I’ll be heading off to Juneau Saturday, and wanted to share some news about what folks in New York call Chutzpah.
First, the Chutzpah - or, in English - bad, bad, bad behavior…. on the part of the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA)
Read More →I hope you’re having a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and all around good holiday season. And I wanted to let you in on some good holiday news (and one more volunteer opportunity you might like).
Here’s what you don’t want to know. I also found out how long it takes to work off a typical Christmas and Holiday dinner, cookie and bowls of pistachio nut diet. That’s what I’d classify as annoying news. So, really, why dwell on it. I’ll just take this one for the team, suffer alone, and keep that information to myself. And… I will be off to the gym after we get this letter out.
Read More →This week we are launching our second annual “Laptops for Foster Youth Drive”. Since last year we have matched over 60 youth with good, late model used and new laptops. Youth have used these laptops for school, to transport pictures of their families and friends, and to lead a life that more closely resembles those of their peers outside of foster care.
If you have a quality used, or new laptop you’d like to donate, please let us know, and we’ll help you make someone’s life better! The criteria for the laptops we are looking for is at the end of the e-mail. If you want to donate funds to purchase one or more laptops, we can help arrange that too.
Read More →Who knows what impact public comment ever has? You hope it matters, so you comment. That’s why this spring I and others wrote an array of federal officials to say that ConocoPhillips’ proposed development in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPR-A) was in Alaska’s and the nation’s interests. When the US Army Corps of Engineers effectively blocked oil development there by denying a needed bridge permit, I was concerned. I spoke to my colleagues about writing a letter explaining that production was falling on the North Slope, and access to this area, reserved for oil development, was crucial to our efforts to stem and hopefully reverse the decline in North Slope oil production.
Read More →I can’t lie. I’d rather be fishing than scraping the ice off my car, and shivering on my mountain bike with studded tires. But the miracle of extended fall seems to be over. Nice miracle while it lasted.
Tuesday I had a huge amount of fun at a great non-profit event: Arctic Entries. You should go sometime. Arctic Entries is a community effort to get seven Alaskans per month to tell stories. I told mine – about bad karma – and the time I had to fly fish with chicken. Not very fly fishing purist of me, but it was on a trip to Peru, and that’s all they had. Or I didn’t know how to say “flies” in Spanish. Anyway – you can find out about upcoming shows at arctic-entries.com. Proceeds go to Anchorage’s domestic violence shelter, AWAIC.
Read More →Can you say “Boondoggle?” Can you say “Dead Wild Salmon” or “Corporate Influence in Alaska politics”? Well, you might have to learn, or start speaking out. On the bright side, we can all say “Support our Troops” - and at the end of this newsletter you’ll see a great volunteer opportunity to do just that.
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