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Problem Corner is an iconic radio show that has become a vibrant community hub. Callers engage in a wide array of discussions, ranging from local political debates to community commentary and casual advertisements for listeners looking to buy, sell, or trade personal items.
The show's rich history is marked by its association with several prominent local figures. Notably, Dennis Egan, a former mayor of Juneau, was a key personality in shaping the show's direction in the 1980s.
As a testament to its enduring relevance and appeal, "Problem Corner" has etched its name in the annals of Alaskan broadcasting history. It's not just a radio show but a cultural landmark, celebrated for being the longest-running radio show in Alaska.
Welcome to problem corner, Alaska's longest running radio show. Connect and discuss the topics important to Juneau and all of Southeast Alaska. Call (907) 586-1800, and subscribe to the podcast at kinyradio.com, powered by Princess Cruise Lines, Alaska Laundry and Dry Cleaning, and Juneau Powersports.
Speaker 2:Indeed. You are listening to problem corner, and I'm Ben Brown. And today is Monday, and it is the September 29. And so we're gonna, go ahead and take our first call here on problem corner today. And hello.
Speaker 2:You're on the air. But it is it is Monday, and, it is a pretty decent day out there actually, all things considered. Not raining, and it kind of dried up a little bit over the weekend, and that's great, because we certainly have had a long, very rainy spell. And, it's good to, have it dry out a little bit when it can. And, again, today is Monday, September 29.
Speaker 2:We did have an email come in earlier today, someone with a 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup plow truck for sale. It is a fixer upper. Some recent work has been put into it, but the reverse is sketchy. The plow has electrical issues, but, otherwise, it worked last year. It's a fall project for someone before the snow comes, and the caller is or the the person looking to sell it is looking for 2,500 or best offer, and he can be reached at (907) 723-0766.
Speaker 2:So that is a 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup with a plow that is for sale. And, obviously, we are gonna have snow here in the not too distant future, so a good thing to be thinking about making preparations for what it might be like to have to worry about plowing snow out of your driveway. So a few things going on today. I believe we're looking at the assembly getting a presentation from Gold Belt on its proposed, two ship destination cruise, visitor industry, site over on the West Side Of Douglas Island. And, there's been some information available on the Gold Belt website about that, but I think tonight they're actually gonna be making a presentation of the assembly.
Speaker 2:It's a big project. It could be very transformative for the face of how we welcome visitors to the capital city in Juneau. And, so that, I believe, will be this evening. There was something, I got an email about it earlier today. And that should be a very interesting presentation.
Speaker 2:And, course, those CBJ meetings are available through the city's YouTube site as well as, being able to be watched if people go down there in person. So that is happening. Otherwise, we're looking at, the September tomorrow, and, unfortunately, it's looking kinda likely that there's gonna be a federal government shutdown starting, at the October unless some sort of agreement can be struck, between the various entities and powers that be in our nation's capital. And that would be difficult, of course, for, all federal employees who wouldn't be able to go to work and get paid, and also for all of us who rely on the services that those, employees provide. So hopefully, there can be some, progress made on that, and, there won't be a shutdown, but there's really not a whole lot we can do from our position here in Juneau.
Speaker 2:And we'll have to rely on senator Murkowski, senator Sullivan, congressman Begich to do their best with their colleagues in the US senate and the US house to try to come up with some sort of a compromise to prevent a shutdown. And if there is one, you know, we've certainly had them before and survived them before. Hopefully, there will be, just a short one, and the government will reopen and things will get back to normal operations as soon as possible. In other news, of course, the municipal election is underway. People have all received their ballots by mail, and early voting in person is open at a number of locations.
Speaker 2:There are ballot drop boxes at quite a few locations as well at the Douglas Community Building where the fire station and the library are at AEL And P out near the landfill, various other places around town. And then there are also early voting in person places. So if you don't wanna fill out a mail in ballot and drop it off or mail it in, you can go in and do the more old fashioned method of voting just there at a at a voting station and then submit your ballot that way. The election day is next Tuesday, the seventh, and, of course, there's quite a few things being determined. School board.
Speaker 2:And since I was here last week, a current school board member, Didi Sorensen, chose to run as a write in candidate, adding her name to the other four candidates, Melissa Cullum, Jenny Thomas, Jeremy Johnson, and Steve Whitney. So there are now five people running for three seats. So one of those three seats is a partial term, which was created by the opportunity was created by the resignation of Will Muldoon. And so, that'll be an interesting race. And then on the assembly side, we are looking at there being three seats up.
Speaker 2:Two incumbents, Greg Smith and Ella Atkinson, are running unopposed. And then, the third, seat, Wade Bryson is the incumbent. He's being channel challenged by Nana Brooks. And with that, we do have a call. So let's just go ahead and take that.
