Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard and Turnagain

November 25, 2020

In this issue:

• General Election Results

• #OptOutside This Friday

• Economic Relief Programs

• Cut Your Own Tree This Year

• Community Events

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate our many blessings and share with our family, friends, and neighbors. We hope everyone enjoys a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.

General Election Results

The Division of Elections finished counting ballots this week and the results are in. I am honored and humbled by your confidence in electing me to continue working as your Representative in the Legislature!

My responsibilities as your legislator include representing everyone in House District 21– regardless of how you voted. Thank you for trusting me to serve and represent our community.

While this year's campaign brought new challenges, we stayed focused on working together to find common ground and put Alaska first. I spoke with friends and neighbors throughout the district about the challenges we face as a state and finding solutions that serve all Alaskans. We must focus on the future of Alaska by addressing the issues today and not leaving them for the next generation.

Click here to see the results on the Division of Elections website.

#OptOutside: Alaska State Parks Waives Parking Fees this Friday

Alaska State Parks will waive parking fees at all park facilities on Friday, Nov. 27, to encourage Alaskans to get outside during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Alaska State Parks 2021 day-use parking decal stickers are available online at the division’s website. They are also available in person in Anchorage at REI, the Hoarding Marmot, and Paramount Cycles, and in Fairbanks at REI, Beaver Sports, Outdoor Adventures, and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. The decals are also sold at the Seward Chamber of Commerce and the Discover Kodiak Visitor Center.

Day-use parking decals are $60 per vehicle, and boat launch decals are also available for $150. The Division is working on an online system for issuing disabled veterans camping passes, and it will announce the arrival of the online system on its website and social media. The 2021 parking decals are good for parking at all state parks managed by Alaska State Parks from date of purchase until Dec. 31, 2021.

For information on buying decals in bulk, contact the Business Development office (see contact details below). Day-use decals are a great holiday gift option.

Share your outdoor activities on social media this weekend and throughout the holiday season by using the hashtags #OptOutside, #alaskastateparks, and #akstateparks

For more information, go to http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/asp/fees.htm.

Municipality of Anchorage Economic Relief Programs

The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) began accepting applications for two additional economic relief grant programs: the Individual Artist Relief Grant Program and a second round of the Hospitality Business Relief Grant Program, Tier C. These grant programs are supported by the MOA’s $156 million in CARES Act funding.

The Individual Artist Relief Grant program will provide $5,000 grants to 100 artist applicants who meet the eligibility criteria. Applications and review will be managed by the MOA’s 49th State Angel Fund (49SAF), while Cook Inlet Lending Center (CILC) will provide disbursement and accounting. This grant supports practicing individual artists who have experienced economic hardship and loss of income from canceled events/sales, residences, workshops, gallery shows, terminated contracts, or job loss due to the pandemic and related emergency orders.

Eligible artists may apply online. The deadline to apply is Sunday, November 29, 2020, at 11:59 PM. Additional information about the Individual Artist Relief Grant program may be found in this FAQ document.

The Hospitality Businesses Relief Tier C Grant program round two will provide additional funds to qualifying hospitality businesses and is expanding the eligibility criteria to accommodate some hospitality business types that were excluded from round one. The Alaska Hospitality Retailers Association (AkHR) administers the Tier C program, which provides grants for small businesses such as cafés, caterers, quick service restaurants, snack bars, and all other non-liquor hospitality businesses.

Eligible businesses may apply online. The deadline to apply is Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 11:59 PM. Additional information about the Hospitality Business Relief Tier C grant program may be found in this FAQ document.

Additional information about the MOA’s grant programs may be found on the COVID-19 website.

Cut Your Own Alaska-grown Christmas Tree

With the Christmas season fast approaching, now is the perfect time to trek into the woods to find your Alaska-grown tree to help celebrate the holidays.

A Christmas tree is the focal point for many home holiday decorations, and while local retailers sell imported trees, many Alaskans prefer to venture into the woods to seek out and harvest their own tree, for free. Helping make this possible is one of the Alaska Division of Forestry’s own holiday traditions.

Each household is limited to one tree, which can be no more than 15 feet high. There are no fees, and no permit is required. Maps and information on Christmas tree harvesting in Southcentral and Interior Alaska – as well as information about how to care for your fresh-cut tree – are available at http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pic/christmastree.htm.

Given COVID-19’s impact on so many aspects of life, cutting your own Christmas tree is a perfect COVID activity: it’s outside, it’s easy to socially distance, and it’s likely that the facemask you wear against the cold will also help protect against the coronavirus.

Here are some guidelines for safe, legal cutting of Christmas trees on public lands:

Properly identify who owns the land where you intend to cut your tree. If you have any questions on land ownership, call the nearest Division of Forestry office.
Cut trees as low and close to the ground as possible.
Cutting trees in any state parks or experimental forests is prohibited.
Christmas trees cut on state land are for personal use only, and may not be sold.
The division does not maintain forest roads, so those traveling on them should have warm clothing and appropriate equipment in case they get stuck, including tire chains, shovel and tow strap.
Do not litter, and be courteous to other tree cutters and area residents.

For a directory of area forest offices, including addresses and phone numbers, go to http://forestry.alaska.gov. Answers to additional questions are available at the Department of Natural Resource’s Public Information Centers in Anchorage (907-269-8400) or Fairbanks (907-451-2705).

Community Events

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Spenard Community Council

When: Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 PM

Where: Virtual Zoom Meeting. Click here for details.

Turnagain Community Council

When: Thursday, December 3 at 7:00 PM

Where: Virtual Zoom Meeting. Click here for details.

Sand Lake Community Council

When: Monday, December 14 at 6:30 PM

Where: Virtual Zoom Meeting. Check back for details.

Holiday Light Up Downtown

Join the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. for a re-imagined celebration of the official start to Anchorage’s holiday season!

When: Saturday, November 28

Where: Downtown Anchorage, Town Square

Spend the day supporting our local downtown small businesses for Small Business Saturday. Then bring your shopping receipts to the Small Business Saturday booth in Town Square Park from 12:00 - 7:30 p.m. for a chance to win 2 roundtrip tickets with Alaska Airlines. You don't have to be present to win.

Alaskan winters are dark and this year ADP made it our mission to light up downtown! Enjoy a stroll through downtown’s streets checking out light installations. In addition to lights, enjoy holiday music and dance performances, hot cocoa, a photo booth, art displays, and last, but not least, celebrate the lit Holiday Tree! A map with all of the activated locations will be provided on this page and on our website so stay tuned.

By transitioning this event to a walking tour spread out across downtown, we hope to provide the space for entertainment while increasing physically distanced traffic downtown. Please respect physical distancing and mask requirements when enjoying the holiday spirit.

For more information, a schedule of events and to RSVP, visit the Facebook event page.