A pair of men resembling Secret Service agents were spotted Monday surveying rooftops, cameras, and vantage points in downtown Anchorage, likely scoping out sniper stations and security hazards ahead of this Friday’s historic meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The summit, expected to take place Friday, aims to chart a potential path toward peace in Ukraine. Security preparations are intensifying, with federal teams expected to occupy strategic positions on buildings and parking garages in the days ahead.
But as the security operation ramps up, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s administration appears to have made no visible headway in clearing downtown streets of homeless encampments, which present their own hazards.
On Tuesday morning, as on countless mornings before, vagrants could be seen sleeping on sidewalks throughout the city’s core, along the same routes where international journalists, dignitaries, and diplomats will walk this week. Not to mention the Alaska protesters who don’t want peace, as well as protest organizers who will be flown in from out of state.
In advance of a presidential visit, it’s normal for the Secret Service to have meetings with state and municipal officials. Thus, it’s likely that LaFrance has been contacted by the president’s security detail and that requests have been made to secure the downtown area. The Secret Service will also have been working with the Anchorage Police, Alaska State Troopers, and the Governor’s Office.
One particularly stark scene was seen early Tuesday morning by the the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, where a man sat on an orange mat beside a charred patch of pavement, evidence of a fire set directly on the sidewalk. Behind him, shopping carts piled with personal belongings stood parked near flower planters. The street people of Anchorage are using the planters for mattresses and toilets.
Must Read Alaska’s Tuesday morning photo tour shows that Anchorage has not figured out where to put all the bodies:
Hotels are filling up fast — one night at the Hilton Garden Inn in midtown will set you back $783 on Friday — but there’ just one room left. Friday night at the Home2 Suites by Hilton in midtown is going for $987.
The high-level summit, which is presumed to be in Anchorage and not at some other location in Alaska, is expected to draw global attention, but for now, the most visible reality on the streets is not the arrival of world leaders, it’s the entrenched human crisis that greets visitors at every corner every hour of the day.
One thing is for sure… Sue La France owns this. She’s in charge. No back peddling or blaming others.
Is that you Constant? (kidding)
Sounds like it’s not going to be at JBER.
Don’t be surprised if it’s held elsewhere. Diversionary tactics are smart tactics. It could be anywhere from Juneau to Adak. Anywhere with a long enough runway.
Anchorage has become a pathetic town, thanks to the Democrats. Aesthetics of this city are deplorable. DEI has ruined it.
Absolutely shameful! And not just because of the upcoming summit but this is what downtown is like every day of the week, just as you say. This should be permanently stopped. What gives them the right to pee (see Sarah’s Gift photo), defecate in alcoves and planters, do drugs in public, etc.? If any of us taxpayers did that we would be arrested. This is sooo wrong on so many levels!
The hobos enjoy sleeping and crapping and fighting and getting high in the planters between the Dena’ina Center and the Conoco building because they charge their cellphones and tablets and laptops there. There are outlets in the planters for the lights they wrap around the trees in winter and the Dena’ina Center doesn’t throw the breaker to turn them off in the summer.
This meeting should have been held in Fairbanks, on the UAF campus. Now the international news media will get to “showcase” the “real” Alaska as they show street life in Anchoragua, the city that is quickly becoming the San Francisco of the north.
GOOD. I want the world to see. I want this to be the main takeaway from this weekend. Shame is a powerful behavior modifier. The normalization of this deviancy has got to end.
Good. We (ANC) should be embarrassed.
Now might be an excellent opportunity to potentially plant ‘questionable’ items on and/or within presence of these homeless individuals, resulting in much deserved attention (ie: tuff luv) they need and us taxpayers deserve.
If you need more examples of this, drive down A Street between 36th Avenue and Benson Blvd next to Walmart. Garbage everywhere and another example of what has happened to Anchorage.
On it. – sd
They cleaned that out about a week ago.
The vagrants were back within three days. The current level of trash is lower than normal right now, but it is growing by the day.
I’ve been contemplating starting a tour trolley ride for Anchorage tourist. Kinda like the one that operates now.
My only caveat would be I would be showing the tourist all the homelessness. Driving camp to camp maybe even taken in a forest fire or two.
The goal of the tour would be to make them appreciate from where they call home and be grateful that they don’t live in Anchorage.
Wouldn’t be counting on many repeat customers.
