School Project
Dear Editor: Hello! I am a third-grade student in Northern Virginia. Our class is learning about the United States, and I will be teaching our school about the state of Alaska. In the month of May, I will create a display for our state fair that I hope will make you proud.
Although I have gathered facts about your state from books and websites, I think that I can receive the best information from the people who live there. This is why I am writing to you. I am hoping that you would be willing to send me some items to help me learn more about the best things in your state. You might consider sending items such as postcards, pictures, souvenirs, this newspaper article, or any other unique items that would be useful or show your state pride. Here are a few questions:
Why do you live in your state? What first brought your family there?
How do you make money? What is your job?
What does your state look like?
What do people do for fun?
What animals live there?
What traditional food/recipes does your state have?
What type of music is native to your state?
Do you have a state athletic team?
What geographic features are unique to your state?
I will need to gather all of my information by the first week of May. You can mail items to the address below. I really appreciate your help!
Carson,
Mrs. B’s Class,
The Langley School,
1411 Balls Hill Road,
McLean, Virginia 22101
Elizabeth Warren
Dear Editor: I have been receiving texts from Elizabeth Warren’s campaign. After reading articles I requested on her version of the Green New Deal, I asked what she has to offer Alaska. After all, we are a petroleum based economy and she proposes an abrupt end to drilling.
The answer is that oil companies will drill until the oil is depleted, then they will pull out, leaving the state destitute. But Warren will immediately infuse retraining and retooling funs into the state. In either case, the drilling stops. In her plan, this is just the beginning of a transition to clean energy and clean industry.
Warren’s representative pointed out that the lion’s share of Alaska’s economy already consists of direct or pass-through federal funds. Nearly every industry or business in Alaska receives permits, subsidies or stimulus from federal agencies or from non-profits acting on federal initiatives. The public sector will grow. Alaskans will benefit.
The choice, then, is depletion and destitution under Republicans, or expansion of the social franchise under Warren. I had thought Warren idealistic and elite, but I find that she is in touch with the reality of our economy. Her plan puts people first. Make Alaska better for people. Let big oil go.
John Welsh, Sitka
