The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler in Anchorage. Vagrants who camp around the city will are now sleeping outside at 45-degrees. Soon the mayor will be activating the city’s cold-weather shelter program, providing mass shelter and hotel rooms for those who are ready to come inside. The program is required by city ordinance. Over the past five years, the municipality has spent well beyond $250 million in services and shelter for homeless, vagrants, and drifters. This does not count the indirect costs to taxpayers (fire suppression, camp clearing) or expenditures by nonprofits. In our ongoing gallery series about the vagrant crisis in Anchorage, we have photos from the past two days in downtown Anchorage:
Downtown across from City Hall.
Downtown doorway in Anchorage.
Visitors must step around bodies.
But at least they are flying an American flag.
Extinguishing a blaze in a vagrant encampment. Photo credit Anchorage Fire Department.
Fox News is reporting that Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy may challenge US Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2028, citing only an unnamed source said to be someone who “once worked with Dunleavy.”
Dunleavy, whose second term as governor runs through 2026, would be 67 years old by the time of the 2028 general election. Murkowski, first appointed to the Senate in 2002, would be 71.
If elected to another six-year term, Murkowski would be 77 years old by its conclusion in January 2035. Dunleavy, if elected, would be 73 by the end of what would be his first Senate term. The ages of both politicians have fueled skepticism among political observers about whether either can count on long-term tenure in Washington.
The average age of senators in the US Senate is 64.7, but the average age of newly elected senators is 53.9.
Through a spokesman, Dunleavy responded cautiously to the Fox News report:
“Governor Dunleavy is focused on moving Alaska forward during the remainder of his second term by growing our economy through natural resource development, reforming public education and making Alaska an even better place to live and raise a family.”
The governor’s statement avoided confirming or denying the possibility of a Senate run. Morning Consult, a polling and survey firm that routinely measures the approval rating of governors, gave Dunleavy a net 18 positive approval rating in June. Alaska Survey Research polling shows Murkowski now has a negative rating, with 60% now viewing her unfavorably.
On national social media, speculation about a potential matchup spread quickly, with influencers treating the report as credible. But some Alaskans express doubt, noting that this is not a rumor in Alaska, but looks like a rumor mill operation with an unknown intent.
Murkowski’s political trajectory may be headed in another direction. In Alaska, speculation persists that she could run for governor in 2026, potentially closing her long career in elected office with a return to Juneau for four years, maybe with Mary Peltola as her running mate.
Still, with two years left in Dunleavy’s term and Murkowski’s seat not on the ballot until 2028, the political landscape could shift considerably before either makes a decision. For now, we rate this rumor as “highly speculative.”
The cultural assault to get children to see blurred lines between the sexes, question their own sexuality, and transition to the gender of their choice is now an assault by the public education system.
The US Department of Education is conducting investigations into public school systems in two states – Kansas and Massachusetts – because those school systems are ignoring federal regulations by allowing teachers and administrators to administer sexually explicit surveys and keep parents from knowing that their children are being allowed to identify as another gender.
Let’s be honest: It isn’t surprising to hear Massachusetts is up to such nefarious activities, but Kansas, the literal middle of America? Next thing you know, it’ll be reaching us way up here in the great Northwest. Sadly, it already has, thanks to the Anchorage School District. More on that a little later. Let’s take a closer look at Kansas and Massachusetts.
The Kansas schools in question are in Shawnee, Olathe, Kansas City, and Topeka (the middle of the middle.) State Attorney General Kris Kobach alerted Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the situation and McMahon initiated an investigation for violation of Title IX and the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Title IX is best known for giving women and girls equal access to athletic activities; an extremely successful piece of legislation that is now under assault by men and boys who want to compete as females and use female locker rooms. FERPA was designed to give parents the right to access their children’s education records and control the disclosure of their children’s personal information. Intentionally withholding information from a parent about their child’s gender transition infringes on those rights.
Secretary McMahon’s belief – and that of her boss, President Donald Trump – is that parents, not public school teachers or principals, are, by natural right and moral authority, the primary protectors of their children.
FERPA was again cited in Massachusetts after the Massachusetts Family Institute, a sister organization of Alaska Family Council, became aware that Burlington school officials thought it a swell idea to administer a sexually explicit survey to school children as young as eleven. The survey asked students to answer questions involving drug use and sexual activity, including their sexual experience and the ever important utilization of sex toys. Parents were not made aware of these surveys, even though they were supposed to have been given an opt-out option before their children were exposed to them. Now, MFI is pressing for an opt-in policy, meaning students will not be exposed to such activities unless the child’s parents opt to allow it.
