Enjoy the flowers while you can -- parking lot on the way
If you like to stroll along the gorgeous wildflower meadow at Glenn Alps, between the parking lot and the Powerline Trail, better do it soon. In two weeks, a Chugach State Park contractor will begin bulldozing the little valley for a new parking lot and access road.
Bring your camera or flower book, or just enjoy the purple, yellow, pink and white. The trail next to the meadow makes it fairly accessible (I don't know of a similar place near Anchorage that is). But the best view is right among the flowers. Usually it's better to stay on a path but if a few flowers get trampled now, it won't matter.
We do need more parking at Glen Alps. Enjoy this jewel of the park while you can.
-- Vivian Mendenhall
Anchorage
McCain's picking Palin changed voter's view
VP Cheney was right. Palin was the wrong choice. Choosing Palin showed poor judgment. While I respect Ms. Palin on a personal basis for maximizing her opportunities and providing for her family, I do not respect her as a politician. She quit on Alaska halfway through the job. She is not a "public servant." She serves herself.
I am an independent voter. I was in favor of voting for Sen. McCain. Maybe it is my over 20 years of military service that caused me to have great respect for the man. He seemed to me to be one of the few independent politicians with great integrity and judgment. However, that all changed when he selected Palin as his running mate. As an independent voter, an Alaska resident for over 26 years and one who follows politics, I feel that was a terrible choice. He picked someone who was not ready for the office. He subordinated what was best for the country and chose what he thought was best for his campaign. He was wrong!
-- Mike Citro
Anchorage
Flap over Chick-fil-A vs. gays just a way to boost publicity
Are we, the American public, too dense to realize that the current fiasco about Chick-fil-A is just a very successful marketing ploy? My preferences about chicken sandwiches are no business of my church and my feelings about gay/lesbian/whatever don't belong at my favorite eatery. We're talking about two different things here, guys -- the fact they got together in the media was very successful marketing and the American public is chomping at the bit (sic) to express their beliefs, pro or con. But really, now ... we're talking about chicken sandwiches vs. personal beliefs -- are we THAT dumb to get sucked into this? The answer seems to be "YES."
-- Sharen Rockefeller
Wasilla
French knows about oil
Oil development is essential to Alaska's fiscal health, so I was surprised to read a letter to the editor last Sunday that criticized Sen. Hollis French's support for additional oil development on the North Slope. First, French worked 13 years in the oil industry as a blue-collar worker, so his pro-oil background has been clearly demonstrated. Second, he and the rest of the Bipartisan Working Group have consistently focused on putting new oil in the pipeline. You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs and you can't produce oil without drilling wells. I am glad to support pro-development legislators like Sen. Hollis French.
-- Bob Lohr
Anchorage