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On Touring Alaska From Folks That Live Here:

A Local's Perspective of Living In Juneau, Alaska-

I used to work for the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce. Part of my duties was to answer the phone and emails from people around the pass drug test world, looking for information on Alaska, whether it be travel and tourism information, information for reports for their kids, or people who were just curious about what it is like to live in Alaska.

Even though we are the 49^th state, the concept of living here is totally foreign to a lot of people in the Lower 48, or “down south” as we here in Alaska call it.

Life here in Juneau is unique in some ways. In a lot of other ways, it is very much like any other city in the good old United States. For instance, we have a coffee company here called Heritage Coffee®. They are almost as good as Starbucks®, with the exception that they do not have a Frappaccino®. Other than that, they are just as good. And people here in Juneau are just as addicted to the stuff as they are in Houston, where I moved back to Juneau from. It won’t be long until you can literally throw a stone from one Heritage Coffee® and hit another one. Ah, the joy of living in America!

Another way that Juneau is very similar to any other town in America is sports. This is a very sporty town. There are ALWAYS sports of one kind or another going on. Whether it be football, baseball, softball, skiing, ice skating, hockey, volleyball, bowling, whatever. Juneauites do not let the cold, dark winters keep them inside or holed up.

However, I’m sure you're not reading to find out how Juneau is like where you live. You want to know why Juneau is unique. And why Alaska is unique. So, here is the “meat” you’ve come looking for.

I first came to Juneau Christmas of 1992 to visit my Mom and Dad who had recently moved here. I landed at the airport and it had just begun to snow. There was barely a skiff of snow on the ground. The forecast was for 4 inches of snow, and then it would turn to rain. Well, 3 days later it was still snowing and it ended up snowing 38 inches before it was all said and done. I was told by many people, “This is very unusual for Juneau.” Yeah, right. I sure believed that one—NOT! I was up on vacation from Phoenix where I was going to school and working. The main reason I didn’t believe it was because THIS IS ALASKA!!! ISN’T IT SUPPOSED TO DO NOTHING BUT SNOW IN ALASKA IN THE WINTER?????

And actually, after living here in Juneau for a total of 5 years, they are correct, it is unusual for Juneau to have that much snow at a time. It is normal for us to get 3-4 inches of snow and then it turn to rain and melt off. Although the average snowfall for Juneau per season is 100 inches, the normal snowfall is 3-4 inches at a time.

And if there is one thing I’ve learned about Juneau, they cannot predict the weather, period. They might get close for the next 12 hours, but anything beyond that, forget it. So if you come to Juneau on a cruise and you check the forecast before you leave home, chances are it won’t be right when you get here. Prepare for the worst (in the summer, that means rain and wind) and hope for the best (sunshine!).

Next Page Part Two: As ship's time ran out, so did its options The 738-foot Selendang Ayu is adrift in a ferocious Bering Sea storm, its engine dead, wind driving the ship and its crew of 26 toward disaster.

Entitlements eat bigger percentage of budget Three entitlement programs consumed nearly half of all federal spending in 2004, and budget analysts expect them to make up an even bigger share in the future.

Middle schools may add sixth grade Are 11-year-old kids ready to negotiate school hallways between classes, swap teachers all day and hang around teenagers? They'd better be. There's a plan developing to move the city's sixth-graders to middle schools, a shift born of elementary school laptop battery overcrowding but touted by supporters as solid educational philosophy.

Magnetic pole drift could put lights out Glaciers receding, ice pack thinning -- can the image of the Far North hold out for much longer? Now Alaska may be losing its northern lights. Sayonara, aurora. But don't blame this on global warming.

Hanukkah festival fills Egan ballroom Every year the Hanukkah event has grown more elaborate with artwork and more and more people, including non-Jews.

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