Van Abbott is a long-time resident of Alaska and California and a full-time opinion writer. (Photo courtesy Van Abbott)

Opinion

OPINION: How a riot became a Republican revenue stream

$10 billion Trump lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax information has morphed into an “anti-weaponization” fund

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion

OPINION: Iran conflict a threat to Alaska’s oil supply

Alaska remains vulnerable because we lack sufficient in-state refining capacity to meet many of our own needs

The old Homer News sign hangs on the side of the paper’s former office in 2024. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Opinion

Out of the office: Watch what happens

Robert W. Service, the poet often referred to as “the bard of the Yukon,” creates in his fifth…

Mike O'Meara. Cartoon for May 21, 2026.

Opinion

Letters to the editor

The people should choose

Juneau Empire file photo
Larry Persily.

Opinion

Opinion: West Coast and Alaska will pay a price for Trump’s war

This is more about who will pay the cost of the president’s war on Iran and how it’s…

Julie Sande. Photo courtesy of the State of Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development

Opinion

Opinion: Alaska’s maritime economy works because we invest in people, not just projects

Reid Williams, a second-generation fisherman from Cordova, grew up in a fishing family and began working as a…

Evan Swensen is a longtime Alaska resident and book publisher. He resides in Anchorage. Photo courtesy Evan Swensen

Opinion

Opinion: Alaska’s win-win constitutional solution

Why 2% mortgages could end our budget wars

Mike O'Meara. Cartoon for May 14, 2026.

Opinion

Letters to the editor

Library fundraiser another success

Church of the Rock Homer Pastor Aaron Weisser, Ph.D. (Photo courtesy Aaron Weisser)

Opinion

Opinion: What I’ve learned since joining the hospital board

I joined the South Peninsula Hospital operating board four and a half years ago. Here are six big…

REP. SARAH VANCE

Opinion

Opinion: Alaska still has a path to stronger election integrity

There is good news for Alaskans who want elections that are both secure and trustworthy. Gov. Dunleavy has…

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion

Opinion: What! They don’t pay taxes?

Hilcorp, in acquiring BP’s Alaska assets, follows a record of cooperation with our state government that by working…

Juneau Empire file photo
Larry Persily.

Opinion

Opinion: At least the doll didn’t ask for campaign contributions

For those who remember, Mattel’s Chatty Cathy talking doll was revolutionary when it came out in 1959.

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Opinion

Opinion: Caregivers are holding our community together, but we’re being left behind

I began working as a caregiver in Homer in 2013. What started as a simple suggestion from a…