That’s where American society is now. Public school officials, and the teacher’s unions that back them, are pushing gender ideology with the self-imposed arrogance that they have the authority to do so without informing parents. No matter how they argue their right to do so, it comes down to the same thing: they feel they know what is best for children. Parental rights be damned.
Secretary McMahon put it succinctly:
The practice of encouraging children down a path with irresersible repercussions – and hiding it from parents – must end. Attempts by school officials to separate children from their parents, convince children to feel unsafe at home, or burden children with the weight of keeping secrests from their loved ones is direct affront to the family unit. When such conduct violates the law the Department will take swift action.
The action her Department will be taking may very well be coming to a school district near us. Anchorage School District has their own guidelines, published on Aug. 20, 2020, and titled, “Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students and Employees,” it provides direction to promote gender bending among students and staff. “These guidelines,” it states, “are intended to be a resource that is compliant with district policies, local, state and federal laws,” but they are running afoul of laws, particularly those of the federal government.
It is obvious that the goal of these guidelines are to “address the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming students and employees,” as that is a direct quote from the document. The impact of these bending over backwards accommodations on the majority of straight, stable individuals is addressed as follows: “For example, a non-transgender student who is uncomfortable about sharing a restroom [with a member of the opposite sex identifying as transgender] can request access to an alternative restroom.” The priority is clear: transgender students can use the restroom they want to use, but if a straight student objects then that straight (read, transphobic) student must request an alternative.
But let’s get to the crux of the matter, that of hiding information from a student’s parents. Administrators and staff are to respect the rights of individuals to be addressed by and pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity. This information is to be obtained from the student in private, so the staff knows how the student wants to be addressed in the classroom, in correspondence with their parents, or during parent-teacher conferences.
To keep the process in order – and keep a student’s parents from knowing how their child prefers to be addressed when his/her parents are not around – the guidelines instruct staff when contacting a transitioning students’s legal name and pronouns that correspond to the student’s gender assigned at birth . . . unless the student, parent, or guardian has specified otherwise. In other words, construct a façade and stick to it unless the parents are on knowledgeable and on board with Johnny’s desire to be known as Sally.
There is some give on the District’s part when it comes to informing parents about their transitioning child. The grade level of the student is taken into consideration. For elementary students (keep in mind, this means children from ages five to twelve who decide they want to change genders) whose transition is creating difficulty for the student at school, approaching the parents is appropriate.
So, a modicum of common sense is in place at the elementary level. It’s at the secondary level, however, where the district guidelines stray and the government-run school asserts is dominance over parents. It reads:
“In some cases, however, notifying parents carries risks for the student if the family does not support the student’s desire to transition. Prior to notification of any parent or guarding regarding the transition process, school staff should work closely with the student to assess the degree to which, if any, the parent/guardian will be involved in the process, considering at all times the health, well-being, and safety of the transitioning student.”
All hail the transitioning students. If they don’t want their parents finding out what they’re up to, then they can rely on the school staff to keep it a secret. Teachers, superintendents, and counselors apparently know what’s best for children, especially when it comes to life altering decisions like choosing to act like a member of the opposite sex.
If this concerns you – and it should – then let the person in charge know. Dr. Jharett Bryantt is the superintendent of Anchorage School District, and can be reached at [email protected] or 907-742-4312.
Superintendent Bryantt is as left-leaning as they come. When the base student allocation debates were raging earlier this year, it was he who announced the ultimate Alaska threat – hockey programs would have to be cut . . . but then turned around and requested an increase in DEI funding. Nevertheless, he needs to hear from concerned citizens, especially parents of ASD students. Sitting by passively will not make a difference. Parents all over the country are finally speaking out, and it’s time Alaskans did the same, especially now that we have a supportive federal administration.
Tim Barto is vice president of Alaska Family Council and a regular contributor to Must Read Alaska.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy told Alaska legislative leaders Friday that he will not extend the special session past its 30-day limit, sharply criticizing lawmakers for failing to take up his proposed education reforms.
The special session, which began Aug. 2, will end this weekend. In a letter to Senate President Gary Stevens and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, Dunleavy said he was “disappointed” the Legislature ignored the education items he placed on the call.
