Leaving LA

There were lots of things to do for my mom on this trip.  She's hanging in there well and it's great to have this time with her.  But there was also repair work and administrative changes to do. 

Here are a couple of shots as the plane took off just as it got dark last night. 

These are straight from the camera's memory card.  Just a result of a long lens opening.


And these are the amazing hands of the guy who runs the plumbing desk at local hardware store near my mom's place.  He's got an innate sense of how things work and he makes things happen as economically as possible for the customers.  I took this pictures while he was juggling about six customers at once - finding them the parts they needed even when they didn't know and explaining how they were going to use them.  Teasing them when they went on too long, reminding them that he had other customers.  An amazing man. 

Great Blue Heron Landing

I'm just experimenting here - trying to find ways to capture this bird landing here.  Think of it as a work in progress, an experiment that will lead to better future pictures.  The small insets just aren't big enough to see much detail, but they show the stages of the landing.  So I added the bigger picture.  I left this higher than normal resolution so you can see it much bigger by clicking on it. 

This too, was at Ballona Creek the other day, where I took the pelican pictures.  From the Washington State Fish and Wildlife:

"Mortality and Longevity

• Adult great blue herons don't have many predators, though bobcats, coyotes, red-tailed hawks, crows and bald eagles do occasionally kill an adult.
• Mortality of the young is high: both the eggs and young are preyed upon by crows, ravens, gulls, eagles, and raccoons. Heavy rains and cold weather at the time of hatching also take a heavy toll.
• Herons may live to be 15 years old, but six to eight years of age is the norm.
• Great blue herons were nearly hunted to extinction in the late 1800s because of a fashion trend for using their plumes on women's hats. In the 1960s, they were vulnerable to egg-shell thinning as a result of exposure to the pesticide DDT, which lowered reproductive success."

Remembering What's Important: The California Brown Pelican

I raced the rain Tuesday.

I  hung the laundry up to dry.

Then I got on my bike to take bird pictures at Ballona Creek.  In the midst of the traffic, the noise, the never ending houses and apartments and businesses, lies this relatively quiet bike trail along the cement lined Ballona Creek.  There were yellow daisy like flowers everywhere, and water, and birds.

I did get back just after the first scattered drops began to fall.

Here's the California brown pelican.  More birds soon.

I left this image larger so if you click on it, you can see it much bigger

There's so much more than just the whole image of the pelican.  The feathers, they eye, the beak, the feet all demand our attention.  And this 'new' camera (I guess it will be the new one until I get another one) allows me to get close enough to see some of the details. 


About the feathers, from the US Fish and Wildlife Service:

"In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pelicans were hunted for their feathers, which adorned women’s clothing, particularly hats."

I didn't realize that these pelicans had feathered Mohawks.  

At rest

There's a lot of information about the  on the California brown pelican on the Channel Islands National Park website.  Here's just a little bit of it:

"The brown pelican is the only pelican that is a plunge diver. The brown pelican is a unique feeder that makes impressive dives from ten to thirty above the surface. They are, however, able to dive from as high as one hundred feet. The deeper the meal the higher the dive. When it sees a potential meal it begins to tip downwards, the wings shape into a V, and dives. When the bill touches the surface of the water the pelican will push its legs and wings back creating a bit more force, under the water the bill opens and the pouch stretches out wide allowing the pelican to scoop up fish. The pelicans hit the water with such force that even fish six feet below the surface are stunned. Air sacs throughout the bird's body help to cushion the shock from the dive. Their pouch, attached to the lower mandible, when full can hold up to three gallons of water and fish, it is the largest pouch of any bird in the world. The pelican pops up to the surface, tips their head and bill forward letting the water drain out yet keeping the fish. Then they toss their head back to position the fish head first and swallow. It is said that brown pelicans can eat as much as four pounds of fish in one day."

Looks Like Berkowitz (36% now) Versus Demboski (24% now) In Runoff 96% of Precincts Reporting

Here's the 10:49 report - 97% of precincts reporting.  Miserable 24% turnout at this point. 

