hearings until the fall to enable more citizen input. I do not recall any reason given for why these rate increases must go into effect this summer. The current proposal is not the recommendation of the Administration and the Administration has mixed views on the proposal. The Administration has advised they see no real problem if the current rates remain in effect at this time. In fact there would be no serious effects in the near future if the current rates remain in effect.
The Enterprise Fund should be paying for itself, but in reality, there have been a number of grants and funding arrangements beyond the funds from the revenues from the fund. Further, we have a very good relationship with Kachemak City and it was pointed out that the residents of Kachemak City are not aware of the proposed increases. Surely, the residents of Kachemak City should have notice and opportunity to be heard.
The City of Homer has the only large volume of water available to citizens in the area. Raising the water and sewer rates of the vast majority of the citizens in these difficult times is, in my mind, the last approach that the Council should utilize, especially when the figures show Homer water and sewer rates are already much higher than those in other communities. Homer residents pay the highest taxes in the Borough. The State population figures show that Homer lost 200 plus residents in the last year. Homer is reeling from the general increases in energy and other costs, the huge increase in electric bills, substantial increased property assessments and an increase in sales tax rates by the Borough. (Homer is currently the only city in the Borough that does not tax groceries.) The elderly on small fixed incomes are especially hard hit—at least one elderly woman had to give up her apartment.
People are leaving Homer because they cannot afford to live here. Some of our citizens have to choose between paying utility bills and food and medicine. Young families are also suffering. Non-profits and government agencies using substantial amounts of water and sewer services will also be adversely affected. Both the young and elderly are telling me they cannot afford to live in Homer. Half of our good city employees do not live in Homer.
Several business owners testified that the disproportionate burden on businesses will have adverse effects that will reverberate throughout the community such as serious consideration for reducing staff and cutting back on business activities. Business owners have advised they pay more for water and sewer than for heating fuel. One businessman is utilizing sea water pumps on the Spit rather than use City water. In my view these increases have the effect of driving businesses and residents away from Homer when added to the other huge increases in the basic costs of living in this community. Other reasons for the vetoes include, but are not limited to: no rebate for in city bulk users; a suggestion to apply the depreciation funding was not adequately discussed. Beautiful Homer by the sea, where the land ends and sea begins deserves better than these water and sewer rate increases at this time.

Homer Mayor Jim Hornaday is serving his third term as mayor. 

By Ron Rannals

In response to a recent Point of View criticizing Alaskan Wind Industries, I would challenge anyone to log on to the current Web site of the manufacturer of these wind turbines in question and price out the options  mentioned. I found that the prices quoted in the opinion piece do not exist. The writer addressed the costs and options for a direct competitor and exposed what was supposed to be the lethal blow to generate new customers into purchasing automotive car parts, and with the help of some MacGyver reruns on Hulu, create the most indestructible product that works so well that none of the current top manufacturers of wind turbines in the world have showed any interest.
The wind turbines the writer criticized have been manufactured from the ground up by engineers who have engineering degrees. They run tests of prototypes over and over again, manufacture a product, train their partners and install the product with the help of journeyman ironworkers and electricians. With the Skystream product comes a patent and a warranty.
If we all had to convince one another how to build a car using only the local car parts dealer and an old rusted-out car frame, we would be talking ourselves to death about how one manufacturer charges $800 per air bag, when I had proof that they were manufactured in Mexico or China for 25 percent of that price.
“Not a bad profit for two days worth of work,” I would tell my friends and relatives. I would then go on to convince those same people that I had the answer to solve the high prices that the automakers had been charging all of those years. If challenged by friends and relatives that the major car manufacturers had their own engineers, repair facilities nationwide, years of research and development, prototypes that were tested hundreds and hundreds of times, and above all a safe vehicle; I would simply respond, ”My way is cheaper. “Why would I want to give the big automakers more money, so they could make more profit margins? Come on!”
That comment would be challenged by others as well: “What is your warranty policy? How many do you currently have in production nationwide? Can I call up and talk to an engineer (with credentials in his field of study) if something stops working or a bearing fails?”
To that I could respond, “Yes, but look at the money you are saving.”
The reality is that engineers go to school for years, start companies, create new products and apply for patents. They are sponsored by large investment groups, they create several prototypes, they test them over and over for safety and reliability and they market the product with a warranty (that complies with federal and local laws.) The next step is training and partnership distributors (with certified installers for correct operation).
As for the writer trying to expose all the outdated costs and margins of another man’s business – that’s background noise. The economy operates with a profit margin being built into all of the equations of small and large businesses. With the price of Skystream, you are getting a local company to back the product.
Case in point: When someone purchases a home appliance and it malfunctions, they can either read the entire manual to become an expert or call a trained expert. Possibly the reason why Homer Electric Association endorses a product such as the Skystream comes from their own research and approval of operation and reliability. It takes a lot to get trained and start a company these days, and I applaud the efforts of Alaskan Wind Industries for offering a high quality solution with certified journeyman ironworkers and electricians installing the product.
Now, how much was that alternator again? My car ….. I mean my wind turbine is malfunctioning.

