Today our local newspaper contained an article addressing Governor Palin's decision to throw her weight behind House Bill 35 (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=26&bill=HB35). Governor Palin is promoting legislation that is divisive, dubious, and duplicitous, and the suggestion that this is "parents' rights legislation" is simply preposterous.

Jim Bailey has been promoting the concept of an Anchorage Roundtable organization to help deal with community issues. The idea is to develop community-wide solutions for community-wide problems such as dropouts, juvenile violence, and workforce readiness. The Leaders Roundtable is an example of a community collaboration in Portland, Oregon, that has been effectively dealing with community issues since 1983. I think Jim's idea can be effective tool to help us focus on community solutions.