Speaker 2:And hello. You are on problem corner. Alright. So apologies for that, technical error there. But hello.
Speaker 2:You're on the air.
Speaker 3:Good morning. Darla, if you're listening, would you please give me a call? And my number is (907) 796-9397.
Speaker 2:Alright. That's for Darla. Very good. Thanks for the call, sir. Yeah.
Speaker 2:The gentleman would like you to call him at 79077969397. And, yeah, there was a little bit of a glitch going on with the board here, so apologies for that. It's now eighteen minutes after the hour. And, I'll repeat the message that we received earlier this morning. Actually, it was a little bit later.
Speaker 2:And we've got another call coming in. So we'll take that one first. Hello. Welcome to problem corner. You're on the air.
Speaker 4:Yes. I just wanted to let you know that the New York Yankees, the squirrel home run, and I'm the first one in general that has this card.
Speaker 2:Alright. So you're a big Yankees fan, I take it?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Because of the squirrel.
Speaker 2:Because of the squirrel. Okay. They scored a home run because of the squirrel. Thank you for the call, and thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 4:Okay. Have a good day.
Speaker 2:Okay. Have a great day. I missed that. Squirrel helped the Yankees score a home run, so that's great. Squirrels are great, and the Yankees are a pretty great team too.
Speaker 2:And, of course, New York is New York. So, again, yeah, sorry about the technical difficulties there. Nineteen minutes after the hour here on Monday, September 29, and now we have full audio connectivity here on the control room and also, of course, with our telephone lines. So 586-1800 is the number. And the 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup plow truck for sale is a fixer upper.
Speaker 2:There's some recent work that's gone into it, but the reverse is sketchy. The plow has electrical issues, but it otherwise worked last year. This is a fall project for someone before the snow comes. The seller is looking for $2,500 or best offer, and he can be reached at (907) 723-0766. And, again, I was mentioning earlier that the municipal election is underway here in Juneau.
Speaker 2:And in most local local govern local governmental communities across, the state. Anchorage is the exception. They moved theirs to April, but ours is in October. And with that, we have another call. Hello.
Speaker 2:You're on problem corner.
Speaker 5:Hey. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:Pretty good. How are you today?
Speaker 5:Doing okay. I I first wanna congratulate everyone on the the radio telethon for the for the kid that has the incurable disease. I think that's pretty neat.
Speaker 2:Yes. Indeed. The cure for k, they actually blasted past the 30,000 goal and made thirty five five eighty nine, it looks like.
Speaker 5:I I that's awesome. Incredible. And then I wanted to, talk about two things. One was the ballot measures. I'm a yes, yes, no.
Speaker 5:And the reason I'm no on ballot measure three is because if they institute that and that passage, it becomes a permanent sales tax, and I don't like that idea. And then the other point I would like to make is if it goes no, no, or yes, yes, no, basically, the city's out, but $1,112,000,000 dollars out of their budget. Correct?
Speaker 2:That's about right. Neighborhood. Yep. That's right in the ballpark.
Speaker 5:Well, when you consider the fact that the amount of money spent last year was, 530,000,000, I believe. I I didn't do the math on it, but that's a drop in the bucket. If the city can't scrape and save and or find someplace else to pick that money up, you know, I would say you need to get a new controller. And that that's I also I also see, I'm just going off. I don't think they should tear telephone bill down until they actually have a plan and a builder, and I'm gonna leave it at that.
Speaker 5:I hope you guys all have a wonderful day, and, happy fall.
Speaker 2:Okay. Thanks for the call, sir. Happy fall to you, and have a great day as well. Yes. So people are, you know, thinking about the, the propositions.
Speaker 2:And, you know, I know people who are gonna vote no, yes, yes, and I've heard people vote who wanna get the vote against all three of them. And then, of course, there are folks like the gentleman who just called who wanna vote yes, yes, no. So look at those three ballot measures. And, you know, if if whatever happens, I guess the status quo wouldn't require a lot of changes. But, if any of the one, two, or three pass, there will be consequences, and that's something the assembly will have to, take care of and deal with.
Speaker 2:So this week at the Juno Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon out at the Moose Lodge, we are going to have the three candidates excuse me, the four candidates for assembly, Greg Smith and Ella Atkinson, who are running unopposed for reelection to their respective seats, and then Wade Bryson and, Nana Brooks who's challenging him for the District 1 seat. And I'm sure there will be, conversation and perhaps some debate about the wisdom of the three propositions and why people should support or oppose them in addition to talking about some of the other things happening, in the community that are gonna be decided by the assembly and whoever's elected to serve these, next three year terms. And, of course, all that comes back to the fact that we are in municipal election season, and every voter who's registered in the city and borough of Juneau should have received a ballot by mail. But you don't have to vote the ballot by mail. You can go into a a polling station and vote early, and they they will not count more than one ballot per voter.
