Juneau, A Small City in a Big State

From 2014 07 02 Juneau

Tour guides in Alaska ask if there are any Texans in the tour group before telling the group that Alaska is so big that if you cut the state in two and make each half its own state, Texas would be the third largest state in the Union. (They sometimes describe squirrels as "Texas Grizzlies," too, but less often.) Those tour guides don't brag about the population of the state, which could fit comfortably in, say, the City of Dallas, or the population of the capital city, Juneau, which could fit in the City of Richardson with room left over for... two more Juneaus.

More about Juneau after the jump.

My Nominations for Charter Review Commission

The City of Richardson is finally making good on a long-overdue need to review its creaky city charter. This doesn't erase the charge of reneging on a campaign promise, but better late than never.

I learned some things the last time Richardson's city charter was debated. And when I say "debated," I'm actually understating how it went down. In the end in that case, Richardson voters did approve a charter change calling for direct election of the mayor, but that change created a dozen or so ambiguities in the charter that make a charter review even more necessary after that change than before. And there were plenty of things needing review before (hat tip to Bill McCalpin).

Anyway, we're now, finally, at long last, getting that long overdue charter review commission. After the jump, my nominees for who should serve on that commission.

Ketchikan, Salmon Capital of the World

From 2014 07 01 Ketchikan

Not that we saw any salmon. We were a few weeks early. But we were told that salmon by the hundreds of thousands will be swimming up Ketchikan Creek right through town by the end of July. That's what made Ketchikan a summer fishing camp for the Tlingit natives for thousands of years. Fishing is still a big industry in Ketchikan.

The modern history of Alaska is more a story of boom and bust. The fur and timber industry came and went. The wood pulp industry died out in Ketchikan when the big pulp mill closed in 1999. Tourism is the latest boom, with several cruise ships at a time docking in Ketchikan, doubling the town's population of 8,050 on a busy day.

Old Ketchikan is what the tourists come to see. The souvenir stores along Creek Street, actually a boardwalk built on pilings over Ketchikan Creek, occupy what was once the red light district during the gold rush of 1898. At several sites around town, Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of totem poles. During the 1930s Great Depression, with funding from the Civilian Conservation Corps, decaying totem poles were preserved and new ones carved -- a good example of a worthwhile outcome resulting from fighting recessions by creating jobs through government stimulus spending. That investment is still paying dividends today by way of tourist dollars and can be seen at Totem Bight State Historical Park.

More photos after the jump.

Her (2013)

IMDB

Her (2013): Divorced loser dates his computer OS. Sad...and not in a good way. The gimmick is only thing going here. Disappointed. D+

Mixed-Use Developments Don't Have "Shopping Centers"

The Dallas Morning News has a story by Steve Brown that illustrates how Richardson is missing the mark on transit-oriented, mixed-use development. (That's not Steve Brown's point. That's my takeaway.) The headline reads, "Plans approved for CityLine Market shopping center in Richardson.

After the jump, the details.