Category: Citizen Voices
King Salmon Attorney Publishes “Regular Army Corporal”
There was still ice on Pike Lake in front of Richard Ellmers’ house as we recently chatted about his new book over the phone. He had just put his King Salmon house up for sale and was planning to move to Anchorage after this winter’s record snowfall.
Ellmers is a mesmerizing story teller both vocally and in print.
Raising Kid Colt – Inside a Sandhill Crane Family
“Raising Kid Colt,” was filmed over a span of two summers by amateur videographer, Nina Faust, who was able to film the intimate details of the lives of two Sandhill Cranes.
Cheesy Corn Casserole
Like any good foodie, I love me some prosciutto. And baby arugula. A salad topped with dried figs, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette and I’m in heaven. A pinch of saffron to enhance color and flavor.
Sometimes, even I’m just too pretentious for my own good.
No Big Event
It was a gorgeous day for Alaska, or for most any other place I can imagine.
Mom, my best friend Jack, and I had driven north from Anchorage to Big Lake. Even then, Big Lake was primarily a weekend, or summer retreat from the relatively fast paced life of Anchorage.
Sitkans Come Together to Save Campus
Sitka, a town of just 8,900 residents, has put in 23,000+ volunteer hours to revitalize the Sheldon Jackson Campus. This is the story of a community coming together, working toward a common goal.
Rescued Baby Sea Otter’s Long Day
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium working with partner the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), is providing a safe home for a newborn sea otter pup found stranded along an Alaskan coastline.
Film Festival Seeking Submissions from Alaskans
The Never Sets Film Festival is once again seeking the creative contributions of people from across the state. Returning for a second year with a theme of “Stories from the North,” the festival is asking for short films and short screenplays created by Alaskans for an upcoming competition.
Last year, the festival received submissions from all around Alaska and was able to present the films over the course of several days at events in Anchorage, Juneau, Barrow and Bethel.
Whaling: Two Miles Out on the Frozen Chukchi Sea
Two miles from land across the frozen Chukchi Sea, the ocean ice is constantly breaking up and reforming, creating ridges of fragmented ice.
We had heard that the bowhead whale was out near the point, three miles west of the village of Point Hope. But once out there, we saw few signs of activity.
Forty-Four Years of Keeping Anchorage Clean
As the temperatures begin to rise and the record snowfall continues to melt, miles of trash is unveiling along streets and roadways of the Municipality of Anchorage.
For the 44th year, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce will engage local businesses, school youth and community members during Anchorage Chamber Citywide Cleanup Week, held May 12 to 19.
Introducing Tundra Dialogues
Tundra Dialogues is a new interactive blogging site, hosted by Evon Peter. The project will host conversations on personal, cultural, and spiritual growth. The vision is to inspire and inform positive change in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and the world.
All people from any spiritual, cultural, and personal background are welcome to join the dialogues.
Anchorage Woodlot to Open with New Location
The Anchorage Soil and Water Conservation District is hoping to open the Anchorage Woodlot Thursday, May 3, 2012, depending on site conditions.
Due to tremendous snow accumulation at the previous location, the woodlot is being moved to the South Anchorage Sports Park this year. The basic cost for remains at $10 per load, all material such as mulch or firewood taken from the woodlot is FREE.
Movement & Character: Elizabeth Andres
As part of my internship with APRN, I’ve been exploring new methods of storytelling. This audio slideshow is a profile on UAA student Elizabeth Andres, whose area of study is Natural Sciences. Andres also teaches dance classes at Anchorage Music and Dance Center.
Twenty feet of snow on Valdez Glacier
After a winter of outstanding snow conditions, three scientists drove snowmachines up Valdez Glacier this spring, curious to see how far they could get.
At about 5,500 feet above the salt water of Port Valdez, their machines rested on about 20 feet of snow that had fallen there during the winter.
Immigration in Anchorage Dialogue
Most of us understand that Anchorage has broad mix of people from around the world, but do we understand the challenges they face and how they enrich our community and schools?
Conversations that Matter: Additional Resources
How do we, as a statewide community, engage in a difficult but respectful discussion about race in Alaska?
Through an innovative project based on indigenous values and dialogue principles applied by the First Alaskans Institute, this program seeks to elevate the conversation about race and racism in Alaska and prompt ideas about possible solutions to racial inequality in the state.
The Goose that Thought He was a Sandhill Crane
In Homer, Alaska, there lives a goose who thinks he is a Sandhill Crane. He travels all over Homer with the cranes, eating, sleeping, and flying with them.
He takes no guff from any of the cranes. It will be interesting to see if the goose makes it down to the wintering grounds in California with the cranes and back again this spring.
Art and Spring in New York City
Amazing, no snow, the first week of April in New York City! The thermometer read mid-thirties, surprisingly colder than Anchorage as I subway’d around Manhattan in search of art. A former professor once told me “find me something I haven’t seen before.”
It took some scrounging around as the downturned economy has reduced exhibitions. Good news: many shows are staying up longer and there appear to be bigger crowds in galleries and gift shops than last fall.
Life at Jesse Lee Home
Jesse Lee Home, in the late 1940′s and early ’50′s, was a Methodist church sponsored home for Alaskan Native orphan children. It was located several miles outside the town of Seward, Alaska.
When I was perhaps eight, in 1949, my parents were active in the Methodist church and accepted positions as houseparents in the boys’ dorm of the Home. Our family moved from Anchorage to Seward, and my two older brothers and I lived with the other boys at the Home.
Mudrooms: Stories of Transition
On Tuesday, April 3, at the 5th Mudrooms event, 7 Juneau community members shared a personal story related to the evening’s theme: Transitions.
Here’s a sample story about the transition from youth to middle age (and being born with a second stomach) as told by Kirk Hardcastle.
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Snow Mosquitoes: The First Wave of Summer Irritants
First, I’ll wear light-colored clothing. Second, I’ll bathe more often in an attempt to be as odorless as possible. Third, I won’t exhale while I’m in the woods.
“Snow mosquitoes,” the big, sluggish mosquitoes that are the first to irritate us, survive the winter by bundling up in leaf litter or wedging themselves under loose tree bark.