Speaker 2:They've got a pretty rigorous security system set up for that. And you can wait and vote on election day, and some people still like to do that, the the old fashioned method. But the most important thing is that people vote and they participate in our democratic process, and then we all continue to work together as a community to implement the consequences of the choices that we make. And with that, hello. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 2:Good morning.
Speaker 6:Yeah. I just, heard heard you say there'd be consequences if proposition one passes.
Speaker 2:Yes. They would cap the mill rate.
Speaker 6:Yeah. And it wouldn't be any it wouldn't affect our mill rate that we've got right now.
Speaker 2:Well What
Speaker 6:I would do is just it wouldn't. Right now, we're over nine, just slightly over nine.
Speaker 2:Right. But it I guess going forward, the concern that I have heard voiced is is that if we had another catastrophic glacial outburst flooding and that was a mechanism that the then assembly wanted to use to generate funds to address it, that would require
Speaker 6:I think I think they have quite a slush fund right now, don't they? I mean, wasn't it 10 or $20,000,000? I mean
Speaker 2:There are a lot of there are a lot of reserve funds. Yes. But, you know, if the mill rate is capped, then it's capped, and that's in the charter, not just in in the ordinances. And so that would that would
Speaker 7:And then as
Speaker 6:property values go up, the the revenue would go up.
Speaker 2:And and and, sir, you're correct. Also, this the assembly could ask the voters to approve a special bond issuance just to generate money. And so Absolutely. There are there are workarounds.
Speaker 6:The people have more control because if people go for bonds, it adds on to your property tax, but the people have control of it.
Speaker 2:I I understand what you're saying, sir, but I I do stand by what I said, though. There would be consequences. But, again, there there's a reason people support that because they don't wanna see the assembly, you know, necessarily have the ability to do that, and there's a there are some valid reasons for that position. So I totally respect that.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Yeah. I I think if the people get to vote on bonds for for spending, that's that's great. I mean, they do now, but, you know, that there's no reason the mill rate should go up to 12. I mean, you know, it's it wouldn't affect what we're paying right now.
Speaker 6:It just prevents it from going up. I mean, heck. A lot of people feel like they're renting their homes right now. You know what I mean? Even after they own them.
Speaker 2:Believe me, my property taxes have increased quite a bit, so I understand that I understand that position. Alright. I've got another call, sir. Thanks for the call. You have a great day.
Speaker 2:And hello. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 8:Hi. Thanks for taking the call. I'd like to wish Edwina White a very happy birthday today, and that's from all her Kogwonton family and our elders dance group at Klingit And Haina. From Marlene and the family. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Alright. Thanks for the call, Marlene. Edwina White, a very happy birthday from Marlene and the Kagwan Tan family and the dancers. So happy birthday to you, Edwina. And that's a great thing to celebrate on a nice day like this.
Speaker 2:Caller before that, is in favor of, proposition one, capping the mill rate. And with that, we have another call here on Hello. You're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 9:Well, hello. Hey. Thanks for taking my call. Yeah. I just kinda wanted to reinforce with that caller had called in the one before the last one about the bond issues because a lot of us feel that the city's position is pretty disingenuous about this.
Speaker 9:They say the first proposition lowers the mill rate from 12 to nine. And the reality of us when that proposition was written, the current mill rate was under nine. And so it was done with the idea that we're going to hold the line right where it is, not actually lowered. And it was after that proposition was written and submitted that they raised it to slightly over nine. So basically that proposition is just asking to keep keep the mill rate at the status quo.
Speaker 9:And people say, well, we might have to raise the taxes. And reality of it is that's what your assessment does. If costs are going up, home values go up, your assessment goes up and the city collects more money. And we've all seen those assessments raising. I mean, they have risen for many people, they've risen 50% in just the last five years.
Speaker 9:I mean, that's a pretty tremendous leap. I just happened to be looking at some other properties this weekend on the assessors database and that was the trend as so many of them had risen 50% in five years. I mean, that's pretty amazing. So I think the amount of money the city can collect on property taxes will generally keep up with inflation. And like that previous caller said, if we have things come up where we need to spend money on, the people are certainly allowed to vote on it.
Speaker 9:The proposition in no way limits bonded indebtedness. So so I think the city I think the city is in good position with with keeping the mill rated at nine mills. And, you know, the sales tax, the first one proposition two speaks for itself. It's just the young people in this community need relief from the sales tax more than mostly old people in this community do. I think everybody gets that.
