Alaska Ear

Earwigs report the powder was actually delivered to the mail room in the Court Plaza Building, not to the governor's Capitol office. On Tuesday afternoon, the building was under lockdown, guarded by police cars with lights flashing.

On the sidewalk, an old Juneau hippie enjoying the light show could be heard reminiscing about the old days, when getting white powder in the mail was a good thing.

PARTY ON ... CH2MHill tossed its holiday bash at the Sheraton last weekend and earwigs report a couple of guests new to the event were amazed by how elaborate it was. One guest said there were well over 1,000 grazers partaking of the huge piles of food and drink. You'll remember CH2MHill is the company that swallowed the remains of Veco, which apparently wasn't as generous with its holiday party offerings.

Of course, darlings, Veco had other expenses.

ON THE MOVE ... Earwigs report Rick Solie has moved over to the Denali gasline project and Portia Babcock has taken his "external affairs" job at Conoco Phillips. Portia is a former deputy commissioner of corrections and most recently chief of staff for outgoing Valley Sen. Lyda Green. And yes, she's Tuckerman's sister. As for Rick, he's a former Fairbanks North Star Borough assemblyman and famous for -- well, never mind.

BRUSH WITH GREATNESS II ... Last week Ear shared the news that Heather Kendall Miller and Barak Obama were Harvard Law School classmates. This week, Ear's attorney, No-Contest Kelly, checked in to say Talis Colberg (Alaska A.G.) and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (out on bail) were law school roommates.

Ear can confirm, thanks to Wikipedia, that they are both Pepperdine University School of Law class of 1983, but you'll have to ask Talis if they were actual roomies.

And before getting snippy, darlings, think back on some of the people you've lived with.

A QUESTION ... Will former Alaska state Sen. Drue Pearce, a Republican, keep her D.C. job in the office of the federal gasline coordinator? One might think the new administration would have other ideas. But word is Drue feels the job's term is set by law -- in this case, until 2023 or until one year after construction of the pipeline. Stay tuned.

KILLER EARWIGS ... Is it Ear's imagination, or are more and more Alaskans turning to crime -- making money by writing about it? Dana Stabenow is about to release her 16th Kate Shugak mystery, "Whisper to the Blood," due out in February. In case you've forgotten the other 15, Dana has posted a video on YouTube speed-reprising them. Dana says she was inspired by the Reduced Shakespeare Company doing "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)." It's pretty funny.

Meanwhile, "Murderers Row," composed of Alaska crime writers Mike Doogan, Stan Jones and Tom Brennan, are doing a special Christmas signing at Barnes and Noble on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like bodies and blood.

NOT DEAD YET ... Remember Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak and her romance with now-former Alaska astronaut Bill Oefelein? Did you think that flap about her driving from Florida to Texas nearly two years ago to do whatever to Billy's girlfriend was history? Nope. A judge threw out most of the evidence against Nowak but prosecutors appealed. Last week, an appeals panel split the difference. Her weird ravings to police when they picked her up are still inadmissible, but all the stuff in the car -- diapers, latex gloves, map, knife, mallet and BB gun -- are in. No trial date set yet.

Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Find Ear online at adn.com/ear. Contact Sheila at stoomey@adn.com.