Meadow Lakes
LATEST NEWS
The Sunday Minefield – June 30, 2024
I can’t believe June is already over! Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) announced his vetoes and unceremoniously signed the operating and capital budgets into law on Friday afternoon. Anchorage Mayor-elect Suzanne LaFrance will be sworn in tomorrow at a ceremony at Town Square Park that starts at noon. The deadline to withdraw from the primary was yesterday. A last minute withdrawal left yet another House incumbent unopposed, taking the total to eight. In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decisions holding that enforcing anti-camping ordinances on city property constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution. And the Alaska Supreme Court reversed Judge Zeman’s ruling that the correspondence program is unconstitutional.
Hitting the trail together
"Are you two doing okay back there?" my friend, Cindy, and I were being asked by one of our hiking group. "Yes, fine," we replied as we brought up the rear on a hike back in July 2004. We were on the Caribou Creek Trail off the Nabesna Road, near the Tok Cut-Off Highway. Cindy and I were in our 40s, while the ages of the other women hikers from Anchorage ranged from 55 to 74.
Wildfire forces Alaska’s Denali National Park to temporarily close entrance
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A wildfire burning near the entrance of Denali National Park and Preserve has forced the temporary closure of one of Alaska’s most popular tourist destinations. Cars have been turned around Monday at the park’s only entrance. Tour buses were canceled and public facilities were closed, including the visitor’s center about a five-hour drive north of Anchorage. Officials say about 50 firefighters and aircraft dropping retardant and water are keeping the fire from advancing toward the park. The fire burning in black spruce was reported Sunday about a mile north of the park’s entrance. It was estimated to be about one half of a square mile in size.
Dinneen named development officer
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – University of Alaska Anchorage Athletic Director Ryan Swartwood announced the hiring of Jason Dinneen as the department's development officer. Dinneen joins the athletic department at UAA after serving as the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Food Bank of Alaska where he led their development efforts and secured significant funding.
Anchorage’s Solid Waste Services new pilot program aims to keep plastics and organics out of the landfill
When Anchorage’s Midtown Transfer Station moved across the street into a brand new facility, it left behind the old transfer station and administrative offices. Now, both buildings have new functions, the administrative office is a homeless shelter, and the tipping floor of the former transfer station has become a place to drop off organic material.
Can You Believe It? The 2025 Iditarod Kicks Off in Just 8 Months
Can you believe that in 8 months the 2025 Iditarod will be getting underway?. Over the weekend, the Iditarod Musher Signup and Volunteer Appreciation Picnic was held at trail headquarters in Wasilla. Race officials say so far, 25 mushers, 14 of them veterans have already put pen to paper and...
Big Lake Police Department
Agency Assist – Hwy 10/Lakeshore Dr – Assisted State Patrol during a traffic stop and DWI arrest. Agency Assist – Hwy 10 – Assisted Sherburne Deputy on a fight call. Dog Bite – William St – Reported dog bite. Security Alarm – Northstar St...
Visit Anchorage looks to appeal to younger tourists to Alaska
Occasionally you'll find some of the younger demographic during tourist season through all the silver hair. Younger folks coming to Alaska have been on the rise over the last few years. So Visit Anchorage have been working hard to keep that trend going. President and CEO of Visit Anchorage Julie...
Ted Stevens Young Alaskan Artist Award Recital 2024 Comes to Alaska PAC
Ted Stevens Young Alaskan Artist Award Recital 2024 comes to Alaska PAC this month. The performance is on Thursday, Jul 25, 2024 at 7:30 PM at UAA Recital Hall. Luke Honeck is an Alaskan performer, music educator, and composer who is well-known to local music and theatre audiences. Praised as a “charismatic tenor,” Luke has recently appeared to great acclaim in two Anchorage Opera productions: as Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and as Devon in the U.S. premiere of Missing by Brian Current. Luke also performs frequently with Alaska Chamber Singers, most recently as soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Grand Mass in C minor, and Bach’s B minor Mass. A graduate of West Anchorage High School, Luke holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and is a recipient of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement Award. This fall, Luke will attend the Eastman School of Music to pursue his master’s degree in vocal performance.
Letter: Eradicate dandelions
In his perennial tongue-lashing, Jeff Lowenfels published his annual diatribe enjoining efforts to eradicate dandelions from lawns. He urges everyoneto accept whatever kind of plant grows in the area reserved for a lawn, thus redefining the word “lawn.”. The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary defines a “lawn” as “ground covered with...
Letter: No to a sales tax
I was born and raised in Anchorage where I was used to paying no sales tax. When I was in high school my family moved to Juneau where sales taxes were a thing. For sales made within city limits the tax was 3% and sales within the borough were taxed at 1%. Sometime — I think in the late 1970s — Juneau instituted a temporary 1% surcharge, making the tax 4% in town and 2% in the rest of the borough. The surcharge lasted for nine months and paid for a public swimming pool — a greatly appreciated improvement to the community. It was so popular that another temporary nine-month 1% surcharge was paid for a chairlift and day lodge on Douglas Island. Thus was born Eaglecrest, Juneau’s small but delightful ski resort.
Letter: Bicycle lanes
Yesterday I finally saw someone on a bike using our new bicycle lanes downtown. I drive through the downtown area affected several times a day and have not seen a single person on a bike. I did see a lot of traffic disruption and everything moving more slowly. Of course, the one biker I finally saw was also crossing carlanesillegally. These bike lanes were a bad idea.
Letter: A future for crude oil
Since crude oil was first discovered, its markets have evolved and been driven by for-profit interests. So, what would be the “highest and best use” of crude oil? Surely not commuting and maybe not even thundering through the sky at almost the speed of sound, considering there are other fuels and power sources now available. There are numerous other synthetic things manufactured by the petrochemical industries, but most of those are also most profitable as single-use throwaway products and some, from dangerous chemicals and plastic bits and pieces, are coming back to haunt all life on Earth.
Letter: Public bathroom politics
Before the mayoral election, I predicted that if Suzanne LaFrance won, those $500,000 bathrooms would be built. Sure enough, they will be. The voters clearly said “no” to the bathrooms. Despite the excuses by the Assembly supporters saying voters were turned off by the name, they were mad that this dumb idea was even brought up. It was clear the plan was to spend an outrageous $500,000 each for these units.
Letter: Waste containment
Piles of waste encroach on Anchorage’s crown jewels: its bike trails, parks and waterways. I voted against the recent bond to improve our parks because until we can address the squalor that makes some parks unsafe and unusable, why take on debt to improve them? What’s truly frustrating is that we take a narrow-viewed binary approach to camps: full abatement or take no action at all. There is a continuum, however. There’s a difference between abating the only shelter someone has and allowing that person to amass piles of trash and items.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.