Visitors to Anchorage often comment on the remarkable array of public facilities our community enjoys. Be it parks, the airport or venues like the Dena’ina Convention Center and Sullivan Arena, I don’t know of any similarly sized city that enjoys such a terrific collection of public opportunities. But, to paraphrase an old saying, with great opportunity comes the potential for great conflict.
Camp abatement. It’s not a new summer opportunity for your kids, instead it’s the surprisingly complicated issue of how our community deals with camps established by our homeless population on municipal lands. As background information, last year the Assembly approved an ordinance that allowed for the Anchorage Police Department to post notices at illegal camp sites and for eviction (removal) to commence 12 hours later. But that’s not how the law has been employed.
As you may have read backers of ballot measure 1, the so-called anti-corruption initiative, recently announced a cessation of their campaign. That hasn’t stopped foes of the initiative, who refer to it as a gag law, from continuing their campaign. In fact, a friend of mine associated with coalition opposing ballot measure 1 sent me an invitation to a fundraiser & education event taking place on Thursday, June 17, at 5 pm in the Snow Goose restaurant, and asked that I make mention of it on my blog. So, mission accomplished.
As promised, the Port committee’s June 10 meeting focused on dredging (underwater excavation) issues and featured an extensive presentation from local representatives of the US Army Corps of Engineers. We covered a lot of ground, and here are some highlights:
Yes, the moment you’ve been waiting for – another meandering blog post! Away we go…
Next Port committee meeting:
A newly-constituted Assembly Port committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, May 18. Prior to that, there were three stories in the local paper discussing the subject:
On Tuesday the mayor and several of his senior staff presented an idea for re-shaping our approach to the 2011 budget. Cheryl Frasca, our OMB Director, learned about an organization called Viewpoint Learning and felt they could effectively:
“Engage Anchorage residents in talking about spending and revenue choices that will serve as input into the Mayor and Assembly’s decision-making.”
Weather-wise the past few days in Anchorage have been pretty spectacular with warm, sunny conditions hinting at the promise of a spectacular Alaska summer. After all, few things make locals happier than compulsory lawn-watering to keep up with hot June sunshine.
If you’re an Anchorage property owner like me, today your delivery from the US Postal Service likely included your annual municipal tax bill. Happy Saturday.
On a quiet afternoon last month – I think it was a Sunday – I happened to take a look at Knik Arm and noticed one of Totem Ocean Trailer Express‘ steamships departing the Port of Anchorage more than a little bit early. To explain a bit, two steamship companies (Horizon Lines and the aforementioned TOTE) have ships that sail from Tacoma to Anchorage, typically arriving early each Sunday & Tuesday morning. Those vessels generally depart in the evening so it struck me as odd that TOTE’s ship had cast off shortly after noon, especially since the tide looked low enough that it seemed unlikely it could clear a mid-channel shoal.
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