Ron Rannals is a former Alaskan resident who currently resides in Santa Barbara, Ca. 

By Steve Gillon

My good friend Peter had a car problem. He loved old, rare and quirky cars that kept breaking down. He never seemed to have reliable transportation, so he kept buying old, rare and quirky cars. Soon his garage, driveway, and finally his front and back yard were packed with really cool but broken cars. He said that nobody in town was good enough to fix his treasures, and parts were hard to come by, so it was easier to buy another car when he needed one. Nobody could convince Peter he had to stop buying and start maintaining.
Peter’s obsession with cars is a lot like our obsession with debt. The principal cause of the latest economic crisis is borrowing and lending. We borrowed too much, and they lent too much. They borrowed more to lend us more, we borrowed even more, and so on. When we realized we could not pay back everything we borrowed, we stopped borrowing, but the economy depended on borrowing, and it slowed down. Some of us lost jobs, which meant we couldn’t repay our debts, so there was less money to loan out again, and so on, a spiral from an overheated economy dependent on borrowing, to a contracted economy desperately in need of money available to borrow.
With entire industries unable to sustain themselves, and investment capital gone the federal government had to step in to “stimulate” the economy with infusions of cash. The problem is, every dollar the federal government collects in tax revenues is not only spent, but spent before it’s collected. So to stimulate the economy, the federal government borrowed, and borrowed as it’s never borrowed before. The logic is that when the economy recovers there will be more tax revenues, and less need for government stimulus, so the borrowing can be repaid.
There’s nothing wrong with the federal government borrowing to spend now, and taxing to repay that borrowing later. It’s called “fiscal policy.” In good times the federal government raises taxes and reduces government spending, to slow the growth of the economy to a sustainable rate. In bad times, the federal government lowers taxes and increases government spending, to speed up the growth of the economy to about the same, sustainable rate.
At least in theory, the Federal Government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” In other words, we ARE the Federal Government, and when the federal government borrows, it borrows from us, so it’s borrowing from itself. Since we are borrowing from ourselves, we can borrow as much as we want, it’s almost like moving a wallet from the right pocket to the left pocket. The money’s in a different pocket, but the same set of pants.
There are two problems with fiscal policy as a tool to dig us out of this economic hole. First, we are all too ready to use fiscal policy to stimulate, but hardly ever willing to use fiscal policy to slow the economy. The only times that the federal government collected more revenue than it spent, since the late ’50s, was in the last years of the Clinton Administration. The federal government has borrowed a staggering amount during the last eight years, to pay for two unending wars, questionable tax reductions, and earmarked appropriations designed to reelect incumbent legislators. Now, when a healthy line of credit would come in handy, the federal government is grossly over extended, and yet it must borrow, and borrow, and borrow some more.
The second problem with fiscal policy is that now we aren’t borrowing from ourselves, but from other countries. We are the largest debtor nation in the world. No other country in the world owes its neighbors more than the U.S., and our largest creditor is China. The political implications of borrowing over one trillion dollars from Communist China are staggering. Moreover, the level of debt we have reached and the vulnerability of our banking system has led investors all over the world to question the strength of the U.S. dollar. There is now speculation that the world may turn to another currency, possibly the Euro, the SDR of the World Bank, maybe even the Yuan, the currency of China, as the new international currency. It almost looks like the world is telling us our debt, like Peter’s car collection, is out of control.
Peter never could control his passion for cars. Fortunately, he fell in love with, and married a woman who could. Soon after they married, she let him keep not one, not two, but three, of his favorite cars. She sold the rest and bought herself a sweet little Mercedes convertible, and a boring but dependable sedan for Peter to drive to work and the car parts store. Hopefully, the lessons we painfully learned in the last two years, some education about the dangers of debt, and enforced discipline in the financial industry will do for our economy what Peter’s bride did for him.