“The fact that Alaska ranks 51st in the nation in educational outcomes should have been addressed years ago,” Dunleavy wrote. “It should have been addressed in the last regular session. It should have been addressed in this special session. Yet it is clear that under the current leadership, there is no real interest in confronting the condition of Alaska’s public education system.”
Instead, the governor noted, lawmakers focused on additional funding without requiring improvements in performance. “The only result produced from this special session was additional money being appropriated to education with no expectations, no accountability, and no measurable outcomes required. That is not reform. That is not leadership. That is not what Alaska’s children deserve,” he wrote.
Dunleavy warned that if the Legislature again fails to enact reforms during the upcoming regular session, he is prepared to call lawmakers back into one or more special sessions.
“I have noted public statements from legislators that they intend to take up meaningful education policy in the next regular session,” he said. “I hope that proves true, but if past inaction is any indicator, I have serious doubts.”
The governor said his administration will watch closely when lawmakers reconvene in January.
“Our children’s future is at stake. They cannot afford more years of delay,” Dunleavy wrote.
For those who are reading this outside of where I live: To understand life in Nikiski, Alaska, picture this: 5,000 people spread across an area the size of Rhode Island. Folks here are independent, practical, and community minded in ways that come naturally when you live in a place with no stoplights. We have one elementary school and a combined middle and high school under a single roof. Student numbers are small, and community ties are strong. Teachers aren’t just names on a roster; they are the people you see at the grocery store, in church, or coaching at the football field. Accountability isn’t abstract in a town like this; it’s face-to-face.
Not long ago, I talked with a new family in Nikiski who homeschools their kids. It reminded me of something I once didn’t know myself, and realize many others don’t know: Homeschooling here doesn’t mean cutting ties with the local schools. Now, I understand that some families do not want anything to do with public schools, and I respect and understand that.
Did you know that homeschool families can still send their kids to welding, shop, or math classes, and students can participate in sports? At the elementary level, homeschoolers can even attend a couple of subjects each day. It isn’t an all-or-nothing choice.
For years, I thought there were two kinds of parents in Alaska: The homeschool crowd and the public school crowd. It turns out, I was wrong (and I’m good at being wrong.) In reality, many families do both. They homeschool and still engage with the public schools. And in a place like Nikiski, that mix can work really well.
If you follow the national headlines, you might think conservatives hate public schools and public schools hate conservatives. But that’s not always the reality I’ve seen. Yes, conservatives often oppose the big teachers’ unions (as I do), but that’s not the same as opposing teachers themselves. And most teachers I know don’t dislike homeschool families; sometimes, they just don’t know how to reach them or understand their points of view.
My own family has lived in an area that overlaps. At one point, all of my kids were homeschooled. Today, one still is a homeschool student. But each has also stepped into public school classrooms, played on teams, and learned trade skills alongside their peers. What once looked like two separate worlds has become, in practice, a partnership.
That’s really the point. Education doesn’t have to be defined by rigid camps or either-or choices. Sometimes, the best path is a combination. Homeschooling and public school do compete with each other, but they can also complement one another, and kids often benefit from that mix.
In a world that seems intent on drawing lines, a town like Nikiski reminds me that life doesn’t have to be that way. We share the same roads, stores, two blinking lights, and most importantly, the same hopes for our kids. When we focus on that, the labels fade, and what matters most comes into view. If you are a homeschool family in Alaska, call your local school and see if you can bring your kid in for an art class. And if you’re a public school leader, reach out to homeschool families instead of assuming they don’t want anything to do with you.
That’s a lesson from a little Alaska town that’s worth remembering anywhere.
It can be true to support good teachers and not the big teachers’ unions. It can also be true to support homeschooling your family but also support your kids in a couple of classes in a public school. They don’t have to be either-or. They can be both.
John Quick is the former host of the Must Read Alaska Show podcast and now hosts his own national podcast, “Stories Worth Hearing,” in which he has had guests who have also been featured on the Joe Rogan podcast.
Legend has it that when Augustus Brown arrived in Juneau in the late 1880s he was on his way to strike it rich in the Klondike gold fields. Perhaps drawn to our majestic surroundings, he bought a downtown lot on the west side of Telephone Hill, overlooking Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island. Brown eventually built a 3-bedroom house there in 1915 and called it home for the next 25 years. He never made it to the gold fields.