I do this w/ relatives from bush Alaska; especially the younger ones.
Hopefully they will see the carnage here before they decide to end up broke on our streets .
I once again say where will they go….you can take a broom and sweep the streets but this isn’t a solution. They were better off in a secluded park somewhere.
Where will they go?
I do not care. Stop allowing them to pollute the city and to ruin the quality of life for the taxpayers. Stop feeding them. Stop providing them shelter (at a Mark Begich owned hotel in need of taxpayer funded renovation no less) during the winter. Not a single dime spent any more.
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And, curiously, the homeless population will plummet.
CB. Brain dead assessment. Sweep them away and away becomes somewhere else. I don’t keep track of you but it seems like you are a Christian. Christians allegedly love their neighbors and promote goodness. No food no shelter you say.
Manny, there is a difference between Christian charity and government enforced taxpayer funded handouts. One requires a choice, the other is required under threat of force.
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I have no problem with charity. In fact, I support it. But, government mandated handouts paid for at the expense of services required by the taxpayer. Nope. Cut them off immediately.
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The more the government feeds and cares for the vagrants, the more you will get. On the other hand, voluntary charity actually helps, and those providing it can focus their efforts on those most likely to benefit. Government programs cannot do the same, and as a result they are detrimental.
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And, whether I am Christian or not is irrelevant. I really, really do not care about the vagrants who do not care about themselves. The drug addicted, the drunks, the criminals, they have openly declared their life means nothing to them. I will not expend on moment’s thought for them.
Don’t feed the bears
Amen
Spoken like a real Christian…NOT. Homelessness is not a crime and just the energy so many put into disparaging, condescending, mean spirited comments alone here could do much more if put to coming up with workable and humane solutions.
Where will they go???
… Seattle
… Portland
… San Francisco
… Los Angles
One-way ticket outta here is a respectable // reasonable solution!
Give them to Putin, he can clean them up and send them to Ukraine.
President Trump is truly showing his poise and command of all matters that come to him. We have never had a leader as adept as him. We are living in truly amazing times!
DJT2028!!!
Yes just make YOUR problem someone else’s. Shove it off and be irresponsible. That’s the ticket. Deal with it. Figure it out. Everyone else is struggling with the same issues.
Thank you, Deborah. That needed saying. I hear too much about how ugly downtown is becoming and too many comments here make it clear where the real ugliness lies.
Wherever they came from???
This is a very serious question, I understand that, but this assembly has had
soooo many years to figure that out. Their only solution is to house them during the coldest months. That way they are guaranteed to be around for another season of financial manipulation.
Where do you go? Why are you able to go there? I assume you go to where you go because of the same reason I do…. you get up every morning and do something for others that provide you the means to go your home.
Pure and simple it should be unlawful to camp on the streets and jail should be a welcome retreat for these suffering souls because a modern jail cell is warm and clean and safe. But in reality, many of them choose this lifestyle because they are captured by addiction. No one with an addiction stops the addiction if they feel content and comfortable enough when permitted to continue a their destructive lifestyle. Jail cells will help them or they will avoid them by finding a different path.
I recall our State legislators spending 8k per when they decided they needed new chairs. The real cause of our homeless issue is not money, but complete lack of empathy.
What is needed is more compassion and realistic long term solutions. Facilities providing real domiciles job assistance and some capable of providing medical treatment for addiction and the many other real life health concerns the homeless face IS doable. The Son of Man also had no place to lay his head, and as you do unto others so SHALL be done unto you. Life is a brevity and that gift of time it bestows comes with ZERO guarantee you get to spend ANY of it. The only thing you actually own in life is what you become. The only lack in this problem is genuine empathy, compassion, and willingness to help. The homeless are NOT the real ugliness in Anchorage or Alaska, but a reflection of those that have and can help.
Of course this is the case. LaFrance has no respect for President Trump or the office he holds, like most radical Democrats.
But, Mr. President, please don’t federalize the National Guard to take care of the intentionally homeless…I love ya man, but don’t go that far…
Remember the last time Trump was here and Bronson got a standing ovation? (Sigh)
Everyone needs to call her office and complain. She and the rest of the anchorage assembly are worthless
Streets remain littered Because LaFrance wants to beg Trump for money
LaFrance won’t do anything, most Democrats seem oblivious to the problem. They’ll merely say we need more apartments, time to raise taxes. She’ll blame the problem on Trump’s policies.
