Hello everyone! This year, for my birthday, I’m asking for your help in supporting ProPublica, an organization that is doing crucial work in investigative journalism. They shine a light on abuses of power and hold those in authority accountable. I believe in their mission and want to celebrate my solar return by contributing to positive change in our society.

I worked as a journalist in my 20s (almost 20 years ago?!) so this cause is very close to my heart. I drew the above comic as a tribute to my love for newspapers, even as the industry crumbles. ProPublica has a history of creating meaningful change in our local communities as a result of their reporting. Many examples are listed in the linked stories below.

Your donations help fund in-depth investigations that reveal truths often hidden from the public.

While you're here, I'd like to encourage you to also consider supporting two new nonprofit news startups, the Juneau Independent and the Homer Independent Press. These are both new Alaska nonprofit news organizations created in the wake of our local community newspapers being gutted by Outside conglomerates. These folks are doing big, important stuff (like providing news without a paywall) and they can't exist without community support. I'll be making my own donations to each of these groups, and if you feel so inclined, I encourage you to join me.

Donate to Homer Independent Press

Donate to the Juneau Independent

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Here are some links to recent ProPublica stories on Alaska topics:

Inside the Schools Alaska Ignored

Two inches of raw sewage. Black mold. A bat infestation. Reporter Emily Schwing shares what she uncovered as she investigated dangerous conditions inside Alaska’s deteriorating public schools.

An Alaska Village Before and After the Storm

The story of Typhoon Halong’s destruction in Kipnuk adds an exclamation point to long-simmering fears about the future of Alaska coastal villages facing down climate change.

AK Vowed to Resolve Murders of Indigenous People

Now Alaska refuses to provide their names. When the nonprofit Data for Indigenous Justice filed public records requests with the Alaska Department of Public Safety concerning cases it had investigated, the state rejected them.

Supreme Court Places New Limits on Pretrial Delays

The move follows an investigation by ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News that found some cases have taken as long as a decade to reach juries, potentially violating the rights of victims and defendants alike.

Someone Is Getting Away w Eunice Whitman’s Killing

Alaska's slow justice system let it happen. Eunice Whitman, a 23-year-old Alaska Native woman, was murdered in a public place in 2015. A decade later, the state still has not brought anyone to trial in the case.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!