Speaker 9:But the one that really rankles me is this is this proposal for Proposition three. Because the reality is, even if everybody spent the exact same amount of money every month, it's actually an increase in the sales tax. You'll be paying five and a half percent instead of five. But the reality is, is all the studies have shown that people spend anywhere from 80% to over 100% more money in the summer months than they do in the winter months. So you're going to be paying substantially more sales tax over the course of the year.
Speaker 9:And the final little drop of salt in the wound is the fact that the cruise lines are cutting back the ships coming in April and October. So the reality is April, for example, there's going to be fewer no visitors on the ships, which means we're going to be paying seven and a half percent on all of our purchases first thing out of the gate in the spring with no help from the tourism industry. So once again, I think it's a very disingenuous proposal. And I really hope people wake up and vote yes, yes and no. And that's the end of my speech.
Speaker 2:All right. Thanks for the call, sir. You have a great day. Alright. So, again, that people have, are thinking about this, and they are weighing the pros and cons of the various propositions.
Speaker 2:And we'll see what the voters collectively decide a week from tomorrow. Of course, a lot of people are voting right now. You know, when the proposition three that was put before the voters with the seasonal sales tax originally included an exemption for food and utilities, not just residential utilities, but all utilities, including commercial utilities. And the assembly chose to remove that provision before they put proposition three on the ballot. And I kinda wonder about the political wisdom of that, but that's what they decided to do.
Speaker 2:So that is what is going to be voted on now. There's also been a lot of questions about, well, even if Sitka and Ketchikan have a seasonal sales tax, it doesn't go up quite as much as this one would in the higher tax season. And I think the caller's point about, the shoulder season, you know, the April and the October. Well, October would be outside the window. But, yeah, I mean, there are definitely gonna be some changes, I think, with the number of visitors coming in those seasonal periods.
Speaker 2:So I don't know that a lot of analysis was done about trying to make sure that that would be have the least impact on Juneau and really generate the most revenue from seasonal visitors. But I do know it is a fact that there are many, many other communities in Alaska that have seasonal sales taxes. And at this point, there are not any that have the exemption on food and residential utilities. But as far as trying to reduce the regressivity of sales tax, that, I think, is unarguable that taking the the 5% tax off of food and residential utilities is gonna benefit lower income households more. It's also gonna benefit higher income households, but having the means test something like that would probably cost a great deal to to do, and there kinda just has to be a a clear and simple system if you're gonna implement something like that.
Speaker 2:So it is a little complex, and that's why people run for assembly because they wanna spend many, many hours a week and devote their evenings to meetings trying to determine policies like this that will provide adequate revenues to run a municipal government, but at the same time, will, allow, allow people to have an affordable place to live. And with that, we're a little bit past the the half hour, so we're gonna go and listen to the news, and we'll be back after that here on PromCorner.
Speaker 1:Local owned and operated, KINY. The news you need, the music you love.
Speaker 10:ABC News. I'm Michelle Franzen. President Trump and Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after holding talks on Gaza and seeing a new proposed broker by The US are holding a joint conference. That proposal on peace includes demands for both Hamas and Israel to end the war immediately, all remaining hostages released within seventy two hours of that ceasefire and a possible path for a future Palestinian state. ABC's Karen Travers says Netanyahu in a call with Qatari leaders offered an apology for Israeli strikes in Doha.
Speaker 11:According to a readout from the White House, the prime minister expressed deep regret that Israel's strike earlier this month unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman and also that they violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such a strike like that inside Qatar again.
Speaker 10:In Michigan state and federal authorities say they still don't have a motive for Sunday's church attack that killed four people. The suspected shooter drove his truck into an LDS church in Grand Blanc, shooting and then setting the building on fire. This is ABC News.
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Speaker 13:Hi. I'm deputy mayor Greg Smith. This year, we're voting on ballot measures that
Speaker 14:could have major impacts to
Speaker 13:our community. With big challenges ahead, like outburst flooding and unstable state and federal funding, we need flexibility, limits. That's why I'll be voting no on ballot measure one, which would cap the mill rate and tire communities hands. Please take some time to learn about the measures, and I'd appreciate your vote by October 7.
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Speaker 1:back to problem corner where our community meets to talk, trade, and share.
Speaker 2:Yes. Indeed. And you are back on problem corner here. I'm Ben Brown. It is thirty seven minutes after the hour.
Speaker 2:Today is Monday, September 29. To recap some of the calls we've had, a gentleman called and would like Darla to call him at (907) 796-9397. So, Darla, if you're out there, caller didn't give his name, but he would like you to give him a call. And then, happy birthday to Edwina White from Marlene and all of her Kagwantan family. Happy birthday to Marlene.
