Among my many great memories of growing up in Anchorage are visits to the old ZJ Loussac library downtown, where Sixth Avenue Outfitters is today. Earlier today I joined Mayor Begich and Library Director Karen Keller in releasing an ISER study detailing the economic benefits provided by our public library system, which is as good an opportunity as any to talk about a fantastic community initiative.
A recent story aired by Channel 2 news about the fish-passage project at Westchester Lagoon reminded me of the interesting ways in which paths can repeatedly intersect with one another. Put another way, this project has followed me around like a bad penny.
As a kid growing up in Anchorage, one of the first sights from the train as it headed north out of town along Ship Creek was a large homeless camp at the base of the bluff near the old Alaska Native Medical Center. Today ANMC is located on Tudor Road near Campbell Creek and that homeless camp location is an RV park – still transient housing, just more expensive. (more…)
Most folks are familiar with SoNo, the area south of Nordstrom along D Street that features trendy places to shop and meet. On Thursday, July 3, the area received unique street signs that designate the area as the SoNo District. Mayor Begich was kind enough to invite me to the unveiling of the new signage, which includes a total of four districts. Besides SoNo they are: (more…)
There’s an old saw about Anchorage having two seasons: winter and road construction. Given our record snowfall in April of this year and the number of detours around town this summer, the old saw may be truer than ever! And while we all understand that cold weather makes construction more difficult thus necessitating all the activity in our warmer months, the side effects can be frustrating – especially noise, an issue I’ve worked on for years. (more…)
It’s been an interesting week since my last post – by some measures rather quiet and by others quite busy. Here’s what’s going on: (more…)
With the Downtown, Mountain View and Fairview community councils all opposing the proposed re-zone of the old Native Hospital site (see more information below), the Heritage Land Bank decided to indefinitely postpone their application. An excerpt from HLB Executive Director Bill Mehner’s e-mail to Planning Director Tom Nelson appears below. (more…)
Update: This morning’s paper has a story about the proposed rezone. In addition to the Downtown Community Council’s opposition, the Mountain View & Fairview Community Councils also passed resolutions against the proposal. End update. (more…)
It’s early summer in Anchorage, which means residents are sprucing up our community. The city helps out in the process by planting and hanging flowers (crews were out last week), maintaining parks and sweeping streets, among other things. The latter process can take a while and I’ve heard from a neighbor asking how to get her street in the queue. I had the same concern last fall and used the city web site to file a request which, I’m pleased to say, was quickly addressed. If your street needs a cleaning try surfing to the Street Maintenance web site and clicking on the “Street Maintenance Feedback Form.” (more…)
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