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Greetings Anchorage resident,
It's Alaska State Fair time! The fair has always been a favorite event in our family. This year I've been out to join in the fun twice and I'm ready for another drumstick! The theme is Fun Matters. Makes perfect sense.
The Alaska State Fair is so successful, it was a TOP SPOT mention on the Today Show: see video here.
As Alaskan legend has it, when fireweed reaches its full splendor - all the way to the top of the spire - the six-week countdown to winter begins. It's often hard to accept, but I've noticed that the fireweed is turning and we will likely feel our record breaking summer come to a close. In this newsletter you'll see a message from the Office of Emergency Management on Disaster Preparedness as we transition to winter and possible storms.
September 2 is Labor Day, a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. I hope that you have a safe and memorable holiday.
To those who can't take the day off, thank you for your hard work!
Sincerely,
Mayor Dan Sullivan
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Ambassador Cui Tiankai visits Alaska
On Monday I had the opportunity to visit with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the United States of America and his esteemed colleagues.
Ambassador Cui Tiankai was hosted by Greg Wolf and the World Trade Center of Alaska (WTCAK). For more information about the WTCAK click here.
 | | Mayor Sullivan with Ambassador Cui Tiankai |
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APD Promotions 2013
The Anchorage Police Department is pleased to announce the promotion of six officers. APD has advanced Officers Justin Doll, Jared Tuia and Kevin Vandegriff to Lieutenants. All were previously serving as Sergeants. APD Officers Gina Burington, Mark Huelskoetter and Ryan Rockom have advanced to Sergeants.
"I look forward to the energy, leadership and innovation our newly promoted officers will bring to the Anchorage Police Department," APD Chief Mark Mew said.
Visit the APD website for more information here.
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Photo (from Left to Right): APD Chief Mark Mew, Lt. Jared Tuia, Lt. Justin Doll, Lt. Kevin Vandegriff, Sgt. Gina Burington, Sgt. Mark Huelskoetter, Sgt. Ryan Rockom, Deputy Chief Stephen Smith, Deputy Chief Steven Hebbe.
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Historic Heavy Lift at the Port of Anchorage
The Matanuska Electric Association duel fuel diesel/natural gas-fired engines made in Korea and Italy by a Finnish company, Wartsila, were offloaded at the Port in the past few days from a German heavy lift vessel.
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Offloading cargo from ship to truck at the Port of Anchorage.
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Each engine weighs 660,000 lbs. Special 18 axle low boy semi-truck and a rail slide was required to transfer intermodally from ship to cribbing along the Port rail yard. The Port confirmed Terminal 3's capability to safely handle the heaviest ever freight shipment.
An imported 20 axle rail car will be used to haul each of ten engines to the Eklutna site where the low boy will move it to the generation building.
A Turkish industrial logistics firm, CalibRa Pro Logistics is performing the work using multiple subcontractors.
I expect to see more power plant equipment come across the docks now that this project has demonstrated the Port's capability to support a successful offload and transfer operation!
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September is National Preparedness Month
September is National Preparedness Month and a great time to make sure you have the needed tools to survive an emergency or disaster. Emergencies will happen, but taking action now can help to minimize the impact they will have on your life. Readiness is a shared responsibility and the Office of Emergency Managements (OEM)asks that all Anchorage residents to make the pledge to prepare this month and to truly help themselves, their neighbors and their community to be prepared.
Anchorage residents can get started by visiting the OEM website and download a family emergency plan, emergency kit checklist and information on how to get involved locally.
Remember the hurricane force wind storm of 2012, disaster CAN happen to us. Please take the time and prepare.
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What's Happening in September at your Library?
Every month is busy at your local library. Below is just a small sample of events, f or a full list of events visit the website here.
SEPTEMBER IS HUNGER ACTION MONTH - HELP US FEED THE HUNGRY!
Anchorage Public Library is supporting its partner, the Food Bank of Alaska, with a month-long food donation campaign, Sept. 1-30. FBA provides food to approximately 41,200 different Anchorage residents annually, about 8,100 people monthly. Leave food donations in the red barrels at all five neighborhood libraries.
AUTHOR TALK - NICHOLAS O'CONNELL AND THE STORMS OF DENALI
Join the discussion about a novel of adventure, adversity and ambition with renowned climber/ writer Nicholas O' Connell. His first hand experiences lend detail to the formidable challenges Denali poses for a four-man team.
Thursday, September 19, 7pm Loussac, Wilda Marston Theatre.
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A Message from Municipal Light and Power
Heading in to fall, we remember the unprecedented windstorm of September, 2012 that wiped out power to nearly all of Municipal Light & Power's customers overnight. By morning, thankfully, most of ML&P's 30,000 customers were restored to power. But crews worked day and night for weeks until every last customer was restored and cleanup operations were complete.
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ML&P employee inspecting damage.
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Though it was a highly unusual storm, ML&P has taken many steps to toughen its defense against whatever nature may have in store. Since then, ML&P has added Substation 22 near the corner of Arctic and Benson boulevards to help route power through our growing Midtown. ML&P is putting final touches on the update of Substation 16, the fifth substation to have been updated over the past few years. New ring buses installed at four substations will make our system more robust - enhancing our ability to reroute power through alternate lines, should an outage occur on one section, without losing any customers.
Though last fall's windstorm took care of many problem trees, ML&P took an even more aggressive tree trimming program this year within its rights-of-way.
The utility also now has black-start capability at Plant 1, meaning it can be started without electricity from Plant 2 once it shuts down after peak load energy demands subside.
The utility also added social media to better communicate with customers as we learned that catastrophic outages can affect internet and phone lines.
What to do in the event of a power outage can be found on ML&P's website.
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Anchorage Centennial Update
Join Us! The next event is Anchorage Centennial committee meeting on Sept. 3, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in the Mayor's Conference Room, 8th Floor, City Hall.
Visit the Anchorage Centennial website here.
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