Brown passed away in 1949. He left $30,000 for the construction of the indoor swimming pool, completed in 1973, which bears his name today. It sits next to Juneau-Douglas High School. Juneau kids, previously required to take a cold shower before entering the outdoor pool at Evergreen Bowl, were grateful for Brown’s generosity.
Today the 110-year-old house that Brown built on Telephone Hill is still occupied and well maintained. Its current residents have lived there for several years. A simple plaque by the front door proudly identifies their home as the “Augustus Brown House, c. 1915”.
Across narrow Dixon Street (20’ wide) from the Brown House and in the center of Telephone Hill stands the Edward Webster House, built 33 years earlier in 1882. Webster and his father established the first stamp mill in the Juneau Gold Belt. The Webster family owned and operated the Juneau and Douglas Telephone Company from 1893 to 1968, the first commercial telephone service in Alaska.
The current residents of the Webster House have lived there for nearly 40 years. Some locals think the home could be the oldest continuously lived in residence in all of Alaska.
Forty years ago, a Historical Site and Structures Survey by the State’s Archives and Resource and Records Management agency found the Webster House had “major historical significance”. Yet now, the Juneau Assembly wants to bulldoze it to the ground along with the Brown House, along with five other houses mostly over 100 years old, and one lilac tree of the same vintage.
The staggering cost to Juneau taxpayers for scraping historical Telephone Hill clean will be $9 million, according to the city’s estimate. Fiscally conservative local contractor Wayne Coogan believes the estimate may be too low. Coogan attributes the high demolition cost to regulations and procedures governing the disposal of encapsulated asbestos, PCVs, lead, and potential fuel tank contamination.
Coogan would like to see the Assembly reconsider their vote and let the free market decide what to do with Telephone Hill.
In 2023, the city became the owner of the Brown and Webster houses, along with five other historic houses situated on Telephone Hill. The city and borough government received title from the State of Alaska, which had acquired the homes in 1984 under threat of eminent domain for an intended new Capitol building expansion, which eventually fizzled out.
The homes are occupied by tenants who, since 2023, have made out their rent checks to the City and Borough of Juneau instead of the State. Some of the houses are multi-family. Altogether, 10 families would be displaced if Telephone Hill was bulldozed.
It could take years before replacement housing is built. Leland Consulting Group, hired two years ago by the city to identify developers who can deliver the desired product, has come up empty. Their inability to locate a developer should tell the Assembly something, but apparently that message is falling on deaf ears.
In June, the Assembly voted 7-1 to move forward with their Telephone Hill redevelopment plan, despite fierce opposition from Juneau residents. Under the Assembly’s direction, the tenants were given eviction notices requiring them to vacate their homes by Oct. 1. Demolition is expected to commence shortly thereafter.
CBJ’s redevelopment plan is the product of First Forty Feet (“FFF”), an urban design and planning firm based in Portland, Ore. In July of 2024, FFF issued a draft Guide presenting four preliminary design concepts. Concept “C” called for the demolition of the seven historical houses followed by construction of five new mid-rise buildings containing 150 units. Concept “D” called for the retention of the seven historical buildings and the building of four new buildings containing 36 additional units.
An online survey conducted by FFF indicated that Concept C was slightly favored by participants over Concept D by a mere 13 votes. However, the legitimacy of that survey has been challenged by Juneau residents on at least two grounds.
First, the survey did not include an option to vote for no development and to leave Telephone Hill as it is. Second, the survey was conducted from mid-December to early January, when many residents were traveling or preoccupied with holiday planning and events.
Subsequent public outcry over the Assembly’s choices suggests that a neutral and more fairly administrated survey would have resulted in an overwhelming rejection of CBJ’s plan.
Led by a man carrying a sign that said, “Don’t Kill Telephone Hill,” protesters walk up to the top of the path from Egan Drive to Dixon Street in Juneau on Aug. 16, 2025.
On Aug. 16, a group of liberal and conservative minded citizens gathered for a protest rally starting at Marine Park on the Juneau waterfront. Carrying signs like “Don’t Kill Telephone Hill” and “Save the Hill” a group of at least 75 protesters peacefully marched to the top of Telephone Hill.
