While I agree with the sentiments of Telephone Hill residents, I also feel Juneau desperately needs to provide some moderate- and lower-income housing.
At 76 I’ve lived most of my life in downtown Juneau and I have witnessed a transformation of downtown into tourism that eliminated most of brown faces there.
I used to love going downtown on Thanksgiving, and seeing Tlingit and Filipino families in the street. No more.
I was a leader in creating the Downtown Neighborhood Association and spent two years on a task force to create a “Large Mining Ore Ordinance” to protect downtown Juneau.
I am familiar with Telephone Hill. I visited two of the current homes and one vacated by Rick Lauber, a retired magistrate and fisheries lobbyist, located at the end of the crag. I used to come there to pick raspberries and just to enjoy Juneau.
I’d love to see preservation of old downtown Juneau while adding a significant number of moderate and low-income housing emerge.
After leaving Juneau for several years, I returned to find it was almost impossible to find a one-bedroom apartment. I now live in Douglas and in-line for a spot in the senior living facility Mountainview, back downtown.
Rodger Painter
Douglas