Speaker 2:And we also had a caller who was very excited about the scorer who helped the Yankees score a home run, which I missed, but apparently, that must have been pretty exciting. And with that, we'll take our next call. Hello. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 7:Yeah. I'm just calling from out of town.
Speaker 2:Good day to you. How are you doing today?
Speaker 7:Oh, I'm doing good. You know, I was watching the state I've been watching the statewide news and, you know, when Goldbills wants to build a what you call a Douglas where the big ferries statewide news was talking about how much big those big cruise ships that are coming in. They're contaminating their water. My gray cold gray water dumping. And yet, you know, maybe that's what affecting our fisheries because our fisheries are going down or or streams are was pretty low this year.
Speaker 7:So I like you know, that's just pretty pretty bad when those big cruise ships are doing that. This shouldn't even be gray water dumping in the Gulf Of Alaska. You know, they're they're talking about how much they were getting fined on it, and they're just spanking them in the hand. And thank you for your program.
Speaker 2:Alright. Thank you for
Speaker 13:the call, sir. Well, you know, I've been on quite a
Speaker 2:few cruise ships and toured the the water treatment facilities, and things have certainly improved massively as far as I know in the past decades. They're still not perfect. I mean, there's gonna be more impact, on the environment than if there weren't cruise ships, but they also have a pretty huge economic impact. And the Gold Belt project over on the other side of Douglas Island, would really be quite quite different than what we currently have. So, something to learn more about.
Speaker 2:And, again, there'll be a presentation by Gold Belt to the Juno Assembly tonight, and maybe there'll be some questions about water treatment and environmental responsibility. And with that, we have another call. Hello. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 7:It's pretty pretty bad going down. Yeah. I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Alright. I'm not hearing you very clearly. Is there some feedback in the background there?
Speaker 19:I'm thinking so let me just put that on mute.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That would be super helpful.
Speaker 19:I would just like to wish Marlene a happy birthday also from Verna and family.
Speaker 2:Alright. Thank you, Verna. Happy birthday to Edwina. And, it was Marlene who called Marlene. Oh, it's Marlene's birthday.
Speaker 2:Okay. I thought I thought she had said it was Edwina's birthday. Is it both their birthday?
Speaker 19:I don't know, but I didn't wanna miss it if it was, and I didn't. Sorry if it wasn't.
Speaker 2:No worries. Thanks for the call, and happy birthday wishes. We'll go out. I appreciate you calling in, Verna.
Speaker 19:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Okay. Bye now. Alright. And, we have another call here on problem corner. Hello.
Speaker 2:You're on the air.
Speaker 7:Yes. Yeah. Problem corner.
Speaker 2:Yes. Indeed. Go go right ahead. What what's on your mind today?
Speaker 19:Okay. I have a, Hangar 9 cub radio control plane, for sale or trade,
Speaker 9:trade up to a,
Speaker 19:helicopter, you know, a drone, helicopter, or larger.
Speaker 2:Alright. Very good. What's a good number for someone to reach you at if they're interested in buying or trading your Hanger nine Cub radio control plane?
Speaker 19:Okay. (907) 723-8860.
Speaker 2:Very good. 8860. I will announce that a few more times before we wrap up the show today.
Speaker 19:Okay. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Have a great day. Alright. So that gentleman has a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane. He's at 723-8860, and he will sell that or he would trade it, for a hex copter, drone.
Speaker 2:And so if you're interested in that, if you wanna wanna get your hands on a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane and you have a drone you're looking to get rid of perhaps or you just wanna pay for the plane, you can reach him at 723-8860. And, again, we had a call from Marlene wishing a happy birthday to Edwina White, but then we had Verna call to wish somebody else, maybe Marlene, happy birthday. So, if it is your birthday today, happy birthday wishes. And, again, a gentleman is looking to have Darla call him at (907) 796-9397. Again, back to the Gold Belt proposal for a new visitor facility on the West Side Of Douglas Island.
Speaker 2:It's pretty interesting if you go to the Gold Belt website and look at that. How much of the coastline over there Gold Belt got under the Alaskan native claims settlement act as a land allotment when Gold Belt was set up when ANCA passed back in the seventies. And uphill from the the Gold Belt land is a lot of city and borough of Juno land that could also be opened up for development if that project goes through. There's the so called Pioneer Road that goes over almost to the other side of Douglas Island over there, and there is just a great deal of land over there that could be used for housing, and just to expand places that are available for people to develop and live in our community. So that is something that I think bears looking at above and beyond the visitor industry infrastructure that Gold Belt is looking to put into place.
Speaker 2:But the Gold Belt project in and of itself, if you've been over to Icy Strait Point, it it it's something really innovative. It's kinda attempting to create destination in its own right, for visitors who come on cruise ships to Alaska to see, and that's different than just having them get off downtown. Of course, downtown, there's a lot of merchants. There's a lot of business down there, a lot of beneficial economic activity in the summer months. So this would alter the nature of the visitor experience and also make some changes to the the economic ramifications of visitors coming.