One of the protestors I spoke with is a conservative — Bob Jacobsen, the founder of Wings Airways, a local glacier flightseeing operator that operates principally out of downtown Juneau. On the issue of the Assembly’s demolition plans, Jacobsen told me he hasn’t talked to a single local who supports CBJ spending the $9 million to evict the current residents and remove the 10 units from our tight housing supply.
On the issue of the Assembly’s non-responsiveness to locals, Jacobsen said: “I regret being apathetic on this issue and not getting involved sooner. This could turn out to be a huge mistake that the Assembly and all of us will regret in the years to come. Let’s let the free market decide what happens with Telephone Hill. I’ve built a few things in Juneau. If multi-family is built on Telephone Hill, it will become the most expensive housing in the Borough.”
One of the organizers of the protest rally was Susan Clark, a gracious, friendly, energetic, and intelligent woman who has been a registered member of the Democrat Party for 55 years. Clark met me at the site an hour before the rally started to give me a personal tour.
The first area Clark showed me was a 100-year-old cherry orchard along the steep, rugged hillside below the Bosch-Carrigan House, built in 1913. This home was identified in the1984 State Survey as having “major architectural value.”
I had met Clark just a few days earlier when she came to a weekly breakfast meeting attended by conservative business owners in Juneau. Clark was there to request the group’s help in reversing the Assembly’s decision to kill Telegraph Hill. At the meeting Clark voiced her frustration and exasperation at the Assembly’s unwillingness to listen to Juneau voters, especially those who live downtown.
A lone liberal amidst a conservative crowd, Clark found common ground and open arms. After the meeting, I spotted Clark sharing a warm hug with long time Juneau conservative Jim Wilcox who often attends meetings wearing a red MAGA cap. In 2023, Wilcox and his wife Cecilia received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Juneau Chamber of Commerce for “decades of giving and volunteerism.”
Clark believes the Plan “C” and its 150 units that the Assembly has chosen is basically pie in the sky. She calculates that after the planned demolition the net buildable area of the site will be about 1.1 acres. If a traditional multi-family apartment building with at least 54 units is built, Clark calculates the net buildable area may be only .80 acres because Dixon Street would have to be widened from the current 20’ to 50’.
Clark is concerned that the Assembly and their planners have not taken site stability into account. She and her husband Jim wrote a letter to the Assembly stating neither the public nor CBJ have any idea regarding the competency of the rock and the depth from regolith to bedrock. As such, it is unknown whether the hill can support the weight of the 5-story and two 4 story buildings called for under Plan “C.”
In other words, the option of 150 new units the Assembly has shoved down the public’s throat may turn out to be a pipe dream after CBJ wastes $9 million in taxpayer dollars to demolish historic homes.
A few days after my tour with Clark, I visited the site with Coogan and Wilcox. Both men expressed concerns about site stability. Wilcox pointed to cracks in the rock face and large chunks that had fallen off. When I asked Coogan how far the proposed buildings would have to be setback from the cliff face, he replied, “that’s a good question.”
FFF’s Guide shows the new buildings going right up to the edge of the sheer rock face that was formed by prior blasting and appears unstable. The splashy 56-page Guide contains the results of a structural conditions survey and a Phase I environmental survey but is silent on the stability issue.
Clark gave me a copy of the Guide where she had underlined portions of the Site Grading section which states “Its rugged terrain poses both challenges and opportunities for development, with its slopes requiring innovative engineering”.
Innovative engineering required? Perhaps that is one of reasons why Leland Consulting has been unable to locate a developer.
Clark agrees with Coogan and Jacobsen: Let the free market decide what is to be done with Telephone Hill. She believes the city should engage a real estate broker to list the properties for sale.
I also agree. The broker’s marketing plan should expose the houses to the billionaires who bring their boats to Juneau every summer and philanthropists from around the country. With the input of the community to guide them, the Assembly could explore putting restrictive covenants or conditions on the deeds to protect the houses with the most historical value.
Just like Augustus Brown made a positive lasting impression on Juneau, other philanthropists may become enticed by Juneau’s natural beauty and jump at the chance to own, restore, and preserve these unique historical homes for future generations. The rich and famous who have homes scattered around the world like having local caretakers; some of the current tenants might be a perfect match.
The Assembly and its consultants have created and promoted the narrative that high density housing on Telephone Hill is needed given Juneau’s current shortfall of homes. Juneau certainly needs more housing, but Telephone Hill is far less viable than other options Juneau has.