Steve Gillon is associate professor of business and public policy at Kenai Peninsula College. Four of his five vehicles are presently working.

By Vesta Elliot

Earth week coincides with many challenging issues. We could discuss nonrenewable versus renewable resources, clean energy, acidification of our oceans, plastic, ongoing extinction of species, climate change or the final destruction of rainforests equaling 20 percent of our oxygen. We could also discuss topics such as water pollution versus water rights, land pollution versus land rights, organic farming versus genetically modified agriculture, or the pesticide, hormone and antibiotic-laden, factory-farmed food industry. We could even discuss the conventional medical industry versus green, sustainable medicine, socially responsible business versus conventional capitalism, or lack of government oversight of toxic chemicals and global earth rights being taken away by corporate rule. There is a myriad of serious and pertinent issues that challenge our planet today.
Nonetheless, I have chosen this Earth week to talk about community and our responsibility to each other as human beings. I believe that this is the foundation for a healthy world in all of the areas mentioned previously, ad infinitum.
First of all, nothing changes if nothing changes. I have noticed continued unrelenting attacks in politics, even though we now have a precious opportunity to move forward. This internal anger that we harbor affects everything. Do you see the similarities between harmful political slander, verbal abuse and finger pointing and two Pakistani boys both telling a reporter that he would kill his friend if he acted differently from his own political and religious views once he can join his chosen army?
If we as human beings choose not to honor our brothers and sisters and their differing viewpoints, as well as different religious or spiritual views, then we all lose. Facts are facts and feelings are just feelings. We can all have opinions, but do we need to continuously beat each other over the head with them? How will we ever get out of the financial and environmental mire we have created if we do not learn to work together instead of acting like preschool children during a tantrum? It is said that no matter what appears wrong, we each play a part. If we are disturbed about something or someone, then something is wrong with us, too. What is our part? Do we wallow in the problem or become part of the solution in moving forward toward a healthier planet?
It is terrible that many are suffering from human mistakes. However, it appears that more are concerned with currency rather than literally whether or not we have a planet to continue living on in the next century. Old-school economics leads us to believe that the government will take care of us as long as we continue to work hard and support the ongoing growth of Walmart where needless things are more affordable. Our “empire” economy supports such corporations which, in turn, only perpetuates a spiral of problems. These giant corporations profit from our losses. Thus, a downward cycle continues while we continue suffocating our earth with more plastic from China.
The bottom line is that everything points back toward “cooperative communities” and a simpler lifestyle. Live simply so that others may simply live. In David Korten’s book, “The Great Turning – From Empire to Earth Community,” Korten states, “Empire is not the natural order of things. A life-centered, egalitarian, sustainable society based on democratic principles of partnership is possible. We have choices. Life can be hostile and competitive or life can be supportive and cooperative. Humans can be flawed and dangerous or we can have many possibilities. We can be ordered by a dominator hierarchy or we can have order through partnership. We can compete or die or we can cooperate and live. We can love power or we can love all life. We can defend self or we can defend the rights of all. We can be masculine dominant or we can become gender-balanced.
Destructive competition suppresses creative potential and promotes grossly inefficient use of resources. Empire feeds on its own illusions of power, order and security, while becoming a collective addiction of psychological dependence on domination, violence and material excess. It is evident that such behaviors are irrational, morally wrong and destructive of all life on earth.
Earth Communities can give expression to the democratic drive for partnership – to create, share and nurture. They can organize through consensual decision making, mutual accountability, and individual responsibility, while cultivating trust, caring, competence and an equitable distribution of power and resources. This is more fulfilling, more efficient, and ultimately more human. Embracing Cooperative Community with an Earth First focus, allows for a massive reallocation of available human surplus away from maintaining hierarchies of domination to the work of improving the lives of all – not just a few.”
Human selfishness for control and power, as well as an endless desire for convenience and material success, has created the fork in the road where we currently stand. If we stop, reflect honestly and take the road less-traveled, we can heal, have inner peace and healthy perspectives toward a better tomorrow. Saving the planet is the only clear issue and all other relations and challenges must encompass this. However, we cannot save the planet if we cannot first save ourselves. In any relationship there are compromises, but first there must be honor and respect. You cannot have one without the other and you cannot honor and respect another until you first honor and respect yourself.