Why not write about the affront to the people of the United States for inviting Putin, a murderer, to our country instead of insulting our mayor and homeless population!
Oh, by all means, let’s not try for peace so we can appease your ego.
Try for peace??? At best this is a prelude to trump appeasing a warmongering commie who dreams of the glory days of the ussr
He even went so far as to suggest a concession of land would be necessary… the Russians invaded Ukraine and the route for peace is to say ok sure you can have it?? The Russians violated the promises of leaving Ukraine alone for getting rid of their nujes. And we should support giving them land that isn’t theirs as the end result of this? Good gosh man trump isn’t looking for real peace if he wanted that’s he’d have stood up to Putin on one of his calls by now not needing his wife to say he was getting played
Zelensky has murdered his share of people as well
So has ,I imagine ,your beloved Obama
Point is Trump is doing something to end the carnage
Count on the communist here and those being paid to be here Friday to make a real spectacle . Of themselves
“Point is Trump is doing something to end the carnage” by appropriating more $$ to continue the Kiev regime we installed?
Trump could end this latest imbelic project by ending all money and weapon transfers, ending the ISR surveillance of troop concentrations and targeting data, bring back all active US servicemen, contract mercenaries and CIA operatives by one signature on an order.
This is just theatrics, similar to “sealing the border” blather.
Putin is a murderer?
Who did he kill?
CB. Satire or ignorance?
I am guessing you cannot name anyone Putin killed either.
Thanks for playing though.
Well, considering the fact that this city is run completely by leftists, the world will continue to see for itself that leftists are incapable of running a city properly. Let the homeless remain, for there is no need to cover up the truth of what poor leadership will get you.
MAGA
With the near disaster of Butler, Pennsylvania, fresh in mind, it seems reasonable to ask whether every mound of whatever these are has been thoroughly examined for potential threats and removed.
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The apparent inability or unwillingness of the Mayor and local law-enforcement officials to remove the mounds before the President’s visit suggests a level of incompetence and indifference to public safety which is hardly accidental.
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It may be that the Mayor and local law-enforcement officials show such indifference to public safety –and now to national security– because they have good reason to believe their corrupt election system protects them from upset voters.
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With the near disaster of Butler, Pennsylvania, fresh in mind, it seems reasonable to ask whether they’re similarly protected from scrutiny by federal law-enforcement officials.
“……..As snipers scout rooftops, Anchorage’s streets remain littered with bodies before diplomats arrive…….Anchorage has not figured out where to put all the bodies………..”
Now, that right there is hilarious! But the $700-$900 hotel room prices are not, and that might be a clue why there is a shelter problem.
I hope President Trump, and Murderer Putin stay safe on and in JEBR. There is no need for them to take any risk in the Unsafe Anchorage Area.
A venture off base could be a simple and convenient solution for us all
There are nice places out here in the valley that would serve better for security and aesthetics. One place in particular comes to mind that not many people know about.
Is that place just north of the Hiland Drive exit on the Glenn?
CBMTTek Please don’t have them stink up our dump!
It will take years to get the smell out if we do.
Menard Sports Center!
If there are going to be protesters where are the supporters of Pres Trump planning to gather? I want to show my support for ending BIDEN’s war in Ukraine and welcome our President since, in reality, we are a very conservative state. Just because Ranked Choice Voting and Soros mega-money pours into our elections keeping Murkowski in office and the rainbow flag brigade in charge of Anchorage we shouldn’t let them take over the street when Pres Trump visits.
Yawn.
I actually prefer that he saw the reality we are forced to live in.
Man you really are hard pressed to find a real issue. Sorry you don’t like the idea of voters having a say in who they can vote for instead of letting the party tell you what to do like a puppet.
Biden war my arse. Putin would have done it if trump had been in his second term didn’t care one whit who was in office and trump has already made it seem he’s good with rewarding the commie and his ussr desires
I think it is great the bums and vagrants are in full display for the World to see. Small wonder why Alaska is dead last in education and a place to do business in the USA. Throw in the crime rate, and man Alaska shines like real winner. Yep roll out the red carpet for the street people that adorn our fair City.
100% same. Neither President will see the shame but you know all the journalists are going to be rocked up in the downtown hotels, so you know they will get an eyeful.
