Rick Sinnott

You’ve seen bears act in movies before, often cast as the bad guy. But you probably haven’t seen a movie directed and filmed by bears.

Lights, camera, scratchin’.

As it happens, a movie filmed by bears may not be as relentlessly tedious or indescribably weird as you may think. Like teenagers, when bears direct and film their own documentaries, they’re liable to reveal fascinating and provocative secrets.

In this case, the amateur filmmakers included four black and two brown bears living in and about Anchorage. There was no need for a casting call. Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, is home to hundreds of bears within the municipality...

Anyone unlucky enough to be mauled by a bear in Alaska is mauled a second time as soon as the news hits the street. Sometimes the second mauling hurts worse than the first.

Although many Alaskans know more about the causes and avoidance of bear attacks than the average citizen of the world, there are other Alaskans who know just enough to get themselves or others into trouble. Unfortunately, these know-it-alls are more than willing to share their misinformation with the rest of us...

The Alaska Legislature is considering at least two grant request packages for maintaining and enhancing Anchorage-area parks and trails. The requests were submitted by two organizations who know local parks, local park users, and their needs. Anchorage loves its parks and trails. Tucked into a small corner of a large state, the city harbors about 40 percent of the state’s population and has more than its share of visitors. Parks and trails enhance the urban quality of life, and local demand for parks has never been more pressing.

And yet the myriad forces that erect cities are not always amenable to preserving land for parks. A similar principle applies to funding parks once they are established. There are often other pressing demands...

How often does a book you read as a child influence the choices you make as an adult?

Reading to a child is one of life’s simple pleasures. I read my daughters hundreds of picture books, of course, but when they were a little older, even after they learned to read on their own, we took epic journeys through books like “The Hobbit” and “The Secret Garden.” Now I’m looking forward to sharing some “big girl” books with my granddaughter, whose idea of a good author still tilts toward Dr. Seuss...