Vesta Elliot is a Homer business owner of Organic Hair Design, which uses earth-friendly techniques and products

It’s been a challenging winter for rural Alaska villages. High fuel prices, reduced income from fishing and a particularly cold winter have left many residents struggling to heat their homes and feed their families. But action has been taken and work continues.
Through Governor Palin’s leadership and the legislature’s support, the motor fuel tax was suspended. Alaskans who qualified for the 2008 Permanent Fund Dividend also received a $1,200 resource rebate to help with the high cost of energy. In the Lower Yukon River villages of Emmonak, Kotlik, Alakanuk and Nunam Iqua, this meant a total of more than $6.5 million in cash flowed to residents in the region just before winter set in.  
Gov. Palin also supported restoration of the municipal revenue sharing program, which provides $60 million to communities statewide. These funds are critical for rural communities. Roughly $500,000 went to these Lower Yukon River villages and will likely be provided again.  
Also, more than $51 million was included in the FY2009 budget for Power Cost Equalization and $29 million went to heating assistance programs. An additional $4.8 million went to the Bulk Fuel Loan Fund (32 communities have used this year) and $5.5 million for the Bridge Fuel Loan Fund (24 communities have used this year). A statewide energy plan was developed and the state invested $100 million for grants for renewable energy projects.  Another $25 million is pending in this year’s budget.
All of these efforts, through the state budget process, assisted rural Alaskans.  
Current efforts include the mobilization of five state departments.  The Department of Education has made multiple food shipments. Emmonak received 2,452 pounds, Mountain Village received 1,463 pounds and the Bristol Bay Native Association received more than 2,444 pounds. Additionally, the Department of Public Safety transported Food Bank donations of 4,700 pounds to Kotlik and 1,000 pounds to Kipnuk. The Department of Fish and Game extended the moose-hunting season to allow residents another opportunity to put food on their tables. The Department of Health and Social Services is conducting outreach and signing eligible individuals up for the available cash assistance programs. The governor and the lieutenant governor have personally visited the region to deliver food aid and provide moral support. They were welcomed with the traditional warmth and appreciation from community residents that rural Alaskans are known and respected for providing.     
Looking long-term, state employees from different departments, including myself, heard one strong message when we visited: “We need more jobs.” The unemployment rate in rural Alaska is too high. In response, the Alaska Department of Labor and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are looking into ways to increase earning opportunities. 
Department of Labor staff members have been assisting job seekers in Western Alaska for months. To date, they have signed up more than 200 residents from Emmonak, Alakanuk, Kotlik and Nunam Iqua for work search and employment services through the state’s online job bank to help match residents with available jobs and services.
The department will hold a career fair in Emmonak on April 20 with numerous employers, including Alaska State Troopers, Association of Village Council Presidents, Westward Seafoods, Golden Alaska, Ocean Beauty and Kwikpak Fisheries. In addition, Gov. Palin is advocating for budget amendments that could lead to increased earnings for residents from the summer and fall chum fisheries.
The administration is also working on a plan to coordinate fuel orders and deliveries with distributors and communities to achieve maximum efficiency for future fuel purchases. For example, if revenue sharing, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, and other payments to communities are distributed earlier in the year, orders can possibly be placed to distributors sooner and fuel delivered before rivers ice up and expensive fuel has to be flown in.
The governor, the administration, and Alaskans care about rural Alaska and its residents. The state is deploying a wide variety of personnel and approaches to ease the hardships facing those living in rural communities. We are constantly exploring and reviewing options and will remain vigilant to find solutions.
 