For starters, CBJ owns 3,400 acres between Outer Point and Point Hilda on North Douglas. Several years ago, the city put in a 2.5-mile road to help effectuate plans to build 2,000 new residential units there. These would be homes with yards and safe streets that families could raise kids on -– not cramped midrise units in a noisy neighborhood with limited parking, surrounded by tourists during the day and the homeless at night.
Goldbelt Corporation owns and is in the process of developing an adjacent 1800 acres on North Douglas and would like to have access to their property from the CBJ road. Goldbelt plans to build a wastewater treatment plant there. There could be a lot of synergy between the two projects that could solve Juneau’s housing needs well into the future if the Assembly cared to focus on that.
But they don’t. Instead, the Assembly is fixated on bulldozing historical homes and wasting more taxpayer dollars on what appears to be a very speculative development scheme. The Assembly can’t even manage to put in a gondola at Eaglecrest they purchased in Europe a few years ago. The equipment sits on the ground, rusting away, while Eaglecrest’s operating losses accelerate.
The organizers of the Aug. 16 Telephone Hill rally are gearing up for another one on Sept. 22, the date of the next Assembly meeting and the last one before the scheduled evictions. However, they plan on widening their protest to what they’ve identified as “broader issues of collusion and co-opting within our local government by outside interests, not just Telephone Hill.”
The protesters have their eyes focused on Assembly members seeking re-election. Of the three open seats, only one is contested. The protesters may want to consider a write-in campaign and/or signal an intention to mount a recall petition if the Assembly goes forward with their reckless plan.
FFF’s slogan is “a better city exists.” Perhaps unified Juneau voters will apply a similar rationale and adopt the slogan “a better Assembly exists.”
The unification of liberals and conservatives on Telephone Hill could have wide ranging impacts that reverse Juneau’s decline and make our community affordable, healthy and vibrant again.
Susan Clark, thank you for reaching out across the aisle and your tireless work in helping to unite Juneau.
David Ignell was born and raised in Juneau where he currently resides. He formerly practiced law in California state and federal courts and was a volunteer analyst for the California Innocence Project. He is currently a forensic journalist and recently wrote a book on the Alaska Grand Jury.
For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association marched in lockstep with the CDC, demanding that Americans “trust the science” and obey federal guidance on Covid.
But now, when the CDC recommends against blanket vaccination for every man, woman, and child, these same groups are openly rebelling, issuing their own guidelines and insisting the CDC didn’t go far enough.
What changed? Money, influence, or something else? In 2023 alone, the AAP took in $35 million from taxpayers to promote vaccines and to heavily police so-called “misinformation” — on top of additional funding that came from Big Pharma. The AMA too has been heavily bankrolled.
Now both are bristling at a CDC subcommittee that promises a fresh look at Covid shots, a work group led by MIT professor Retsef Levi, who has been an outspoken critic of mRNA vaccines.
Meanwhile, public health chiefs from New England to New Jersey are holding private meetings to discuss breaking from Washington and designing their own policies. The very people who told Americans to fall in line with the CDC are now in open revolt.
No concrete decisions were made yet, but these states — Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania — are looking at what the medical associations are doing. It will be interesting to see what transpires from those who told us we needed to “trust” the science and do what the CDC says.
The medical associations are having a meltdown on the new subcommittee formed in the CDC under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which will do a deep dive into Covid vaccines.
Bound to cause even greater angst, this subcommittee will be chaired by Levi, professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Professor Levi is known as a “vaccine skeptic” who has criticized mRNA vaccines in the past.
Under the guidance of Levi and his colleagues, the ACIP subcommittee will look at many aspects of the Covid vaccines, including DNA contamination, all the known major side-effects, myocarditis. They’ll be probing long-term outcomes and assessing how well the years of “official reassurances about safety and efficacy hold up against emerging data.”
This is a significant change in focus for the CDC and FDA. For years, these agencies dismissed critics who raised concerns about the above mentioned issues. The doctors and health experts who did not agree with the “party lines” were labeled “alarmists” and spreaders of “misinformation.”
Now the CDC’s own advisory body has committed to reviewing each area of concern in detail to identify gaps in evidence that should have been addressed before mass vaccination ever began. Many are hoping this group will be able to restore public trust by confronting “uncomfortable” truths.
For Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Levi, the goal is to show that vaccine oversight is not just going to be a rubber stamp, as it has been in the past. It is about following the science and its conclusions.
