Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard and Turnagain

November 26, 2019

In this issue:

• New Email Platform

• Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season

• #OptOutside on Friday

• BP/Hilcorp Sale

• Spenard Beach Park Improvements

• Community Events

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As we congregate with friends, family, and good food on Thursday, let’s remind one another of all we have to be grateful for. May we also be mindful of those in need and take time to share a smile and lend a helping hand. I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend!

New Email Platform

Our office is using a new email platform to distribute our e-newsletter. If you have any questions about this transition, please feel free to contact us!

Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season

Bean's Cafe

Bean's Cafe is looking for help with their Thanksgiving meal. They expect to serve over 1,000 free traditional holiday meals and need food donations. For a list of items to donate and where to drop them off, click here.

Food Bank of Alaska

Heading to Carrs Safeway this weekend to do some grocery shopping? From now until Christmas, you can purchase a Hunger Bag for just $10 and the food will be donated to Food Bank of Alaska. For an extra $2, Carrs will add a carton of milk! Look for the signs at your local Carrs Safeway and add one or two of these bags to your holiday shopping list.

#OptOutside: Alaska State Parks Waive Parking Fees this Friday

Alaska State Parks will waive parking fees at all 156 park facilities on Friday, November 29, to encourage Alaskans to get outside during the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.

In Anchorage on November 29, Alaska State Parks will host an #OptOutside event from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Glen Alps trailhead with State Parks Ambassador Erin Kirkland, publisher of AKontheGO, a resource for Alaska family travel and outdoor recreation.

Complimentary coffee and hot chocolate will be provided by Kaladi Brothers Coffee, and Alaska State Parks will be selling 2020 day-use parking passes ($50/vehicle, credit card purchase only). Parking passes and day-use fees help keep state parks maintained and accessible throughout the year.

Park visitors are encouraged to share their outdoor activities on social media this weekend and throughout the holiday season by using the hashtag #OptOutside, #alaskastateparks, and #akstateparks

Friday’s free parking does not extend to four state facilities managed by other entities: the Little Susitna Public-use Facility, the Pillars Boat Launch, the Arctic Valley ski area and the Eagle River Nature Center.

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

BP/Hilcorp Sale

A sale of this magnitude and importance to Alaska must be carefully reviewed and scrutinized, and I support legislative hearings on the subject. Rep. Tarr and Rep. Lincoln, as co-chairs of the House Resources Committee, are planning a joint hearing with the Senate Resources Committee to learn more about the sale and bring more transparency to the process. Currently, the meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 16, 2019 at 2:00 PM.

The RCA extended the deadline for public comment to December 13, 2019 in an effort to give more people a chance to weigh in on this issue. The link includes how to submit a comment to the RCA.

Spenard Beach Park Improvements

Every two years, the Anchorage Park Foundation invites the community to submit their ideas for a park or trail improvement project in Anchorage. Successful ideas are awarded with a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for the energy volunteers put into their project through cash donations, volunteer labor, and in-kind materials or services. Through the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation, Challenge Grants offer a way to achieve community priorities to improve a park or trail that would not otherwise be funded through the Municipality of Anchorage. Ultimately, these projects increase the sense of community in neighborhoods by bringing a lasting capital investment into our park system.

Spenard and Turnagain Community Councils are teaming up to provide a much-deserved update to the Spenard Beach Park, a popular picnic spot. This historic park, located in the Lake Hood Floatplane Base Airport area, is a favorite spot for tourists and neighbors alike to watch the activities at the busiest floatplane base in the world. The Community Councils will be raising funds and organizing volunteers to meet a $10,000 matching grant from the Anchorage Park Foundation to provide new benches, trash cans, and other new amenities for the lakeside park.

Community Events

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event:

Shop Small Saturday

On Saturday, downtown Anchorage is participating in Shop Small, Small Business Saturday, a nationwide event put on by American Express to promote shopping at local small businesses! This season, as you embark on the annual flurry of finding holiday gifts for the special people in your life, please help support Alaska’s small business sector by making a point to #ShopSmall.

When: Saturday, November 30 from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Where: Local businesses in Downtown Anchorage, Anchorage Downtown Partnership 2018 Shop Small Map.

Click here for a list of downtown’s small businesses that are offering deals, specials, and more! For more information about how to participate, visit the ADP Small Business Saturday event website or visit the Facebook event page to RSVP.