By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

People streamed into Whittier Saturday morning on buses and trains for the commissioning of the USS Ted Stevens, the newest United States Navy vessel. 

The event was the culmination of years of preparation and a week’s worth of events when the Commissioning was held in Whittier at the Whittier Cruise Terminal. It was a chilly day for an outdoor ceremony, with rainy weather and a temperature of 38 degrees at the start of the event. But that didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the guests, audience, and sailors in attendance.

Getting to Whittier typically has some hurdles, but there were extra obstacles on Saturday. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which is the only road connection to Whittier, was closed to public traffic. Whittier was only accessible by bus or train organized by the Commissioning Committee, and those were only available to people who had received tickets to the Commissioning.

Once in Whittier the crowds arrived at the Whittier Cruise Terminal for security checks, which some people found surprisingly lax. Multiple people said no one ever checked their ID nor were confirmed they had tickets, and anyone could have gained access to the pier alongside the ship to watch the ceremony.

Just beyond the security checkpoint, the Service High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corp was handing out event programs, ponchos, and water bottles. After emerging from the building onto the pier, participants saw that the ship was decorated with red, white, and blue bunting for the occasion. The distant mountains were obscured by clouds behind the ship, but when it was possible to glimpse them through the shifting weather they were covered with fresh snow.

The pier ran alongside the ship, with seating areas set up parallel to the ship facing towards the Commissioning’s main stage at approximately the ship’s midpoint. Due to the way the crowd was seated many people couldn’t see the ceremony directly, but there were large screens along the pier to show the action on the stage.

The event began when Commander Stephen Roman, the Executive Officer of the ship, called it to order. After 19 cannons were fired, many dignitaries and speakers took the stage over the next 90 minutes.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy was the first speaker, and, though he mistakenly referred to the commissioning as a “christening” multiple times, he also said that, “Alaska is central to America’s security, from the Arctic to the Pacific” and that this ship represents commitment to America’s strength and leadership.

Read the entire story and more pictures at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/uss-ted-stevens-enters-us-navy-fleet-in-whittier-commissioning-ceremony

Commentary: Notes on the Girdwood Trails Marathon

By Brian Pautzke

On Saturday I leveled a threat. This might be my last Girdwood Trails Marathon. 

My declaration was long mulled.  All five kilometers of the 5K loop absolutely broke me.  Bad is seeing downhills and recoiling spiritually and physically.  My quads had been devastated by what amounts to their yearly surprise party; a sabotage with wicked recoil.  

When I am broken I use a strategy I read about, walk 10 strides, jog 10 strides, repeat, seek to increase jog strides over time.  All this is on the backdrop of the knowledge that if you have the legs, the 5k loop is straightforward compared to the rest of the race.  

It arrives at an inopportune time of the race, it is late in the race, miles 21 to 24.  The 5k is a special runners’ torture where up and down are put on repeat for three miles and you end up where you started. 

I had time to think about how much fun I was not having and the broken quads sent a subtle signal saying, “We can only do 20 miles, 26 is too much.  Maybe it’s time to enjoy the half marathon.”

Watching the leaders fly by is an earned privilege.  You have to run fast enough to get to the Upper Winner Creek Extension, miles 14 to 21, out and back before they take their left hand turn back towards the hotel. It is a point of pride to get to see those men and women absolutely flying down the trail.  Beautiful.  

In all 74 runners finished the marathon, 216 completed the half marathon, eight ran in the kids’ half marathon, and the 5k, new this year, had 61 runners.

Read the entire commentary at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/somethings-gotta-give-a-contemplation-of-quitting

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

In a process largely shrouded in secrecy, a developer announced last week that lots flagged in a hilly rainforest behind Girdwood school are open for reservations.

Questions crowd-sourced by Turnagain News and sent to the developer of "Holtan Hills" went unanswered as of Tuesday.

An advertisement that appeared in the Anchorage Daily News Saturday quickly generated a buzz in the community. The ad directed interested buyers to a website promoting reservations for 28 homesites. 

"The past five years have been a challenge for both the community and myself as the developer," Connie Yoshimura writes on the page. Buyers can reserve up to two lots and "select their own builder and home design". 

The application window lasts a business week, Monday through this Friday. The website does not indicate how buyers competing for lots will be chosen, only that a "certified drawing" will be held. Lot reservations are $5,000 and will be refunded if the potential buyer's lot is not chosen in the drawing.

The website says a homeowners' association with "an elected board" will "protect its architectural value" but does not say whether and how it would manage properties to discourage short-term rentals and unoccupied residences.

An Anchorage Assembly ordinance requires regulation of short-term rentals through future bylaws of a homeowners' association, but also allows rejection of that restriction through a unanimous vote of the HOA.

On Monday morning the only people in the forest were mushroom pickers, who were dismayed to learn about a planned subdivision in the area. Later another person walked a trail speckled, here and there, with flagging. 

She echoed sentiments from others in the community that without knowing the price of lots, it's hard to make a decision on whether to apply for a reservation for a lot, or two.

"What is the cost of each lot?" asked Shannon O'Brien on Girdwood's Facebook page. "That is an important part of choosing what lot to reserve. ...More information would make this process more realistic for buyers, especially those who are already stretching their finances."

