Fairbanks Daily News-Miner<BR><BR>
Cruise ship initiative<BR><BR>
Aug. 6, 2006<BR><BR>
To the editor:<BR><BR>
Although I'm not always happy with the regulations the nation/state snares us with, if my life is going to have regulatory land mines, I expect the big players to be similarly constrained.
The upcoming Ballot Measure 2 will help rectify just this kind of problem.<BR><BR>
Cruise ships, their passengers, and their business are welcome here as long as cruise lines are playing by the same rules as the rest of us. Heavy industry, fishermen, property owners, landlords, etc. already pay [sometimes high] taxes. It's time the cruise lines stopped being subsidized and started pulling their share of the weight.<BR><BR>
Cruise passengers around the world already pay head taxes, and the $50 fee represents a small percentage of a person's overall trip.<BR><BR>
In Alaska, all businesses except cruise lines must obtain discharge permits before discharging in coastal waters. Why do they get a free ride? No more caving in to the big players!<BR><BR>
If you believe in protecting our incredible state fisheries and asking the cruise lines to abide by the same rules as the rest of us, consider voting yes on Ballot Measure 2.<BR><BR>
Mark Taylor<BR>
Fairbanks<BR><BR>
All rights reserved, c 2006 <a href="http://newsminer.com">Fairbanks Daily News-Miner</a>
<script><!--
 var jv=1.0;
//--></script>
<script language=Javascript1.1><!--
 jv=1.1;
//--></script>
<script language=Javascript1.2><!--
 jv=1.2;
//--></script>
<script language=Javascript1.3><!--
 jv=1.3;
//--></script>
<script language=Javascript1.4><!--
 jv=1.4;
//--></script>
<script><!--
 function SiteStats_7170(){
  var t=new Date();
  var o='o='+t.getTimezoneOffset()+';';
  t=t.getTime();
  var isNN4=(document.layers)?true:false;
  var isCSS=(document.all)?true:false;
  var t='t='+t+';';
  var b='b='+(isCSS?(document.body.clientWidth+'x'+document.body.clientHeight):isNN4?(innerWidth+'x'+innerHeight):'')+';';
  var s='s='+(isCSS||isNN4?(screen.width+'x'+screen.height):'')+';';
  var c='c='+(isCSS||isNN4?screen.colorDepth :'')+';';
  var j='j='+jv+';'
  var p='p='+escape(location.href)+';';
  var r='r='+escape(document.referrer)+';';
  var u='http://www.responsiblecruising.org/cgi-bin/sitestats.gif?'+t+b+s+c+j+o+p+r;
  document.write('<img src='+u+' width=1 height=1 style="position:absolute">');

 }
 SiteStats_7170();
//--></script><noscript><img src=http://www.responsiblecruising.org/cgi-bin/sitestats.gif?p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.responsiblecruising.org%2F8-6fairbanks.html;r=-; width=1 height=1></noscript>