Homelessness is the cause of poor education scores? Perfect example of the illogic of the poorly educated.
You have that backwards, Manny. Plus the actions of the liberal left Assembly during CV-19, which pushed those who were teetering economically onto the streets. When did the rents rise so much? The Biden (autopen) term.
It’s not the cause, but it’s certainly one of the outcomes. But keep throwing money at the problem and hoping for a different result. Madness.
Seriously lacking in any ability to actually try and understand what was written, and why it was written.
Let’s see… The Assembly has to float bonds to support the schools, and beg the State and Federal governments for education funding, but they never seem to run out of money for the vagrants.
See… simple really. Took me all of about 15 femtoseconds to figure out what Joe meant.
Dead last in education can be laid at the feet of the governor and his ilk before him
But that’s ok keep blaming everyone but the ones who actively rip us off
Obviously, the mayor is not involved in preparations for the visit, or she doesn’t give a flying fig to clean up her (and Anchorage’s) act. In a country where so many towns, cites, metropolitans and villages have laws demanding canine owners clean up after pets poop, or pay a fine. LaFrance? Nope, let it all hang out for visitors photo ops.
Hope none of their cameras have smell-o-vision!!
In the video game Castlevania, when you first enter the castle, the first monsters you encounter are zombies. What does this tell you about Demonrat run cities? It tells you that somewhere at the top, there is a vampire lord ruling the territory.
This is why you see fat leftists everywhere who have become nothing but voracious consumers that feed off the living who just want to live in peace without being preyed upon.
Yes, the godless left are full of ghouls and vampires.
Our country closed asylums. Do you think it is because our country ran out of crazies? No.
Devils of darkness are all around us and they where the bright colors of Pride. They have stolen God’s promise and claim it as their own as a shield against scrutiny.
We need holy water now more than ever. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Time to make stakes great again.
Are the homeless occupying all the middle class hotels?
Do they live at the golden lion?
I can’t remember if that was communized…
More expensive hotels are contracted as the cash kickbacks to the NGO grant agenciee are better.
They are all in Mark Begich owned properties. Well, only the ones that require a full top to bottom renovation. As soon as that is underway the vagrants are shifted elsewhere.
Why clean it up? Let the politicians, their lackeys and the rest of the sycophant reporters and bureaucrats in tow see a bit of what we, the lowly taxed-to death citizen, have to deal with every day. Reality bites when it’s not scrubbed nice and neat and clean for the “elite” now doesn’t it? Let em experience the real world and get the bottom of their Gucci loafers dirty for a change.
For a Russian going to large cities in America is a 3rd world experience. Violent crime, desperate homeless, trash, rude people, chaos, the same corporate interests they kicked out remain in control here.
Contrast Moscow and St. Petersburg, beautiful, clean, polite people, everyone gainfully working. The contrast is striking.
Lolz… you’ve never been to Moscow or St. Petersburg clearly
1984 Moscow clean. Friendly. One city (now I don’t remember which) very early mornings used fire tankers to “wash” sidewalks and streets in order to impress? visitors. Real reason? To wake and rid streets and doorways of inebriated/homeless before tourists might arrive.
Now there is an idea madam mayor!
Hahaha, misdirection? They’ll clearly land at JBER, taxi to a massively guarded parking apron, and never set foot in Anchorage. You can bet the base will be looking in tip-top shape, and there will be masses of armed soldiers blocking every base entry point. Good!
I sincerely hope that all the media attention will give the Marxist-led Anchorage Assembly, and the uber-Marxist Anchorage mayor, a massive black eye for the vile and insane condition that Los Anchorage has been allowed to fall into via their coddling of the criminal vagrant population, who now openly sleep, urinate and defecate in doorways and on the sidewalks in downtown Anchorage (and everywhere else).
LaFrance and our feckless Assembly are a disgrace.
When I was at the Loussac Library they in fact were caught on video using the planters as toilets. They then cleaned themselves with a coat and threw to the side. Was the Assembly concerned? No, they were upset with me because I dared tried to clean up and not allow it to be a homeless shelter. This even when a woman was stabbed and crippled for life in the library. The liberal assembly and this mayor are what I call people who think “the end justifies the means!” Whatever it takes to destroy a once thriving community is their motto.
Clean up your created garbage Ms. La France and move out yourself…