by Linda Kellen Biegel 2010 Hanshew Middle School Band Not many people in political circles know that I credit music with saving my life. I started playing the piano when I was six-years-old. I often kicked and screamed about practicing, but my mother was determined and I continued through my entire school career. In sixth [...]

(Note: We will be collecting for the One Anchorage Campaign through the election on April 3rd, but they could really use your help now! Please donate as much as you can!) by Linda Kellen Biegel I attended a wonderful, Alaska star-studded fundraiser for The One Anchorage Campaign Sunday morning (before the Super Bowl) at former [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel Last school year, I wrote a post about the proposed cuts in the Anchorage School District budget and how they would affect a family of a middle school student. It was then I became aware of the outrageous fees Mayor Dan Sullivan was charging the school district–for example: 100% of the [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel Last week, I listened-in on an Alaska Public Offices Commission hearing regarding an old friend of ours here at Mudflats, Mr. Bob Griffin. You remember Bob: – In April 2011, he ran on his status as a veteran and a pilot in order to win a seat the Anchorage School Board [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel When “One Anchorage” was preparing to file their now-successful petition with the city to place their initiative on the April 3rd ballot, most supporters and those experienced with similar campaigns agreed that it would be very difficult to provide a rational argument against the initiative itself. As it states on the [...]

(photo courtesy of Alaska Commons)By Linda Kellen Biegel A few days ago, Jeanne recounted the tale of Anchorage City Attorney, Dennis Wheeler and his role in the Mayor’s no-lying down/no-sitting sidewalk Ordinance. If you remember, Municipal Attorney Wheeler lied used “a poor choice of words” when he claimed the ordinance had been “run by” the Alaska [...]

You might remember that in September, a coalition of organizations launched the One Anchorage Campaign: The One Anchorage campaign filed an application this morning with the Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s Office to place an initiative on the April 2012 ballot asking voters to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Alaskans in the same legal protections [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel (Homeless Anchorage protestor John Martin and his faithful friend) On the same day that the world is outraged by the pepper-spraying of peaceful UC Davis protestors, Newt Gingrich still manages to capture the attention of the media. Friday, his announcement of “extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty [...]

By Linda Kellen Biegel Those of you who live in Anchorage may have heard about a fundraiser put on by Arkansas transplant politico and drag performer Caleb Pritt for an organization called “Homes for Our Troops.” The money was supposed to be designated towards a home for Latseen Benson and his family. Latseen lost both [...]

By Linda Kellen Biegel   Mudflatters, think wayyyyyy, wayyyyyy back to October of 2010 and you might remember Representative William Thomas, Jr., a Republican legislator from the beautiful little town of Haines, Alaska. Representative Thomas is not someone who generally comes to my attention way over here in Anchorage. However, in September of 2010 while [...]

Last week, an organization called Equality Works launched the One Anchorage Campaign for a ballot initiative to be voted on by Anchorage residents in the Spring 2012 Municipal Election. The initiative would add sexual orientation and transgender identity to the Municipality’s Equal Rights Code. Per the Press Release from Equality Works: One Anchorage Files Initiative [...]

On August 3rd, there was a regular meeting of the Municipality Budget Advisory Commission. (You remember, this is the commission that used to be two — the Budget Advisory Commission and the School Budget Advisory Commission. However, when the word “school” made people think twice about the appointment of one of the Mayor’s LGBT-hating wing-nutter [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel My husband and I are big users of Google Maps on our iPhones anytime we go somewhere new. I’m especially fond of clicking on the “little man” and getting the “street view” of the area we are checking, if it’s available. It can be quite useful, actually, if one is researching/investigating [...]

(Shay Kelly and Shane Patrick of Project 50/50) By Linda Kellen Biegel When I left for the Anchorage Assembly Meeting Tuesday night, there were certain things I already knew to expect: – Mayor Sullivan wanted the ordinance that (among other things) banned sitting/reclining on the sidewalk pulled from the agenda and sent back to a [...]

Yes, you can still fight City Hall! The latest news from Rosemary Shinohara at the Anchorage Daily News is that Mayor Dan Sullivan has requested a “postponement” of consideration on the new sidewalk etiquette ordinance: The administration asked that it be referred to the city’s Public Safety Commission, said Ossiander. A public hearing on the [...]