John Moller, a lifelong Alaskan, is Governor Palin’s rural affairs advisor.

By Milli Martin

I appreciate the opportunity to address the issues that Mr. Price raised in his letter last week. Yes, assessments have truly escalated, particularly along the Kenai River area up north, and in Homer and the South Peninsula.  
In conversations with several of my constituents, they felt the borough was raising those assessments to increase government spending. Not true. State statute and realty sales are what drive assessments. The Borough Assessing department is charged by the State to assess based on the market value that exists on Jan. 1 of the tax year.  
And it is because of the increases in assessments that the Assembly has often lowered the mill levy over the past few years. I believe it may happen again. Unfortunately, as the borough assessments increase, the state contribution to education, the borough’s biggest cost, is reduced, and the state requires Borough taxpayers  to make up the difference. What helped us greatly last year was to receive the Municipal Revenue Sharing that was reinstated. With the decrease in state income, the future for revenue sharing is very uncertain.  
Because sales tax is dedicated solely to education, but was only covering less than half of that cost, the decision was made to increase it to 3 percent. That gave some relief to property tax payers, which was the goal. The Borough Operations budget for 2009, as adopted by the Assembly last year, is $68,277,113, of which $45 million is for the schools. (That includes maintenance, custodial, post-secondary eduction and bond debt.) The balance of $27 million is for borough operations, including solid waste.
Of the funds for this budget, $28.5 million dollars came from the $53 million in property taxes collected, (including service area dollars that are separate from the borough operations budget), $29 million was projected for sales tax. (With the January change, we have yet to see that impact.) The balance is from federal, state and miscellaneous sources. But as you can see, the sales tax still does not nearly pay for the borough’s portion for schools. (The $53 million in property taxes includes: $43 million real property, $1.5 million personal property, $6.5 million oil and gas, $1.3 motor vehicle tax, and $1.2 million in flat tax and penalties.)
Mr. Price brings up the issue of lawsuits. I find it truly unfortunate that the borough has to defend themselves against what I consider irresponsible suits.
Let me explain.    
The initiative brought forward requiring voter approval for project expenditures of tax payer dollars in excess of $1 million ignored what to do in an emergency. That was one of the expenditures cited in the recent ACT lawsuit. During the floods in Seward a few years ago, a bridge was badly damaged and had to be replaced. This was clearly a health and safety issue. To delay replacement of this bridge in order to go to a public borough wide vote would have been in my view, criminal. Lives were at stake.   And the courts not only agreed, they strongly ruled that needed expenditures could not be limited by initiative.
Likewise, the initiative for term limits was very peculiarly written, making the vote retroactive for three candidates legally running in their districts. It put the Assembly in the unfortunate position of having to tell three duly elected members they could not be seated. Never mind that two of those districts, (remember, Assembly members are voted on only in their district), voted NO on term limits. In other words, the Assembly was put in the untenable position of saying NO to the will of the people of those districts. The three Assembly members effected had to pay out of their own pockets to engage legal assistance so they could be there for their constituents. Who wants to run for public office if that is what they could be faced with? The courts did find that element of the initiative (retroactive part) was illegal, and the ultimate seating of those three members was ruled legal. (The term limits did stand.) Had ACT been content with a simple term limit imitative, all that cost, and upset, would never have happened. (And why was the initiative accepted in the first place?  Because there was no legal precedent to prevent it. That has now been established. I just deeply regret it has to be at taxpayer expense.)
On May 5, the mayor will bring forward his proposed budget. For the following month, there will be considerable discussion about those proposals. I encourage the public to be involved. What is in the budget will determine the mill levy required to pay for it. That will also be contingent on the impact of the sales tax changes, and the ultimate amount funded to the school district.
If you have questions, please call or e-mail. It may take me a day or two to get back to you, but I will. And I welcome your input.

Milli Martin
235-6652
millimom@xyz.net