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		121	97.6%
Times Counted		49601/206033	24.1%
Total Votes		49288
KERN, Jacob Seth		53	0.11%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		29	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		339	0.69%
BAUER, Paul		188	0.38%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		18158	36.84%
COFFEY, Dan		7139	14.48%
DARDEN, Dustin		509	1.03%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		11980	24.31%
HALCRO, Andrew		10645	21.60%
HUIT, Timothy		101	0.20%
JAMISON, Christopher		37	0.08%
Write-in Votes		110	0.22%

Berkowitz at 37%, Demboski 24%, Halcro 21% at 10:32pm Report

Registered Voters 206033 - Cards Cast 45490 22.08%

Num. Report Precinct 124 - Num. Reporting 119 95.97%

MAYOR Total Number of Precincts 124 Precincts Reporting 119 96.0% Times Counted 45490/206033 22.1% Total Votes 45206 KERN, Jacob Seth 49 0.11% SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos 27 0.06% AHERN, Lance 307 0.68% BAUER, Paul 160 0.35% BERKOWITZ, Ethan 16890 37.36% COFFEY, Dan 6467 14.31% DARDEN, Dustin 460 1.02% DEMBOSKI, Amy 10902 24.12% HALCRO, Andrew 9714 21.49% HUIT, Timothy 94 0.21% JAMISON, Christopher 29 0.06% Write-in Votes 107 0.24%

Halcro 1000 Votes Behind Demboski, 7,000 Behind Berkowitz - 10:22pm Report

43795 votes in as of the 10:11pm report.  That's 21.26% of the registered voters (many of whom are phantom).  This may be close to half the people who actually voted, though this is a mayoral race and one with lots of candidates.

If things stay the same, Berkowitz will face Demboski in a runoff. 

Registered Voters 206033 - Cards Cast 43795 21.26%

Num. Report Precinct 124 - Num. Reporting 116 93.55%

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		116	93.5%
Times Counted		43795/206033	21.3%
Total Votes		43519
KERN, Jacob Seth		48	0.11%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		27	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		292	0.67%
BAUER, Paul		153	0.35%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		16345	37.56%
COFFEY, Dan		6236	14.33%
DARDEN, Dustin		452	1.04%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		10375	23.84%
HALCRO, Andrew		9372	21.54%
HUIT, Timothy		90	0.21%
JAMISON, Christopher		29	0.07%
Write-in Votes		100	0.23%

 Meanwhile, Prop 3 is even further behind 43% Yes, 56% No.

School board races show incumbents winning.  Snelling is 1300 votes ahead of Marsett in Seat G.

You can see the results yourselves at two muni sites:

1.  For mayoral and school board races

2. For ballot measures

Rankings Holding - Berkowitz back to 38%, Demboski 23%, Halcro 21%, Coffey 14%

21:55pm Updated numbers: 

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		108	87.1%
Times Counted		39779/206033	19.3%
Total Votes		39525
KERN, Jacob Seth		46	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		25	0.06%
AHERN, Lance		269	0.68%
BAUER, Paul		143	0.36%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		15135	38.29%
COFFEY, Dan		5600	14.17%
DARDEN, Dustin		416	1.05%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		9270	23.45%
HALCRO, Andrew		8417	21.30%
HUIT, Timothy		85	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		28	0.07%
Write-in Votes		91	0.23%

Berkowitz Still Ahead With 38% At 9:26pm Election Update, Then Demboski At 23%

With 20,985 votes counted, here's the 9:26pm report

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		62	50.0%
Times Counted		21119/206033	10.3%
Total Votes		20985
KERN, Jacob Seth		25	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		16	0.08%
AHERN, Lance		141	0.67%
BAUER, Paul		77	0.37%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		8128	38.73%
COFFEY, Dan		2868	13.67%
DARDEN, Dustin		235	1.12%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		4878	23.25%
HALCRO, Andrew		4508	21.48%
HUIT, Timothy		46	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		19	0.09%
Write-in Votes		44	0.21%

[UPDATE 9:54 -And another report came out a few minutes later giving Berkowitz 39% and Demboski 22%, Halcro 21%]

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		74	59.7%
Times Counted		25955/206033	12.6%
Total Votes		25781
KERN, Jacob Seth		31	0.12%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		19	0.07%
AHERN, Lance		175	0.68%
BAUER, Paul		96	0.37%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		10056	39.01%
COFFEY, Dan		3553	13.78%
DARDEN, Dustin		287	1.11%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		5919	22.96%
HALCRO, Andrew		5502	21.34%
HUIT, Timothy		58	0.22%
JAMISON, Christopher		22	0.09%
Write-in Votes		63	0.24%

And the 9:32pm report on the ballot measures shows them all passing comfortably except Number 3 which is losing by 11% still. I've listed the items voted on for #3 in the previous post.

