The Ruckus Room, No Kings, Voting

 

Saturday was No Kings Day again.  But in Anchorage the energy has been dispersed in many directions.  I joined the car parade that StandUp Alaska organized.  Cars with "Vote" messages all over paraded through Mountain View, Fairview, and Government Hill.  

There was also a bicycle component.

Meanwhile the League of Women Voters had a Democracy Fair at the main library.  Democrats had people going door to door to urge people to vote for their candidates.  Others waved signs at a busy intersection  

The car and bike paraders ended up at the Ruckus Room which I'd never heard of.  It's in a closed dispensary that was renovated for over a year and now has some spaces for rent for community activities.  

It's at 2612 Eagle - between Northern Lights and Fireweed.  

I was impressed with this Tolkien vibe door, and the decor in general.  

It's a clean and interesting space if you have relatively small events.  There are even several very small rooms.  

The owner and operator of the Ruckus Room is Shel Weitzman.  

Blogger notes:  This blog has been competing for my time with life. I feel the pressure of the Óle writing group for something new each week.  And time seems to go by so fast.  Maybe that's a facet of getting older - a year is a much smaller fraction of my life than it was 50 years ago.  A week goes by like nothing  So, I wanted to write about No Kings and also about the Ruckus Room because the space there is cool and people should know about it.  No Kings gets plenty of coverage, but I had never heard of the Ruckus Room until Saturday.  And Shel appears to be a warm and interesting person.  I'm sure he's got a lot of interesting stories.  He did, for example, mention that his teenage sons helped with the remodeling.  And most posts take longer to write than it might appear.  Especially when I add a video in.  

My school volunteering has been limited this fall.  Monday mornings at the Rilke Schule and we haven't worked out time yet at Tudor (with the teacher I've worked with before Lake Otis was dissolved.)

And I'm signed up to be a poll worker and also to be an observer when the Division of Elections goes through the absentee and then the questioned ballots.  Which got me to drop off our absentee ballots on the first day - yesterday, October 19 - at the Division of Elections and then go see how the first day of voting was going at the Mid-town Mall (formerly the Sears Mall).  

There was a long line!

The second picture was taken from the red star looking back to the entrance to the polling place, but also including the alcove that goes to an entrance to the mall and where the line looped and comes out back into the mall.

The third photo is also from about the red star in the first picture and looks at the alcove and back out at the line going off into the distance in the mall.  

And there was about an inch of snow outside this morning - the first of the season!

And tomorrow and Thursday is the AFN (Alaska Federation of Natives) Convention.

Waterbiking

Regulars here know that there will be a bit more than just Waterbiking. 

Our kids gathered on Bainbridge Island last week for a family celebration.  We had a good time in pleasant weather, all the nicer knowing we were missing a week of rain in Anchorage.  The views from my window seat weren't spectacular on the way back yesterday.  As we got to Prince William Sound, we were already told to prep for landing early - trays up, electronics unplugged, etc.  Then the next 20 minutes or so were variations of gray clouds with one brief opening where I could see land below.  That darker stretch is Fire Island, but even parts of it are clouded over.  We did have a smooth landing.  

So I'd been wondering whether I would have decent biking weather to get to my dermatologist appointment today.  The weather app wasn't hopeful last night, but this morning when I opened the shades, there was even sunshine!  My doctor has moved since my last appointment.  He was in the Providence medical high rises.  Now he's in midtown - the modern glassy building on C St. between Northern Lights and Benson.  I noticed the sign in the elevator - Self Cleaning Buttons.  Never noticed a sign like that before.

So here, from Elevator Consultants Solutions:

"Key Highlights

• In today's world, nanoseptic self-cleaning buttons are changing the game for places lots of people touch.
• These innovative buttons clean themselves using nanoseptic technology, so there's no need to use regular cleaners on them.
• The magic behind their cleaning power is a powerful oxidation reaction from mineral crystals that get energy from light you can see.
• This process breaks down nasty stuff like organic contaminants into harmless things such as CO2, making everything safer and cleaner.
• Not only do they work well, but these buttons also last a long time. They're a solid choice for keeping germs at bay.
• With nanoseptic button covers, upgrading those high-touch spots becomes easy and does wonders for public health."

