Quotations for the day

As you may know, I’ve been reading Ray Oldenburg’s book The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. (In fact, I’ve been reading it for months. Now that I’ve started biking to and from work rather than riding the bus, it’s [...]

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It’s Bike Month in Alaska!

Governor Sarah Palin issued a proclamation on April 16, declaring the month of May, 2008, as Bike Month, May 10-16 as Bike Week, and May 16 as Bike to Work and School Day:
WHEREAS, more Alaskans per capita bike to work than the nation as a whole, according to U.S. Census figures, and that Alaska ranks [...]

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What to do during TV Turnoff Week?

As you may have learned from the News-Miner or elsewhere, it is currently TV Turnoff Week (April 21-27) — a chance for us to power down the tube and do something a little healthier or more creative. But what to do?
Based on the readers of this blog whom I know, turning off the television [...]

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“Don’t Be Fuelish” competition: does it reward driving?

This summer from May to September, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center sponsors “Don’t Be Fuelish”, a competition to encourage alternatives single-occupant car-commuting to work. I think the competition will have a good effect overall — but, in a way, the rules actually reward driving.
According to the Northern Center’s calendar of events,
It’s a friendly competition, [...]

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“Oh, man, a skate park downtown?”

In my post yesterday, I quoted somebody who seemed skeptical that the Vision Fairbanks plan for downtown’s revitalization was “uniquely Alaskan”. One of the less-unique things he cited was the plan for a skate park. Okay, a downtown skate park isn’t unique. But I think it’s a great idea.
In all the [...]

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What’s so Alaskan about Vision Fairbanks?

When the News-Miner reported on City Council’s endorsement of Vision Fairbanks, a brief discussion ensued in the comments following the online article, in which somebody called “newsreader” wrote:
I’m sorry, I fail to see what is uniquely Alaskan about this plan.
River front walkways? Roundabouts? Parking lots? Convention centers with hotels? A skate park that will only [...]

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No substitute for face-to-face

I just read in today’s Judith Kleinfeld column:
In “The Healing Power of Doing Good,” Alan Luks investigated the emotional and health benefits of acts of kindness.
Luks sent a confidential questionnaire to 3,300 volunteers at more than 20 organizations throughout the United States. Just writing a check to a charitable organization, he found, didn’t do anything [...]

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What’s going on in your neighborhood? How would you find out?

One of the drawbacks of newspapers, except in the smallest of towns, is that their coverage of neighborhood events — things of concern primarily or only to those in your neighborhood — is necessarily limited. Newspapers have to cover things that interest a large part of their readership. While some of the events [...]

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City Council resolution report

As you know from my last post, the Fairbanks City Council passed by 4 to 2 a resolution endorsing the Vision Fairbanks plan for downtown revitalization.
The “No” votes were from Chad Roberts and Tonya Brown. A person listening to the questions he asked various citizens while they testified could tell Mr. Roberts was distrustful [...]

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Two down, one to go: Vision Fairbanks resolution passes City Council

You heard it here first — that is, if you check The Fairbanks Pedestrian more often than you read the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: The resolution in support of Vision Fairbanks passed the city council, 4 to 2. Next, it goes before the Borough Assembly, probably no sooner than June.
Voting “Yes” were John Eberhart, Bernard [...]

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