Does anyone worry... (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai: earthquake, assessment, rail)

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

the word of anyone who who alleges that that the entire Mat-Su is a bedroom community to Anchorage.

There is a problem with denying obvious truth though...

Regardless, what I originally did say that you objected to was that it was a the northern suburb of Anchorage. That is even more clearly true!

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Rance

Amen Met. There are bigger fish to fry.

"There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are."

-- Demosthenes (Greek from Athens)

[Rance]

"There will be justice in Juneau when those who are not residents are as outraged as those who are."

-- Rance (Guy from Sterling)

[Metlakatla]

There is a problem with denying obvious truth though...

Regardless, what I originally did say that you objected to was that it was a the northern suburb of Anchorage. That is even more clearly true!

Your wording is a bit hard to grasp here but ...I believe I made it more than clear what my objection was, so please don't attempt to twist that into something that it wasn't.

Suppose then, you go to Talkeetna or Trapper Creek and inform the citizens that they are a suburb of Anchorage. I dare say they know their own communities better than you do. It may be "obvious" to you, but as someone who has a long history with that part of the state..the Mat-Su is much more than an appendage of Anchorage.

And no, once again, what I objected to was your statement that the Mat-Su Valley is nothing more than a bedroom community for Anchorage. I don't know how to make it any more clear than that. If you can't understand that these are communities in their own right with identities and concerns way above and beyond the great dreaded specter of a looming ANCHORAGE, there ain't much more I can do about that.
anyway...

Southeast has already been left to sink or swim, to rot or not; the only places that really have a chance here are the ones not infested with the ships. Juneau left POW to rot ages ago, by the way, although of course we never did. I'd certainly vote against a capital move if it came down to it, but leaving the capital in Juneau won't fix the problems we have with state government. We need to focus on electing the right people for the right reasons. Focusing on something that isn't even up for the vote is nothing but counterproductive to that.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Your wording is a bit hard to grasp here but ...I believe I made it more than clear what my objection was, so please don't attempt to twist that into something that it wasn't.

Let's do be very clear:

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

But truly...

Yes, it is much more than the northern suburb of Anchorage. Those communities that some of you are disparaging are communities in their own right, with identities of their own beyond simply being "close" to Anchorage. Personally, I've felt more "in" Alaska when I'm there than I ever have in SE. But that's a personal preference of mine and I'm sure as hell not gonna sit around shouting over a fence at my neighbors that my part of the state is somehow "better" than theirs.

There is the exact statement you made, quoting what you objected to. The statement was that Mat-Su is not "anything other" than a "suburb of Anchorage".

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Suppose then, you go to Talkeetna or Trapper Creek and inform the citizens that they are a suburb of Anchorage. I dare say they know their own communities better than you do. It may be "obvious" to you, but as someone who has a long history with that part of the state..the Mat-Su is much more than an appendage of Anchorage.

I'll grant that before the pipeline and the oil money it was sufficiently distinct. Today it is the northern suburb of Anchorage. That does not mean those places do not have a unique character, it does not mean they are exactly the same as Anchorage. And I really don't see how pointing out that the Mat-Su Valley is a northern suburb of Anchorage is necessarily disparaging the people or slamming the communities there.

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

And no, once again, what I objected to was your statement that the Mat-Su Valley is nothing more than a bedroom community for Anchorage.

I didn't use the term "bedroom community" until after you objected to my calling it the northern suburb of Anchorage.

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I don't know how to make it any more clear than that. If you can't understand that these are communities in their own right with identities and concerns way above and beyond the great dreaded specter of a looming ANCHORAGE, there ain't much more I can do about that.

Take a look at population records and at election history.

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

We need to focus on electing the right people for the right reasons. Focusing on something that isn't even up for the vote is nothing but counterproductive to that.

I agree about electing the right people; but when is that going to happen? The capital move is not up for vote simply because it is very clear that it would once again fail; but that doesn't mean it isn't being moved without a vote while we sit here arguing about it.

[Metlakatla]

Let's do be very clear:

I objected to your saying that the entire Mat-Su Valley is a suburb of Anchorage, and the various wordings do nothing to change that..."nothing more" and "anything other than" are saying the same thing. My connection wasn't good enough last night to allow for much backtracking through the thread to find exact wording, but my paraphrasing didn't change the meaning at all. And I still disagree with you. To me a suburb is a place where the majority of the inhabitants commute to work and where communities get their main identity through their proximity to a city. Once again, only a very small part of the Mat-Su fits that bill at all.

I agree about electing the right people; but when is that going to happen?

I have no idea. I only have one vote, myself. But it's my personal opinion that we've used some better judgment lately.

And I've said before that this isn't an issue I feel passionately about either way, so I'm not going to get dragged in to some silly argument about the capital. But by the way, the same sort of thing has pretty much happened in every other state where the capital is located away from the main population center. Oregon's governor has worked out of Portland for years. Just like the electronic age makes it easier for constituents to contact their representatives in relatively remote places like Juneau, it makes it just as easy to contact them wherever else they are at.

Sorry, but I won't be losing any sleep over this "capital move that isn't even up for a vote" thing.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Rance

"There will be justice in Juneau when those who are not residents are as outraged as those who are."

-- Rance (Guy from Sterling)

Didn't you know? Sterling, Soldotna, Kenai, and Homer are all within an hour's flight of Anchorage, so you're just Anchorage shills as far as Floyd is concerned.

[akck]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

OK--someone enlighten me. Admittedly I've been out of the loop lately. Is there a capital move issue? Has someone introduced bill, or what? I've looked online and can't find a thing about it, though that ain't saying much. Will we be voting on this again in the near future?

Here's an article that mentions the bills being introduced;

Legislature waits to hear capital move bills - Juneau Empire

What galls me is that they want to hide the cost by repealing a voter passed law requiring voter approval.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Just like the electronic age makes it easier for constituents to contact their representatives in relatively remote places like Juneau, it makes it just as easy to contact them wherever else they are at.

The electronic age also makes it easier for representatives to ignore their constituents once they get into office. How many e-mails from your representatives have you received answering your concerns? Who answers the telephone when you call your representative? (Hint: It isn't your representative.) How many of your phone calls have ever been returned?

If you show up and personally ask your representative a question, it would be very difficult for them not to respond in some manner. Unfortunately, the electronic age is not the panacea people think it is when it comes to holding representatives accountable.

[Metlakatla]

All this fuss about a couple of bills that died rather ignoble deaths, then. The weather must suck up there or something. Oh well, the sky is blue here and it'll be in the 70's today--good day to get my nasturtiums planted.