Summer arrivals: extras abound this year.

• Author: Harrington, Susan
• Position: FROM THE EDITOR - Editorial

We've had a lot of extra summer arrivals this year, and not just mosquitoes, either. People are flowing into Alaska from the rest of the United States, and the world, for that matter, like it is the place to be.

One has to wonder just how many people were in Anchorage the early summer weekend when nearly every store in town ran out of bug dope. I don't believe it is solely attributed to an extra abundant crop of the pesky little creatures, although they are vicious this year. I think there were a lot more people in addition to a lot more mosquitoes, and that's what happened to all the bug dope in town. There is no shortage of souvenirs. The shippers coming north quickly replenished the shelves with bug dope as well as the rest of the summer goods we take for granted. No empty shelves here.

This summer, there are more tourists arriving in and passing through Anchorage: visitors from other lands, foreign and domestic. Because of the price of fuel, more people are flying or cruising to Alaska than driving up through Canada. Many rent cars or RVs once in Anchorage, or take the train. Alaska Airlines and other year-round carriers are discounting flights. Seasonal carriers like JetBlue and Virgin America are bringing extra people to Alaska extra cheap. This is a more affordable summer to fly to Alaska. While lodging has kept pace with the steady and growing stream of people this summer, rental transportation was getting scarce by July.

Traffic is busy and constant, and there's so much building going on all over it tends to slow things...