“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H.L. Mencken I don’t blame junior assembly members Will Prisciandaro and Sean Maidy for wanting the borough to take over the trash business and to…
The Haines Community Marching Band was all set to parade down Main Street on Independence Day when someone noticed rebellion in the drum section. We were scheduled to play an arrangement of “Yankee Doodle,” but the drummers hadn’t stuck their feathers in their caps and called it macaroni. In fact, their feathers weren’t anywhere near their caps. They were instead…
Good ships are built to withstand heavy seas. I once sailed as a merchant seaman on a ship on high seas in the Pacific, and I felt the ocean tossing around the 700-foot vessel beneath my feet. With each wave, the ship pitched up then down before righting itself and plowing into the next, oncoming swell. The effect was frightening…
There were blue skies and mountain views in Alaska last week, but you had to go to Tok to see them. I know because I drove from smoky Haines to hazy Anchorage and the town that bills itself as “Alaska’s Main Street” offered the only respite from the grey veil that descended on us. When Tok becomes our showcase, we’re…
There were blue skies and mountain views in Alaska last week, but you had to go to Tok to see them. I know because I drove from smoky Haines to hazy Anchorage and the gas station of a town that bills itself as “Alaska’s Main Street” offered the only respite from the grey veil that descended on us. When Tok…
Former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, who was sometimes a visionary, said Alaska one day would be the OPEC of fresh water. Wally dreamed of a pipeline to carry Alaska’s water to the thirsty parts of the American West. His point was well-taken. Oil, as a commodity, is replaceable with new technologies. But there’s no substitute for fresh water. It’s the…
Two weeks ago, I felt compelled to contact the news media: I ate a juicy peach in Haines. My experience was purely accidental, as I don’t buy peaches at local stores. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy peaches as much as anyone, probably more, and I shop at home. But buying a ripe peach in Haines – or in Alaska,…
One of our town’s most sublime experiences is a meal in the Hotel Halsingland dining room, followed by a drink in the bar perhaps and a walk around the Fort Seward Parade Grounds on a warm summer evening. For a short spell, a person can escape the grit, callouses and heartbreak that come with living year-round in a small town…
“This is the time to infuse government resources into nonprofit organizations to maintain critical public services.” Economic Report by Alaska’s Foraker Group, January 2018 If you think the Haines Borough won’t zero out grants to non-profits, you haven’t been watching lately. Non-profit funding, the amount of money the government sets aside for competitive grants to citizen groups…
I am learning to go on with my daily life despite corruption and imbecility in the White House. I am developing personal acceptance that all three branches of our federal government, much of our state government and oftentimes our local government are either directly controlled by or at the beck and call of selfish, malevolent interests. I’ve come to understand…