The Newsletter Strikes Back

November 15, 2019

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I had a fun trip on the MAL up to Haines last weekend. Great chatting with so many constituents along the way! Before I went north, I pulled a new (to me) car off the boat. My wife says it looks a little like a Star Wars stormtrooper, which explains the title/headlines in this week's newsletter.

I got to present a legislative citation to Dave Olerud, founder of the American Bald Eagle Foundation. We honored ABEF's 25 years of great work, and I got to go during the Bald Eagle Festival!

Return of the TAZ

Never give in! There's positive news on the ferries this week—the Tazlina will be sailing again starting next Thursday. Everyone from small business owners to students and the State Chamber of Commerce called about how the zero or near-zero service since the LeConte and Aurora went down is impacting our communities and economy. By putting the TAZ back in service we'll have more than the once-a-week mainliner in Lynn Canal. The TAZ can dock in Hoonah and Gustavus, so people and cars will be able to get home and groceries can get to the stores.

This isn't a long term fix. It won't bring us to the level of service Southeast needs, or even what was on the schedule published this fall. Plus, with the Angoon dock broken and Prince William Sound cut off, there are still Alaska communities that just aren't getting service. But we can at least get people moving again this holiday season. Now we need to plan—and fund—the repairs to other vessels so we don't end up in this pinch again.

I had the privilege of hearing Adm. Bell speak at Centennial Hall on Veterans Day. Then I got to say thank you myself at the Southeast Alaska Native Veterans ceremony.

A New Timezone

About twice a year I hear from folks about getting rid of—or staying on—daylight saving time. I see where people are coming from. I don't love having to change my clocks (and my staff HATES losing sleep). And there are a lot of good reasons for wanting the extra hour of light (particularly in the winter when our sunlight is a precious commodity).

I'm normally a strong advocate for Alaska leading the way—we live in the best state in the union after all. But this issue is a little bit of an exception. Keeping our time in sync with the rest of the country keeps us all connected. For instance: I'm really glad we're hiring more in-house investment experts at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. That brings good jobs to Southeast and keeps the people investing Alaska's money genuinely committed to our state. They already show up to work in the dark of night to be there when the markets open on the east coast. If we stop daylight saving time that makes things an hour tougher on the folks running our investments for most of the year. It gives other Alaska businesses one fewer hour each day to work with markets and suppliers down south.

And every time this comes up, people start talking about splitting Alaska back into multiple time zones. I know we're big, but keeping the state together in one time zone keeps us connected. Yes, it means our daylight hours are a little skewed in places, but it also lets people, businesses, and government across our state work together seamlessly. So this is one decision Alaska should make all together—and in sync with the rest of the country.