Once again it’s time for the annual Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report that ranks the 200 largest cities in terms of car-collision frequency. The rankings… Continue reading
Now that the August primary has ended, school has started, the silver salmon run has slowed down and the Kenai Peninsula Fair is over, it… Continue reading
Starting next week we enter the Twilight Zone of not-quite summer but not yet fall. Here in Alaska, traditional definitions of fall like the autumnal… Continue reading
Now would be the time when the Betster does the annual summer punch list column. As kids prepare for school and voters steel themselves for… Continue reading
If you’ve been seeing coworkers and friends walking around bleary eyed and in a daze, no, they haven’t been attacked by zombies. Considering we’re at… Continue reading
Have you noticed how some Alaskans like to drive glossy black trucks with tinted windows, jacked up tires and not a hint of chrome. The… Continue reading
A recent article in Slate magazine reported that the Associated Press has begun using robots to write business stories on corporate quarterly earnings. Well, the… Continue reading
Not that the Betster actually saw it, but observant citizens reported that last weekend tents covered every square foot of beach above the high-tide line… Continue reading
Independence Day is one of the few American holidays that always falls on the same date — July 4, of course. This year the fourth… Continue reading
Recently up in Anchorage a wolf ate a small dog running loose on a hiking trail. Some people suggested installing warning signs so hikers would… Continue reading
Alaska has two seasons, the old joke goes: winter and road construction. We all know about road construction. You can’t go hardly anywhere in the… Continue reading
We’re in a lull right now with the summer tourist season. Although shops and restaurants have opened on the Spit, the big wave of Lower… Continue reading
Heat. Frost. An earthquake. Wildfires. Smoke. High winds. Snow. Aren’t you glad to see the end of May? While the weather has been dang nice… Continue reading
Years ago the Betster visited West Palm Beach, Fla., for a wedding of a friend. A couple of friends from Los Angeles also visited. Bob… Continue reading
Well, we all knew it couldn’t last. Here we’ve been on an awesome super sunny day roll, and what happens? A big fire flares up… Continue reading
Here at the News it takes a Cray supercomputer to keep track of everyone’s summer vacation schedules. We’re guessing a lot of small businesses around… Continue reading
Warm weather, soft spring rains, trees turning green, thousands of shorebirds arriving and businesses opening on the Homer Spit. Can anyone doubt that spring has… Continue reading
If we were commissars, we’d be polishing our medals and fluffing up our big fur for the big May Day parade in Red Square. Oh,… Continue reading