Though developer Connie Yoshimura had said construction would begin this summer barring an appeal to a planning department decision, old-growth rainforest behind Girdwood's school remained quiet. 

Municipal officials referred questions regarding the delay to Yoshimura whose office offered little details and did not respond to follow-up questions.

A 117-word statement to Turnagain News in late June from "Holtan Hills LLC" said, "We are continuing to make steady progress on the project as we work through civil engineering and infrastructure design, including road, pathway, sewer, gas, and electric systems."

"Our team is working toward the next phase of the project, and we look forward to sharing additional details, including information regarding lot reservations, as they become available.

We appreciate your patience as we complete the approval process with the Municipality

of Anchorage Private Development Standards and the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU), and we look forward to staying in touch," the developer wrote.

The development has been widely opposed in Girdwood. The controversial project was left for dead after the Anchorage Assembly voted to postpone it indefinitely in January 2022 only to be resurrected and approved over community objections a year later.

See more photos at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/developer-opens-bidding-on-holtan-hills-lots-but-remains-mum-on-details

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

While a new public art piece was under construction this summer just outside Glacier City Hall, many people stopped by to talk to the artists and ask questions about it. According to Tommy O’Malley, one of the organizers of the project and better known in Girdwood as Tommy Salami, the most common question they’ve received from passersby is, “What is it?”

The short answer: the 28-foot-long undulating wooden sculpture is the body of a dragon. But the long answer is even more complex.

There has long been public art in Girdwood Park near the playground. In the early 2000s a community mural was installed. One year kids would paint one side of the mural, and then the next year kids would paint the other. Each image would stay up for two years, and it was an interactive art piece despite knowing that each image would eventually disappear. Mr. Salami says, “Kids art is temporary, because kids grow up and move on.”

The original community mural was built using untreated lumber, and after several years it fell apart.

The next iteration of interactive art at the playground was the First Amendment Chalkboard. This was made of treated lumber with sheet metal for the other side. This project was supported by the Rotary Club. The premise of the First Amendment Chalkboard was that children (or any members of the public) could write or draw whatever they wanted without fear of censorship.

Mr. Salami said, “People were concerned that we would get bad messages, but it was mostly people writing ‘I was here.’” Girdwood resident Carolyn Seramur took on the task of erasing the board every so often so that new drawings could be added, and an anonymous Girdwood resident donated chalk so artists always have supplies to add more art.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/dragon-takes-flight-in-girdwood-park

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Artist: Kevin “Kc” Crowley

Parked on the end of a row of vendors selling glitter and hoodies, cannibus merch and fair food Kc Crowley's booth gives pause to the revelor. 

Prints display images in cut from woodblock, art made by carving away "negative space" with ink applied to the raised surface.

Crowley's work is deeply personal and potent:  a salmon appears to twist to the surface of the print. Black lines swirl and ripple with a sense of depth, as if looking at the surface of a river, stripped of its negative space by dappling sunlight, revealed by shades of leaves.

We begin a monthly artist feature with Kc's print and words. Each month, Kc will help curate an artist feature while sharing his own prints and poetry. TNews hopes the feature sparks a deeper dive into local, Alaska art. We will continue to feature full articles and photos of our local artists doing their thing (yo, Tommy!), and want to open this section to anyone with creative ideas and imaginings.

By Kc Crowley

Artist Statement

As a kid I guess the whole art thing really started with comic books, I grew up loving comics (especially the black and white indie comics of the 80's ) and this love naturally sort of grew into tattooing and then eventually into the carving and designing woodblocks. Most of my inspiration comes from my time in the mountains or on the water. I never went to art school or took any classes so my process for printmaking is very circuitous and self taught, I have relied heavily on the local library for instructional guides but mostly just learned from my mistakes. 

Read and view the entire series of poems and art

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/crowley-kicks-off-tnews-artist-feature

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Once you hear the flavors of cookies arranged neatly on three trays, you're tempted to pluck a free sample.

"Rolled Oats Pumpkin Tahini", "Wild Blueberry", and "Savory Sesame with Seaweed."

Ah. But wait.

These are treats for the four-legged grazers at Girdwood's Sunday Market. And though the snacks sound delicious, Mountain Mutts owner Gus Brewer has local dogs in mind.

"Dogs are addicted to my ingredients," says Brewer, who started making his dog treats four years ago and is a regular vendor at the market.

The lucky guinea pigs for Brewer's recipes are Betty and Marley, his boxers. 

"They are addicted to the treats," he says. 

A booth or two down, a poodle sniffs at a table, a two-legged leashed to her. 

Before the eager future Mountain Mutt junkie approaches, Brewer is saying that though the business takes up much of his time, it's a side hustle. He has a winter gig at the Resort. ("I learned I'm a natural teacher," he says.)

"Mountain Mutts is more than a dog business," Brewer says, lifting a brochure. Proceeds help the Food Pantry and Friends of Pets.

"We like giving back to the community," he says.

Along comes the poodle. Look out! One Mountain Mutt treat disappears. She's addicted.

Mountain Mitt treats can be found locally at The Grind, Alyeska Resort and Mother Hubbard's.