News from Patrick Flynn

Yes, the moment you’ve been waiting for – another meandering blog post!  Away we go…

Next Port committee meeting:

As previously mentioned, the next Port committee meeting will feature a presentation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which handles dredging in Knik Arm.  It’s now scheduled for Thursday, June 10, at 10 am in room 155 of City Hall.  Topics I’ve asked the Corps to address include:

• Different dredging vessels employed, their capabilities and deployment plans (e.g. we’re told they’ll be keeping a vessel in Homer this winter).
• Existing dredging program (where dredging occurs, where material is deposited, costs, etc.)
• Planned changes to accommodate construction of the North Extension, included some discussion of TOTE’s request for additional work to maintain navigability.
• Historic growth of the Point MacKenzie shoal, potential mitigation and requirements thereto.

Bad luck, good karma:

While there are certainly more pressing public safety concerns in local neighborhoods (e.g. the shootings at Valley of the Moon park and in Mountain View), a neighbor called a few nights ago to report that someone had entered his garage and stolen his bicycle.  When we talked further he revealed an odd twist to the story – the thief had left a different bike behind.  The difference?  The left-behind bike had pedals designed for use with specialized shoes.

For me, that recalled an occasion last fall when I found a bike with similar pedals on the side of the road near a friend’s house.  I wheeled the bike onto my friend’s front porch, figuring that lessened the likelihood of someone just walking off with it.  My friend posted a “found” ad on Craigslist but the bike was never claimed so he gave it to a co-worker who needed one, all of which I mentioned to my unfortunate neighbor.

Struck by the idea, my neighbor also posted a “found” ad on Craigslist and promptly received a call from a woman who’d had the left-behind bike stolen (from her garage, as well) the same day as my neighbors’ so at least one lost bike was returned to its rightful owner.  So, while my neighbor is out a bike, I figure he’s up a little karma.  And you, dear reader, can glean two lessons from this incident:

1. If you value the things in your garage, don’t leave the door open (of course, that applies to other doors in your house as well).
2. Bike thieves seem to prefer bikes with standard pedals so investing in those fancy shoes and pedals might be a good idea.

What is it with ports, anyway?

We (the Assembly) are long overdue for a joint work session with our Assembly cohorts from the Mat-Su Borough.  It’s their turn to host and they’ve suggested we meet at Port MacKenzie.  That’d work for me!

In love with a new library:

I had the opportunity to visit the almost-complete Mountain View library this week.  Library officials hope to have the new branch open in August and it looks fantastic.  Everyone present was impressed with the work done to date and was excited about the opportunities to work with area residents.

That’s all for now, happy Thursday to all!

Regards,

Patrick