Ferries stopped? How about a floating supermarket?

All tied up. But …

My stint as editorial editor of my college newspaper offered up a number of lessons, chief among them was the idea that if you are going to criticize something, you ought to have some sort of solution in mind. From that day forward I always tried to offer a solution, some of them were pretty far-fetched but what the heck ideas have to start somewhere.

Last year Alaska's trumpish governor decided the state ferry system could withstand a substantial budget cut. Though the legislature forced some money back into the state budget the system had to cut back considerably. Eventually a few mechanical breakdowns forced further service cuts until as of this writing, not one

ferry is operating. Alaskans, particularly in Southeastern depend on the ferries as they are the only reliable link with the rest of the world. They take ferries to visit a hospital, to shop, for school sports events and other travel opportunities, and for

vital supplies like food and diapers. Now several towns that depend on the ferries are running out of those supplies. Visiting basketball teams have been stranded; anyone who took a vehicle when he left home has no way to get it back to his town, store shelves are empty.

More budget cuts have been proposed for this year and there are still those mechanical breakdowns to be fixed. This is a vital service for a number of Alaskans and the governor doesn't seem to care.

Well I have a solution. Suppose the large Alaska marketers

develop floating supermarkets. They could stock them like regular stores. What I see is two ships: One starting in Ketchikan and heading north and the other one starting in Juneau and moving south (after a side trip to Haines and Skagway). Each one way trip could be timed for a week which would mean every town on the schedule would see a market twice a week. It's possible the vessels could even set up doctors' offices and other services, even a pharmacy to offer prescriptions. It might prove profitable enough to keep operating after the ferry system fires up again no matter what form it takes when it comes back on schedule. The vessels could resupply at Juneau and Ketchikan which have other supply connections.

I'm talking to you @safeway and you, @fredmeyer.

Even better, with all the expansion 3 Bears has been growing, an Alaska company, this might be perfect for them and for the people they would serve as they are something of a warehouse sort of retail store. Given the warehouse concept, maybe a visit once every two weeks would work. Obviously there is a lot more involved. But why not start thinking about it?

And instead of writing your congressman, write to Safeway and Fred Meyer and 3 Bears.

Safeway customer contact

Fred Meyer customer service

3 Bears customer service