The office takes up the whole 8th floor.  My exam room was on the northeast corner.  I've reserved the room for all future visits.  

And then I was done, with the sun still shining.  So I headed off along C Street to Dowling to pick up the Campbell Creek south trail. 

The water was muddy and  high as it passed under C Street.  I was concerned about what the Arctic underpass would look like. With good reason. A biker and his dog came the other way.  Okay, let's do it.  

I came out the other side with wet feet - I'm guessing it was six or seven inches deep at the deepest point.   So, how is the Minnesota underpass going to be?  

Not as bad as Arctic, but it does go on a bit further on the other side.  

So where the trail ends I decided to go back on Dimond and get back to the trail at C Street. Dimond's
not the nicest biking environment, so I went exploring on Vernye Place, which quickly becomes Della and that connects with Runamuck Place.  

It's only a short block long and Wakefield is a dead end, between Dimond and Campbell Creek.

So back up to Dimond.  The sidewalk deadended near the Minnesota overpass, but a path went down to the bike trail on the other side of the bridge (so I didn't have to go through the puddles again.)  

At Arctic, to avoid the deep water, I went back up to Dimond where I saw this assortment of political signs:

This is why a lot of folks were upset when Matt Shultz pulled out of the US House race.  Here's Independent Bill Hill's sign up with a Sullivan (the Senator, I assume, not Daniel J.)  The Bronson and Church (for Governor) and McGuire and Rasmussen (for Governor}.  All the others are Republicans.  What is he telling Republicans that he's not telling Democrats?  Or does this mean the Republicans really don't like Rep. Nick Begich?

Because I also see Bill Hill signs next to Mary Peltola signs.  If he pulls it off, there will be some upset voters when he picks a side to caucus with.

At C Street, back down to the bike trail and home.  Well one more detour.  I'm sure the underpass at Old Seward Highway will be flooded, so I get off at the new bridge over Campbell Creek - which is 50th and cross Old Seward and get back on the trail on the other side of the bridge.  Sure enough, it's also got lots of water.  Plus it has lots of bumps.  

This is across the creek from the Arctic Road Runner.  

July has only gotten about three inches of rain so far.  While that's three times the normal rainfall, it's not really a lot of rain over three weeks, though much of it probably came this last week.  And I suspect there was more rain in the mountains where the creek originates.  

But I hope these flood zones are on the Municipalities fix list.  

It's dark and cloudy again as I finish this post at 3pm.  

The Anchorage Bike Trails Restore Me

 Writing on politics these days can get one down.  But riding on Anchorage bike trails can restore one's sense of well  being.  Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.  

Campbell Creek reflecting the afternoon sun. 

 

A grebe in Westchester Lagoon

A moose off in the distance.  We're about 1/4 mile from a major road in Anchorage.  But on the bike trail, at times like this I feel like I'm in the middle of the wilderness

New goslings huddle  (in the lower right} at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) campus

The path through the University of Alaska Anchorage

Headed home near Valley of the Moon park about 10 pm.  

For most people dandelions are weeds, but close up, they are amazing.  

On the Campbell Creek trail just west of the Seward Highway.  This is the kind of traffic blockage I don't mind.  

This spot at Goose Lake is always changing and most always spectacular.  

Fresh Greens In Anchorage

 An acquaintance told me about Anchorage Greens.  It's sort of near the Campbell Creek south bike trail, so on my way back, after the moose, and after the Taku Lake, I took the exit to Taku Elementary and on to Old Seward.

Getting across Old Seward on the bike took a while.  It's between Old and New Seward.  This unique food store is on 1207 E. 73rd (but it doesn't go through to Old Seward, so you have to take 72nd.)

(The sun made a few brief appearances yesterday.  You can see the bit of blue sky.  Windy too.)

Inside is a green paradise.  

