Editor,My wife and I love Alaska, having lived in Petersburg and Ketchikan previously. But we are now visiting Anchorage from Oregon.
Today we had a nice dinner but on the way encountered a man shouting and throwing beer cans in the street (littering) then ran into him again — clenched fists, shouting, and really angry — walking on the sidewalk.
After dinner, we returned to our car at the Chinook self park. We saw the Alaska 49th State monument and decided to visit it. We exited the parking lot on foot, and behind the restrooms, we noted people had been defecating on the sidewalk, leaving tissue etc. We notified parking security and they said it would be cleaned up.
Driving back to the motel we saw two adult males in a park openly sitting at a picnic table, one sitting on the other’s lap. Then just down the street we passed a woman walking on the sidewalk with two black eyes.
At the motel I picked up a copy of the Alaska Dispatch News and read about Alaska’s new law reducing penalties for misdeameanor crimes like shoplifting.
Are you sure that’s a good idea?We’ve been to Anchorage several times in years past and had great visits. Our visit to Kenai and Soldotna earlier in the week was great.
But today, after visiting Anchorage for just one day, it looks to us like downtown has lost some of its charm.Dave Peck
Florence, Ore.Sept. 24, 2017