One of the concerns Dr. Levi wants to address is the misconception that harms from vaccines only show up shortly after you are vaccinated. Yet the goal of immunization is to drive long-term impact on the immune system. Consequently, one must account for the long-term injuries. And we need to know what the result of repeated vaccine immunizations does to our bodies.
The results are unknown at this time. However, it is work that needs to be done in order to regain the trust of the American people in federal agencies that exist to protect our health and the health of our children.
Stay informed. Regardless as to what “Big Harma” and its financial stakeholders wish you to believe, there must be objective research to lay out the facts.
We have learned so much since the Covid years. And more knowledge is coming fast and furious.
You can gain even more information and knowledge at our annual Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom event in October in Anchorage. Our speakers are incredible providing a range of information not only about Covid, but also about education, artificial intelligence, the integrity of our food supply, and more. Click here to see the agenda and buy a ticket!
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance.
For America’s over-55 population, nearly one-third of the nation, the tragedy is not that we have aged, but that federal policy has stripped away autonomy just when independence and wisdom should matter most. Our retirement yields and healthcare access are bound by statutes and regulations that force us into dependency.
Medicare becomes the default path with no private health insurance available after 65, Social Security contributions are locked into Washington’s terms with pitiful investment returns which make to impossible to afford a living, and savings in 401(k)s and IRAs are constrained by Required Minimum Distributions and tax penalties which control the horizontal and vertical of the last years of our living and will never allow us to manage our lives independent of the government. While Social Security, Medicare, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) directly lock seniors into statutory pathways, Obamacare reinforced that dependency by tightening federal control over insurance markets, limiting senior autonomy in both pre-65 coverage and post-65 Medicare options.
As Must Read Alaska commenters from my Aug. 20 column, “The slow surrender of senior independence to government dependence,” point out, this dependency is not natural. From every imaginable angle, it is artificial and pretentious. It is manufactured through decades of political design, producing seniors who worked hard yet face diminished dignity in their later years.
Why can’t we, seniors, the largest voting block in the United States, tell Congress there is a simple principle of senior choice and dignity? Isn’t the real path forward one where Americans reclaim freedom of choice between public and private healthcare, regain autonomy over their own retirement savings, and secure dignity in care, where decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by distant bureaucrats in Washington, DC?
To actualize this vision, reform must begin with a comprehensive statutory audit of all laws that restrict senior independence, from the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) to Medicare and Medicaid (42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq.) to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.), nicknamed “Every Rotten Idea Since Adam”, and the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 401 et seq.).
Next, Congress should enact principles-based reform: repeal mandatory minimum distribution rules, eliminate penalties for early retirement access after age 55, and allow seniors to waive Medicare without forfeiting Social Security benefits. As commenters noted, freedom should not mean abandonment of a safety net. It means having the right to opt out when individuals can provide for themselves.
A central question arises: Why should the 55-and-under generation be compelled to shoulder the costs of older Americans through rigid federal programs that appear only to benefit state and federal bureaucracies, when the over-55 population is perfectly capable of generating its own prosperity?
Seniors represent the most experienced, capital-rich, and entrepreneurial segment of society. If given the same freedoms, tools, and resources that the private sector offers younger Americans, the over-55 generation could sustain itself, invest in future growth, and even contribute to reducing the fiscal burdens now passed down to younger workers. Federal policy, however, locks seniors into dependence, stripping away the opportunity to build wealth and turning them into recipients of mandated subsidies. This not only undermines seniors’ dignity but also stifles the ability of younger generations to focus their contributions on building their own success, wealth, and prosperity.
The methodology of reform is clear: flexibility mechanisms to let individuals and states innovate, sunset reviews to prevent outdated laws from calcifying, and a legislative roadmap. I really don’t care what Congress calls for just align retirement and healthcare policy with liberty and do it now!
This is not about dismantling programs that protect the vulnerable; it is about liberating the majority who can and should direct their own lives.
The over-55 population represents 103 million Americans, nearly 30% of the electorate. We are not powerless, but we have surrendered power by accepting dependency. As one Must Read Alaska comment wisely observed, “If we do not demand freedom, we will never receive it.” The time has come for seniors to lead, not as wards of the state, but as citizens insisting on reforms that respect the dignity of a lifetime of work. Federal policy change is not complicated. It requires an act of Congress, a presidential signature, and the collective will of seniors who refuse to accept bureaucratic control as the price of aging.
