Norway’s Lessons Are Alaska’s To Learn
Alaskans are a bunch of people who want to be around a bunch of people who don’t want to be around a bunch of people. By Shannyn Moore I once saw a bush pilot restart his plane with the gum wrapper off a piece of Big Red. I asked him if it would work. He smiled and said, “It’ll get me to where I can get what I need.” That seems to be a prevailing philosophy here. Tyvek is not siding, but it’ll keep the wind out. In May a delegation of Alaska lawmakers will head to Norway. The intellectually…
Open Thread: Peter and the Wolf featuring Shannyn Moore (by LKB)
I promised this for yesterday. Well, it’s a day late and the blog didn’t cooperate, but here it is — the Anchorage Civic Orchestra directed by Phil Munger performing Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” Your narrator is our own Shannyn Moore! Here are a couple of photos I grabbed in the beginning. FYI — Concertmaster Walter Oliveres will be working with the Affetti Orchestra this summer (Morrigan is in it) so I’ll get to enjoy his playing a great deal!
Liberally Loving Alaska
Last week a woman called my radio station. She squealed at my producer, “Who is this woman? She sounds like a LIBERAL!” There is a good reason I sound like a liberal: I am. And the caller would be surprised to learn that this puts me right in step with the history and the foundation of our state. So much of what I believe stems from equality granted by our constitution. It was written by more Democrats than Republicans yet delegates debated in a spirit of nonpartisanship. One delegate said, “we chose to put the good of Alaska ahead of…
Open Thread – Crabby
Yes, it’s dark during winter. Yes, it’s really cold. No, you can’t survive without studded snow tires. Yes, it’s a 14 hour travel day to the east coast. BUT There are so many things to be grateful for… And yes, I had an awesome Mother’s Day dinner!
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Derby Day! That’s right. Today with your plate of tasty oyster news nuggets, you can also enjoy a mint julep. (pause while that sinks in) OK, maybe not the best combination, but you understand my metaphorical drift. It should be an interesting race today. There are 19 horses in this year’s race, and there’s a great summary in the Wall Street Journal (linked above) for those of you looking for a quick primer. It’s been a long, strange trail to the 137th Kentucky Derby, which gets underway…
Open Thread – How Did We Miss This?
Kudos to Shannyn Moore who found this picture of one of the protesters at Sarah Palin’s rally in Madison, Wisconsin last week. As she noted, Brian would approve.
Mayor Dan Sullivan — Playground Bully (by LKB)
Remember THAT kid back in grade school? Remember coming to school and sharing the excitement of how you got the remote control car you wanted for Christmas? THAT kid would talk about his brand new remote control F-15 jet…life-sized. Or, you’d very proudly reveal the balsa wood car you’d carved yourself and painted red to run in the local Pinewood Derby while THAT kid would bring out the super-slick car he claimed he made himself but was secretly made by his daddy’s engineering firm. THAT kid was the one the teachers all thought was a wonderful student when he was…
Open Thread: Assembly Changes
I attended the first meeting of the new 2011 Anchorage Assembly, which also was (sadly) a farewell and passing of the baton by Eastside’s Mike Guttierez to the election winner, Adam Trombley. The main purpose of the meeting was to certify the most recent Municipal Election, to swear in the returning Assembly and the one new member, and to establish the Assembly leadership. I wrote a post about the insane faux-controversy over Chairman Dick Traini’s speech at the April 4th We Are One Rally. Unfortunately, the results didn’t go our way. However, the overall tone of the meeting was relatively…
Once Again, the Assembly is Sullied by Dan
Back when the Anchorage Assembly Chair was Dan Sullivan, he presided over a “meeting-before-the-meeting” of the Assembly. This is a meeting they have before their regular Tuesday Assembly meeting to basically get the organizational flotsam and jetsam out of the way…present amendments, new ordinances, etc…so that time isn’t eaten up on Tuesdays with “making the sausage.” Though the “open meeting laws” in Alaska ensure that anyone can sit in on these, at this particular meeting more members of the public were present than usual. You see, the debate over the ordinance that would halt smoking in the hospitality workplaces was…