Politics, Weather, and Bears - Oh, My

It's 40 degrees, cloudy, and Mr. AccuHunch is calling for rain showers later today & tonight. Yesterday's wind didn't result in much damage, although it did knock down a tree here in Anchorage. The weather station on the hillside above me reported one gust of 78 mph.

Wind & Water Dept: More interesting (to us) was the report of spray from Turnagain Arm being blown across the highway - the guy who told us about it has lived in Girdwood for over 20 years, and never saw that before. Granted, it was at high tide, but even then the water level is some 15 feet below the driving lanes. I wish I'd seen that.

Say What? Dept: The Muni Assembly has repealed the repeal of the repeal, to wit: in 2007, the Assembly repealed the IM (exhaust gases) test for vehicles here in Anchorage. In 2008, the newly-elected liberal Assembly reinstated it.

Last night, the newly-elected conservative Assembly voted unanimously to repeal it again. It is a program which has outlived its usefulness. When the vehicle inspection program was adopted, there were a lot of pre-1975 autos on the road. In the more recent past, however, Anchorage hasn't had a below-standard air quality day in well over 10 years, and modern automobiles produce a only tiny fraction of the pollution emitted by those older vehicles*, which are almost entirely gone from the roads. It's a waste of time and money for owners of cars & trucks - and once more, we may be able to go about our business without an unnecessary expense.

Do Anything Dept:

Hiker leaps from ledge into water to avoid two bears - A hiker who leapt into an arm of Prince William Sound early this morning to escape a pair of charging bears was picked up by a helicopter after he climbed back up a slope and called for help, the Coast Guard said. (Click the link for the whole story.)

That's about it for this morning. Have a great day.


* As example, my 1998 Expedition was rated as a low-emissions vehicle by California's C.A.R.B., and has yet to produce a measurable result when tested. But they gouge me for the price of the test and the certificate (which costs extra) necessary to renew the license plates. Good riddance to one bit of bureaucratic idiocy.