Fiscal Realities at a Crossroads
In 2023, the federal government paid out $1.38 trillion in Social Security benefits, representing a staggering 22.5% of all federal spending. On average, retired workers aged 66–70 receive $2,178 per month, though many, especially those relying solely on Social Security, fall short of financial stability. Meanwhile, those aged 55–64 hold a median net worth of $364,270, far above younger.
This disparity raises a vital question: Why should younger generations finance older citizens who, given the freedom and tools of the private sector, are well-positioned to support themselves?
Freedom Awaits: The Senior Choice and Dignity Paradigm
Senior choice and dignity pivots on three core principles. By Congress passing simple reform, freedom of choice allows seniors to choose between private and public healthcare and retirement mechanisms without penalty. This is the foundation of Ameritacracy. Our country respects autonomy by ending forced withdrawals and limitations on the personal control of retirement savings. Dignity in care means ensuring that healthcare decisions are made by seniors in partnership with their providers, free from bureaucratic constraints.
A Path to Reform
1. Statutory Audit
Task the GAO and DOGE with auditing federal policies like the Social Security Act, ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Medicare framework to identify laws restricting freedom after age 55.
2. Principled Reform
Social Security: Let payroll contributions be optionally directed into personal accounts.
Medicare: Permit waivers for Medicare enrollment without forfeiting eligibility.
Retirement Savings: Repeal Required Minimum Distributions and eliminate penalties for post–55 access.
3. Freedom Mechanisms
Introduce opt-out options. If seniors can demonstrate equivalent private coverage or savings, they should not be forced into government programs.
4. Sunset Reviews
Require ten-year sunsets on all senior-targeted statutes so outdated policies don’t calcify.
5. State and Community Pilots
Promote local innovation by allowing states to test diverse retirement and healthcare models under federal waiver authority.
Conclusion: Let Freedom, Not Bureaucracy, Define Aging
Restoring senior dignity and choice isn’t radical. It’s the realization of American liberty. It honors elders’ independence, unburdens younger generations of structural inequity, and creates a meaningful legacy for public policy. With calculated steps, legislation, audits, reforms, and flexible opt-outs, America can transform aging from enforced dependency into empowered autonomy. At the same time, we relieve the younger generations of an unfair fiscal burden, ensuring that both seniors and the under-55 population can thrive, each with the freedom to generate their own success, wealth, and prosperity.
The US Coast Guard is responding to reports of more than 100 unmarked containers that have washed up on and around Montague Island in Prince William Sound.
The containers, ranging in size from 5 to 55-gallon drums, were first reported by Gulf of Alaska Keepers, a nonprofit organization that works to remove marine debris with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program.
Scattered along the southern coastline of the island, the containers are in varying conditions, and their contents remain unknown.
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Valdez is leading the response effort and coordinating with several partner agencies to assess whether the containers pose a threat to the environment or public safety. Agencies involved in the assessment include:
NOAA – Office of Response and Restoration
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Chugach Alaska Corporation
“The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency responsible for recovery and removal of oil and hazardous material in U.S. waters and along the coastline,” officials said in a statement. “We are working with our partners to determine the extent of the threat and take appropriate action.”
Once the assessment is complete, the Coast Guard will oversee the removal of any containers determined to contain oil or hazardous substances. Officials emphasized that the effort is part of a broader mission to protect Alaska’s marine environment, ensure safe navigation, and safeguard the state’s vital maritime and commercial resources.
Remote Alaska coastlines, particularly Montague Island, have a long history of being a landing place for marine debris drifting in from across the Pacific. Usually not in this number, however.
After the 2011 Japanese tsunami, debris including containers, buoys, and even small vessels crossed the ocean and came ashore in Prince William Sound. Cleanup groups, including Gulf of Alaska Keepers, documented and removed hundreds of drums and containers over several years.
Even before that event, 55-gallon drums and industrial containers have regularly washed up on Alaska’s shores, believed to originate from passing vessels, foreign shipping, and fishing operations. Many arrive unmarked, and each requires inspection to ensure they do not contain hazardous substances.
Because of strong currents that funnel floating debris into the Gulf of Alaska, Montague Island has often been described by cleanup crews as a “catcher’s mitt” for marine debris from across the Pacific.
