Jeremy Hsieh, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage
Jeremy Hsieh covers Anchorage with an emphasis on housing, homelessness, infrastructure and development. Reach him at jhsieh@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8428. Read more about Jeremy here.
Anchorage Assembly lukewarm on proposal to sanction camps for homeless population this summer
Felix Rivera, the Assembly’s lead on homelessness issues, expects a close vote on a scaled back version of the proposal.
Campsites around Midtown Anchorage park will be cleared starting June 6
It's the first major camp abatement of the year in Anchorage. Many questions remain about where and when people can set up camps with shelter space full.
Anchorage task force recommends opening supervised campsites for the homeless
The task force also calls for community council input, buying emergency shelters and requesting that state and private landowners sponsor additional camps.
Anchorage lawyers are working on a policy to clarify when the city will enforce no-camping rules
Inaction so far this year on clearing encampments stems in part from an Assembly policy call, and in part from legal paralysis around a court decision.
If Anchorage doesn’t act soon, ‘we’re going to be putting people back in Sullivan’
Alexis Johnson, Anchorage's housing and homelessness coordinator, said the city and Assembly need to come up with a plan soon, or the Sullivan Arena shelter will be reopened again.
Another Anchorage muni executive entangled in lawsuit resigns
Saxton Shearer’s last day as the head of the city’s Maintenance and Operations department will be May 26.
With Anchorage’s shelters full, homeless campers eke out life in limbo
Policymakers haven’t publicly said what they’ll police within the camps. For now, the plan is to meet the campers where they are.
Former Anchorage employee who recorded Judy Eledge’s racist comments sues city for discrimination
The former executive assistant also alleges discrimination against women among fire department leaders.
Anchorage CFO is the latest city executive to resign
Since Mayor Dave Bronson took office in July of 2021, more than a dozen executives have turned over due to firings and resignations.
Two Anchorage Assembly members call on Judy Eledge to resign
The deputy library director has made racist comments toward Alaska Natives and is the subject of numerous workplace complaints.
Denali National Park officials say 2 missing men likely fell while climbing
Rangers say the climbers’ tracks led into the path of an avalanche on Moose’s Tooth.
Public hearing set for wrongful termination payouts for 2 former Anchorage city employees
Confidentiality around legal matters and personnel issues will make discussion awkward on May 23, said the Assembly chair.
How Anchorage’s response to homelessness has changed over the last 20 years
Nancy Burke has worked on housing and mental health issues in Alaska since 2002. She’s moving on soon, but shared some of her perspective first.
The beginning of the end? Sullivan Arena shelter scales down
Not everyone leaving will end up camping. Some got last-minute housing placements, some will couch surf, some caught flights out of town to stay with friends or relatives.
As Anchorage’s mass shelter winds down, workers push to smooth transition for homeless residents
Even though the reality of the coming closure is sinking in, a lot of people in the shelter only had vague plans.
Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena shelter will close to hundreds Monday
Up to 90 people with mobility or other impairments will be able to stay in the shelter until May 31.
Anchorage Assembly to consider keeping Sullivan Arena shelter open in limited capacity
The extension is expected to be a last-minute addition to the Assembly’s agenda at its next regular meeting..
Anchorage’s winter shelters are closing soon. What then?
Most people will have to start camping outside as Anchorage Assembly members and service agencies plot what’s next.
No, the Sullivan Arena won’t be a shelter beyond April
With fresh snow and nowhere else to go, a consultant recommended keeping the mass shelter open into May.