Speaker 2:But it's something that is definitely gonna be looked at and debated, And Goldbelt is very serious about it and has been thinking about it for quite some time in terms of, making up, you know, hundreds and hundreds of million dollar investment. It would certainly, increase the tax base, because it would be, I think, potentially the most valuable single property in the city and borough of Juneau, and that would be quite something. So, all things to think about and look at, it's not going to happen overnight, but I do think they have a pretty ambitious plan of wanting to start construction in the next couple of And, obviously, they would put a lot of Gold Belt shareholders to work on that project, both building it and then also operating it, in perpetuity. And that's certainly been one of the beneficial effects of Icy Straight Point and Huna Hood Corporation putting a lot of its shareholders to work over there. So things to think about and consider as that project is considered and looked at by the assembly because, obviously, our local government does have permitting authority over many aspects of the project, and so they're gonna have to say yes to allow certain things to happen.
Speaker 2:But with that, we're just shy of fifteen minutes before noon here on Monday, September 29. I'm gonna repeat the, message earlier, from earlier just in case this gentleman is still looking to, sell his truck. It was a Chevy Cheyenne. And let me find that message. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's a 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup with a plow for sale. Well, he's looking for 2,500 or best offer. He can be reached at (907) 723-0766. This truck does need a little work. He said he put some recent work into it, but the reverse is sketchy, and the plow has some electrical issues.
Speaker 2:But, otherwise, it worked last year, so he's calling a fall project before the snow comes. Again, 2,500 your best offer. 723-0766. And then we just had a gentleman call who has a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane. He's looking to sell or perhaps trade for a lexcopter or a drone of, certain certain dimensions.
Speaker 2:He's at 7238860. And, again, gentleman looking for Darla to call him at (907) 796-9397. About fourteen minutes to go until noon here on problem Corner. Today is Monday, September 29. Have had a few calls about the ballot propositions in the municipal election, and, you can go ahead and vote if you obviously should have received a mail a ballot a ballot in the mail.
Speaker 2:You can mail that back in. You can drop it off of one of the many drop boxes around town. You can go to a early voting polling station, or you can wait to vote on election day. But the most important thing is is that you do vote and participate in the municipal election, choosing school board members, choosing assembly members, and then voting yes or no on propositions one, two, and three, which will have, an effect on the mill rate, on whether or not sales taxes are collected on food and residential utilities, and whether or not we impose a seasonal sales tax generating more revenue in the visitor friendly summer months and less revenue in the winter months when there are fewer visitors here in the capital city. So interesting interesting questions being looked at.
Speaker 2:I know up in Haines, there's also a measure to impose a seasonal sales tax, and I have not really heard a lot of the pros and cons about what the community in Haines is debating. I do know that Sitka and Ketchikan have them, and they've survived. Although, I guess it can be difficult for some merchants to change their point of sale system or their billing systems to reflect the change in the sales tax rate, when it switches from one season to the other. I think that's most difficult for sellers of services, professional services like doctors and accountants and attorneys because it's not really clear when a service has been provided, and, it's it's not as black and white as it is when you're selling a good, like a a sweater or a candy bar or something like that. So some of those, procedural issues are are reasons why people are concerned about that seasonal sales tax.
Speaker 2:They're also concerned about the increased rate and the fact that you if you have to buy things in in the summer when the higher tax rate is in effect, that's gonna cost you more money. And there's no no real arguing with that. Some people might be able to stockpile and buy things, during the period of the year when the lower tax rate was in effect, but not everyone has the resources to do that. And sometimes it's just not possible to do that. So, lots to think about, but, also, you know, the consequences on the municipal budget if this the the exemption passes, but there's nothing done to offset it where that would come up where where those funds would come from in the, the municipal budget.
Speaker 2:Lots to think about. And, of course, the assembly is continuing to work. You know, they're working every week on these issues. And, tonight, there'll be a meeting, and I think Gold Belt will be presenting about its project this evening. So we are looking at, some pretty decent weather for the next couple of days.
Speaker 2:It's obviously getting cooler out there, but it's not raining today. It's supposed to be partly sunny tomorrow, and it's supposed be sunny on Wednesday. So that's something to look forward to. It's a little more time to go and get some things done outside in the yard, in the garage, the carport, outside around your house before we move fully into fall. It starts raining again, and then it starts snowing because it's tough to tidy things up and put them away and organize them once they're underneath snow.