Early Election Results - Anchorage [Updated]

[Check for more recent posts in the blog archive to the right - like this one.] 

While I'm waiting for the early results, let me note that the election results page at the Municipality says there are 206,033 voters. A Muni report gives the 2010 population at 291,836 with 74% of the population 18 years of age or over.  The state Department of Labor estimates Anchorage has 300,549 in 2015.  If we use that number, then 228,417 Anchorage residents would be old enough to be registered voters.  That would mean 90% of eligible Anchorage voters are actually eligible to vote.  That's much higher than national averages.  Nationally, registration is about 70%.

This is not new news.  In fact, it's a great improvement over 2014 when 103% of Anchorage's eligible voters were registered.   Some people are no longer Alaska residents - they've died or moved out of state, but haven't been purged from the voter rolls.  Some of those out of state have maintained Alaska residency and still vote - some military and others who can stay eligible for the permanent fund checks.  And there are Alaskans overseas who maintain their residency.


OK, here are the first returns 9:01pm:

MAYOR
		Total
Number of Precincts		124
Precincts Reporting		24	19.4%
Times Counted		6657/206033	3.2%
Total Votes		6606
KERN, Jacob Seth		9	0.14%
SPEZIALE, Samuel Jos		7	0.11%
AHERN, Lance		41	0.62%
BAUER, Paul		26	0.39%
BERKOWITZ, Ethan		2594	39.27%
COFFEY, Dan		910	13.78%
DARDEN, Dustin		72	1.09%
DEMBOSKI, Amy		1555	23.54%
HALCRO, Andrew		1358	20.56%
HUIT, Timothy		17	0.26%
JAMISON, Christopher		3	0.05%
Write-in Votes		14	0.21%

[UPDATE 9:27pm

Most of the bond measures are passing at this point - 11,000 votes - except for Prop 3 which is behind by 11%.  All the other are ahead by at least 11%.  Here, from the League of Women's Voters link, are the projects that are in Prop. 3. 

Project	Estimated Cost	Estimated Annual O&M
Anchorage Golf Course – maintenance of chalet	$500,000	$0
Library – automated handling system	$850,000	$0
Chester Creek Sports Complex – expand parking lot and relocate Mulcahy Stadium	$1,500,000	$0
Facility safety and code upgrades	2,500,000	$0

Is it the golf course they don't like?  Chester Creek?  The library?  Or maybe people are suspicious about the zero operation and maintenance estimates.  

Why Most Alaskans Haven't Seen Off-Road Alaska

Except for people who have to fly to off-road Alaska for work, most Alaskans haven't seen those parts of the state, because it's generally significantly cheaper to fly Outside the state.  At least from Anchorage.  Here's an example from today's Club 49 specials. 

Dutch Harbor - 793 miles from Anchorage - is, and this is a special deal, $349 one way.  That comes to $.47 per mile.

Anchorage to Denver comes to $.08 per mile. 

Anchorage to Los Angeles comes to $.0678 per mile. 



The Nome price, for Alaska travel, seems almost reasonable, until you calculate that it comes to $.20 per mile, a lot cheaper than Dutch Harbor, but three times as much as to LA.






Note:  The Dutch Harbor, Denver, and Nome images come from the Club 49 page today.  Club 49 is a special deal for Alaska residents only.  The only way I've figured out how to get to it from the Alaska Airlines website, is to use Ask Jenn, the website's Virtual Assistant.  I either get to it from an email link or by googling.

The LA flight information was from looking up ANC-LAX flights for April.

The distance information comes from the Alaska Airlines Timetable.