The View From ‘Nowhere’

I live in Alaska and I get really tired of Alaska bashing by the Lower 48. We are a small state in population (which skews any calculations based on "per capita"). The vast bulk of the Federal money coming into the state funds the strategically located military bases which predate statehood. We don't have an interstate system, so there are no highway funds. All Ketchikan wants is the promise made to build a bridge to the ariport, made 30 years ago, when it was placed on an island accessible only by bridge or boat against the resident's wishes. So all you Outsiders, just back off now, ya hear, or we'll send our lipsticked bulldog after you (some of us would be REALLY glad to be shed of her!!).

Get Sarah to use Alaska's oil revenue together with her clothing allowance to build your bridge.
You have PLENTY of money up there - so use it - stop giving out refunds and bonus checks.
Speak to the Govenor !!!

My wife and I have visited Ketchikan twice by cruise ship and plan to do so again next August. We found it to be an interesting town and those of its population whom we met very pleasant and helpful.We thought it odd to have put an airport on the opposite side of the river to the town without a bridge to connect them. From our very limited knowledge of the area it seems to us that the town has little room to develop and a bridge would be a trigger for its develoment. We wish your efforts every success.
June and keith Padmore
Birmingham England

Kudos to Newsweek for publishing the unheard side of the story. I'm not surprised at Palin's disregard for a community in her own state when it became more valuable as a political ploy than a constituency. Clearly she has shown her expertise at picking and choosing which communities in America suit her political needs and which don't. Just look at how much she has succeeded in dividing our country into "pro" America vs. "elite" America in the 2 short months she's been in the spotlight. She's a national disgrace.

Use your yearly bribes that you receive from the oil companies to allow them to foul your environment to build your bridge, then put a toll booth on it and charge a big enough toll to support maintenance on the bridge.

Good job Kiffer. You really added much needed perspective on an issue most people don't know much about besides the jokes. I especially like the way you obliquely point out at the end that there are no "Real Americans." We are ALL Americans just trying to make our lives work in communities subject to unique problems. "Joe the Plumber's" problems are not the only ones that need some fixing and just because Joe might think those problems are silly doesn't mean they aren't important problems to discuss and fix.

Dave Kieffer,

Thank you for your articulate article describing what really has happened to your community. Most of us know what we read and see in the news media is only part of the story...usually what is most politically expedient or the "sound bite" that captures the attention of the masses. Thanks. Let's hope you get your bridge soon so you can develop and flourish.

Norm

Every year, every resident of Ketchikan (and every resident of Alaska) gets a huge check from the government. Yes, Alaska has so much oil revenue that not only do its residents pay no income or sales taxes, they actually get huge checks from the government. Even a huge chunk of their tax revenue is from taxes imposed on tourists, like cruise ship charges. tazxhttp://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/documentviewer/viewer.aspx?1338f In short, Alaska has the money to build countless bridges to nowhere, but its residents choose selfishly to take that money for themselves, rather than spend it on community needs. The only "need" for federal money comes from their GREED.

To Laura in TX
As if your community in Texas payed for the bridge in your's

How about we stop sending billions to Washington DC for them to dole out? 99% of all problems are local so handle them locally. Let the communities decide how to govern themselves (as originally intended in the Constitution). If one community wants gay marriage and abortion, great. If another doesn't, that's great too. No reason for DC to be deciding unilaterally. No one will ever be happy with a centralized command authority micromanaging our lives from afar.

You guys deserve a bridge for a change to grow. just like everything else in America. I think that most earmarks that ask for some giant operation that is deemed unnecessary for the country wasteful with the exception of infrastructure. All infrastructure improvements or redesigns are too costly for most communities to handle. Generally, it is the large urban cities that can afford these improvements due to their high income. assAAsking for

well his govenor is the one who made it famous "the bridge to nowhere"

This clown does not speak for me or anyone I know that lives here in Ketchikan. The bridge may have been a viable option 30 years ago, but that ship has sailed and the crybabies really need to get over it. There is NO GOOD REASON to build a bridge. I use the airport ferry several times a year and it works just fine. However, we could use a decent shelter for the folks that walk on, and possibly a conveyor belt to help with luggage.

"What also went unstated was our town's need for development." Oh, that's rich. It's also ridiculous considering the multitude of properties for sale on this side of the channel. We also have the property at Ward Cove, site of the former pulp mill. It's also at Ward Cove where a derelict fishing boat lies half submerged at the opening of a spawning creek. This boat slowly sank for weeks and nothing was done to stop it. Our local government does a lousy job. They want hundreds of millions of dollars for a little convenience while folks in the borough still use catchment systems for water... all the while paying too-high property taxes and traveling on broken down, DANGEROUS roads and street bridges.

"The media reports never seemed to mention that Ketchikan has a year-round population of 14,000???making it the fourth-largest community in the state." I'm going to have to call BS on this as well. Ketchikan has been dwindling since the pulp mill closed. I have lived here 15 years and I've never seen as many for-sale signs as I do now. What a joke, too bad I'm not laughing.

Hopefully you guys can tax your people and make it a toll bridge to pay for it. But the rest of the country should not pay for it. John McCain is right about that, so is Sarah Palin. Barak Obama would not only have the whole country pay for it, but he would make small business owners responsible for about 80% of the cost as his tax plan proposes.

It's about time that someone spoke up!! Congratulations, I only wish that Palin had owned upt to it and stated these facts like you have done

I think that the whole issue about "bridge to nowhere" was politically motivated attack on Sarah Palin. This is such a shame. Why don't we leave it to our professional politicians, fund overseers, and yes, the communities work to allot funds and then, well, respect decision.

I hate it when a few clever and dirty political operatives come and damage what communities and government worked on for decades.