Here's the hydroponic growing room

And here's Aiden, who also grows mushrooms.  

The link to their site gives more info.

Lake Otis Elementary School Wake

 Back in April I wrote about the School Board meeting when the Board voted to close  Lake Otis, Fire Lake, and Campbell Stem schools.

Tuesday afternoon, Lake Otis Elementary, where I've been volunteering in a third grade class for the last three years, held a wake.  They called it a tribute.  

Lots of folks showed up - alumni, former LO teachers, parents, current students, and folks from the neighborhood.  

 

More people were inside.

And the hallways were lined with boxes teachers and staff have already packed to go to Tudor and Rogers Park schools that seem to be taking most of the Lake Otis students next fall.

There was plenty of pizza.

Sweets

And there was a little bit of healthy food.

Below is Steve Waldron who went to Lake Otis when it opened in 1955!

Here's a picture of all the School Board Members who came.  To be fair, they were at a special school board meeting.  The school didn't have a lot of options though.  It's the last week of school

The musicians had moved into the cafeteria and a lot of the kids were dancing to the music.  

Here's a future student, but probably not at Lake Otis.  I say 'probably' because when enrollments eventually go back up, maybe it will reopen as a local neighborhood school

There were a couple of tables with old yearbooks

I didn't get to find out why this young man was at the event.  I assumed he was an alumnus or the older sibling of a kid at Lake Otis now.  But the opportunity to get the picture happened quickly and I took it.

Anchorage Municipal Election This Week And School Board Decision To Close Schools [Updated]

[UPDATE:  Added two photos just below, and screenshots of voting results for props 1, 9, and 4 at the bottom.]

Basically, the votes counted so far have put candidates for Assembly and School Board who are considered the more liberal candidates ahead.  

Except for Assembly District 4.  

On election night (April 7, 2026), Janice Park was trailing Dave Donley by 89 votes.  But tonight she's moved ahead. 

[UPDATE April 11, 2026:  I remembered that I had pictures of these two candidates.  Donley at the School Board where he argued against closing the schools.  Park at a campaign event for Bill Hill. ]

Dave Donley

Janice Park

The next night (April 8, 2026) Park was trailing Donley by 79 votes

On April 9, 2026. Park was trailing by only 21 votes.  

And tonight, April 10, 2026, Park moved ahead by 21 votes.  There are 60 unresolved votes - presumably these are questioned ballots and I'm sure both candidates will be watching those closely.   

Meanwhile the two school bonds continue to have more no votes than yes votes.  

Proposition 1 is behind by 747 votes.

Proposition 9 is behind by 566 votes.  

I can't help but think that voters, especially parents at schools scheduled to be closed or given to charter schools, were not going to vote for funding for Lake Otis Elementary (to be taken over by the charter German immersion school) or for funding for the Campbell STEM school which is now planned for closure. 

The Board had a financial shortfall to work out.  If these numbers continue, they're going to have a larger shortfall.  They really are out of touch if they didn't see this coming. 

And as I mentioned in the previous post, since all the left leaning candidates beat right leaning candidates, under normal circumstances, the school bonds should have passed.  Bonds for parks and for the performing arts center and the library passed.  

I'd also note that the Police bond looks to be going down to defeat as well.  I don't know what happened there.  Police used to always get their bonds passed.  Is there a new public wariness about the police due to ICE or other issues?  I really have no sense of what is happening there. 

Announced today, the parents of Campbell STEM school have filed suit to keep their school open.  And I heard something about Rilke Schule (the German school) parents not happy about the change.  I don't know how many, but let's see how that plays out.  

And an ironic note - Dave Donley is  one of the two School Board members to vote against closing the schools.  

[UPDATED April 11, 2026:  Here are the April 10 updates for Props 1, 9 (Schools) and 4 (Police)

You can see all the results at the Muni Elections page.

The propositions have a much larger vote count because they are voted on by all Anchorage voters while the Assembly candidates are chosen only by people in their districts.  School Board candidates, while technically in districts, are voted on by all Anchorage voters. ]