Speaker 2:But that's why having a little reprieve of nice weather this week is something to look forward to, and I'm grateful for it and looking forward to the sun being here this afternoon, tomorrow, and Wednesday. And, again, as I mentioned earlier, this Thursday, we're gonna have our second of the municipal election forums at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon out at the Moose Lodge. We will have the candidates for the assembly seats that are on the ballot this election cycle. Two incumbents, Greg Smith and Ella Atkinson, running unopposed for reelection. And then one contested race, incumbent Wade Bryson, also a host of problem corner sometimes, being challenged by Nano Brooks, who's also a a host of problem corner.
Speaker 2:So we're gonna give the lion's share of the time this Thursday to Wade and Nano to talk about their candidacies, why they want to be on the assembly, and what their vision for the future of Juno is. We had a really, really good crowd last Thursday at the chamber luncheon with the school board candidates with a somewhat last minute addition of incumbent Didi Sorensen who decided to run as a write in candidate. And so she was able to participate, albeit remotely, with the other four candidates there in person, And it was a very civil and respectful conversation about issues facing the school district, what the effects of the recent consolidation and closure of some schools has been, whether that's sustainable. They had some good comments about what we're going to do when the Coast Guard families, who will be here to make sure that there are enough crew on the Storis, which is home ported in Juneau and will be really physically home ported here in a couple years. And that is a very good question because we're gonna need to make sure we have the community infrastructure, including educational infrastructure to accommodate those families and make sure that they are, comfortable and their children are being well educated.
Speaker 2:Also, we're gonna need more housing, and so that's why the possibility of more land opening up on the West Side Of Douglas is intriguing and alluring and something that we are looking at as a community. Other potential housing projects around the community, some have been clipping right along. Other ones, a building has been built, and then things appear to have stalled. So, it's an expensive place to build. And, of course, a lot of that building takes place during the summer, which is another reason why people have been expressing concern about the the seasonal sales tax.
Speaker 2:So, recapping some of the calls we've had today. Again, gentleman looking for Darla to call him at (907) 796-9397. Birthday wishes, for Edwina White from, her Kaguantan family. And then Verna also called to wish Marlene a happy birthday. I think it was Marlene who called to wish Edwina a happy birthday.
Speaker 2:A gentleman called with a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane. He's looking to sell or perhaps trade for a Lexcopter drone or some other kind of drone. He's at 723-8860. And, again, the 1997 Chevy Cheyenne plow truck for sale. It's a fixer upper.
Speaker 2:The seller has put some work into it, but the reverse is still a little sketchy, and the plow has some electrical issues. He considers it a fall project for someone before the snow comes. He's looking for $2,500 or best offer and can be reached at 723-0766. And we've got a little less than eight minutes now before noon here on problem corner, this being Monday, September 29. Did listen to a little bit of that news earlier from ABC with reports about continuing efforts to stop the, Israeli invasion, of Gaza, a possible ceasefire deal there.
Speaker 2:And, you know, boy, was the October 7 two years ago when that invasion took place, and that's a long time for, that chaos to continue. Very, very unpleasant for everyone in Gaza, but also very unpleasant for everyone in Israel who was attacked or killed or kidnapped when, Hamas decided to make that incursion on the the October 7 in 2023. So, hopefully, there can be some progress and resolution there, and maybe some peace and tranquility can return. Recently, of course, a lot of foreign countries have been recognizing a Palestinian state. Many European countries have done so, and I think the thought there is is that will give some credibility to the Palestinian side of things, not to the Hamas side, but to the Palestinian side of the equation, and create the possibility of a Palestinian state and a two state solution, for Israel and Palestine going forward, which is something that, you know, has been considered since Israel became a state back in the in the nineteen forties.
Speaker 2:So long before I was born, this issue has, been percolating, and, it certainly is one that requires, a lot of effort and a lot of patience, in order to even have a possibility of making any progress in resolving it. I remember when I was at university, the conventional wisdom was that Israel and Palestine would arrive at a place where they could peacefully coexist long before South Africa would, deal with ending apartheid and minority rule. And that obviously turned out not to be the case. And, FW Declerc, who was the president of South Africa, you know, made a transition, and then Nelson Mandela became president. And things aren't going perfectly there, but that that situation, the initial problem, which was apartheid and minority government was resolved.
Speaker 2:So we'll see what may be able to happen in Israel and Palestine. And with that, we do have another call. Hello. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 19:Good morning. Still no Thumbelina over the weekend.
Speaker 2:Alright. No Thumbelina?
Speaker 19:Nope. Still missing off Aloff. Somebody over here in this corner is Goder. I'm so I'm sure. I haven't seen any bears over here.
Speaker 19:I'm not too worried about that. Somebody over here has got her in the in this corner from one of these apartment complexes.
Speaker 2:Will you describe Thumbelina for us?
Speaker 19:Yeah. She's a Siamese, grayish brown color, got goldish brown eyes. She's polydactyl on all four feet, which means she's got 24. She's about four and a half years old. Still missing her, so I miss her a bunch.
Speaker 2:Do you wanna give a number if anyone sees Thumbelina they can call you at?
Speaker 19:Yep. 907508041.
Speaker 2:Alright. Thank you very much, and I will announce that a couple times before we wrap up the show today. Thank you for the call.
Speaker 19:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Okay. Bye. Alright. So Thumbelina is missing. She's a Siamese, with gray brown, fur and golden eyes.
Speaker 2:She is polydactyl, so she has twenty four toes. She's about four and a half years old. Her owner misses her a great deal, and, you could contact if you see Thumbelina or have any idea where she might be, you could reach her reach the caller at 508041. It's a sad thing to have one of your pets go missing like that. So if you see Thumbelina or you have any idea how you might help her owner reconnect with her, again, Thumbelina, Siamese gray brown with golden eyes, polydactyl, twenty four toes, pretty unique description.
Speaker 2:She's four and a half years old, and her owner is at 5008041. Also have the gentleman looking to sell or trade a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane. He's looking for a Lexcopter or a larger drone. He's at 7238860. And then the gentleman looking to have Darla call him at (907) 796-9397.
Speaker 2:Alright. Well, we're getting close to, the noon hour here, and we'll be wrapping up problem corner today. So, again, by this time next week, we'll be right on the cusp of election day. So you don't have to wait to vote. You should have received a ballot in the mail, but you can also go vote early in person, and then they won't count that ballot that they sent you in the mail, although it is kinda wasting some paper, which is one of the disadvantages to the mail in voting.
Speaker 2:There's but but they do definitely have a system to make sure that each voter only has one ballot submitted and, measures in place if for some reason someone forgot that they voted, they will not count your vote twice. With that, in other news, dividends are coming out this week. Only a thousand dollars, which is, the lowest it's been, adjusted for inflation since the inception of the program. But, you know, the money that the state of Alaska makes from the permanent fund is now our single largest source of recurring revenue more than we are receiving from oil taxes and royalties from the North Slope and other places in which hydrocarbons are being produced in Alaska. And the legislature, chose to allocate that money not to dividends this year, but to the operating cost of running state government, including an increase in the base student allocation, meaning that there are more funds available for the schools, the schools in the state, including the students in the Juneau School District.
Speaker 2:And that is, not something that there was unanimity of opinion about. Of course, there was a lot of disagreement, but that's what the legislature decided to do, and they were able to implement that policy. And so, that's something that our school board will be able to take advantage of as it continues to try to make sure we're providing excellent education for young people here in Alaska's capital city. Alright. Well, I'm gonna recap one more time, and then we'll wrap up the show for today.
Speaker 2:Thumbelina, a cat, a siamese, gray brown with golden eyes, who's polydactyl with twenty four toes, who's four and a half years old, is missing, and her owner would very much like to be reunited with her at 508041. If you're looking for a Hanger nine Cub radio control plane and you have a drone, a Lexicopter to trade for it or you just wanna buy it, you can call the gentleman who's looking to, part with that Hanger nine Cub radio control plane at 723-8860. Happy birthday to Edwina White from her Kagwantan family. And Darla, a gentleman who has not spoken with you in quite some time, is awaiting a call at (907) 796-9397. And then, again, congratulations to the New York Yankees and the squirrel who helped them get a home run, which I really need to learn more about because I just know what the caller mentioned, as regards that.
Speaker 2:And then congratulations to Kade and to everyone who supported the Cure for Kade, KNY RadioThon. There was a goal of $30,000, and they raised $35,589.50. And we've got just a moment here. This is gonna be the final call of the day. Hello.
Speaker 2:You're on problem corner.
Speaker 6:Yeah. It's the people's own fault. The permanent fund is what it is. You know, there was a proposition too a few years back with a state called the Fair Share Act, which would put have put the oil taxes on the oil companies what they used to be before Parnell and a bunch of other people changed them and gave the oil companies billions of in tax credits.
Speaker 2:Very good. I gotta go, sir. It's ten seconds, but thanks for the call. I appreciate that. Alright.
Speaker 2:Alright. So that's it for problem corner today. Thank you very much for listening. I'll be here next week, and be well.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us on problem corner, Alaska's longest running radio show. Keep the conversation going and stay connected to the issues that matter most to Juneau in Southeast Alaska. Missed part of today's show? Subscribe to the podcast at kinyradio.com. Problem corner is powered by Princess Cruise Lines, Alaska Laundry and Dry Cleaning, and Juneau Powersports.