> AKMuckraker, The Mudflats blog: Troopergate is not dead, despite what the Palin administration would like to believe. There are many loose threads yet to be tied up, and many subplots yet to be concluded. Will the Alaskan people vote to have the attorney general become an elected position? Will the Legislature pay closer attention when they confirm the next attorney general?
> Shannyn Moore, Just a Girl From Homer blog: Sarah let Talis resign today as though his illegal advice (on subpoenas) to her husband, Todd, and her aides WAS HIS OWN IDEA. The McCain legal stromtroopers were crawling all over this state, and Colberg was over his head.
> Andrew Halcro: When you factor in the dramatic reversal Colberg took after agreeing in writing to cooperate with Sen. Kim Elton (on subpoenas) and then abruptly went back on his word, then the absolute drubbing the court gave him with his legal challenge, there seems to have been someone else pulling the strings.
JEWEL AND HUSBAND TO BATTLE IN 'DWTS' (Perez Hilton): For the first time ever, not one but two real-life celebrity couples will compete against each other in "Dancing With the Stars," starting with singer and former Alaskan Jewel and her husband, Ty Murray, a rodeo star.
ANCHORAGE DOG WINS MERIT AWARD IN WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB SHOW (USA Today): Among the nearly 2,500 dogs at Madison Square Garden this week for the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, no U.S. dog traveled farther than Webber, a Bouvier des Flandres who lives in Anchorage with his best buddy, Judy McConnell. Webber won an Award of Merit in the Bouvier judging. Watch a video of the judging here. ALSO:
> Video: McConnell and Webber at the Westminster (USA Today)
> Live show coverage on USA Network
> McConnell's Bouvier des Flandres homepage
REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS TAKE SIDES OVER STIMULUS AT THEIR OWN RISK (Wall Street Journal): Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is backing President Obama's stimulus plan, and Alaska's Gov. Palin is among five governors who have voiced opposition. The fallout could signal where the Republican party is headed for 2012. ALSO:
> Republic governors divided over stimulus (Time magazine)
> Palin cancels CPAC speech (U.S. News & World Report)
‘SEX-CRAZED OIL HATERS' AND OTHER ANTI-ACADEMIC CLAIMS (Inside Higher Ed): As budget woes deepen, lawmakers in Alaska and Georgia are painting faculty as sex-obsessed liberals and environmentalists who won't get on the "Drill Baby Drill" bandwagon. ALSO:
> Thought control (Daily News editorial)
MEXICAN DRUG VIOLENCE SPILLS INTO U.S. (The Associated Press): Federal investigators fear gang violence could erupt as far away as Anchorage, where, it's believed, Mexican cartels have set up drug-dealing operations.
AMERICA'S LAST DRAFTEE (Time): Jeffrey Mellinger, the last active-duty draftee serving in the Army, is about to retire, and he plans to return to Alaska, where he spent much of his military career. With photos. ALSO:
> Last draftee remains on duty in Iraq (Anchorage Daily News, 6/5/06)
HOW TO COPE WITH AN OUTHOUSE IN MIDWINTER (Mother Earth News): A trip to a subarctic biffy doesn't have to be an exercise in stark terror: Hint: Keep the toilet seat in the house until needed.
PETERSBURG PRINCIPAL USED FAKE RESTROOM CAMERA (KFSK, Petersburg): After a particularly nasty bit of excremental vandalism in a boys bathroom, Gene Burke put up a fake camera to, he says, get the kids' attention. After a few parents called, he took it down.
TRACK MARINE CLEANUPS ON NEW MAP (Stories in the News, Ketchikan): Information on marine debris cleanup efforts in Alaska - past and present - has been compiled by the MCA Foundation into a Google Earth-based database that is now accessible over the Internet.
EX-ALASKAN MAKES ALL-WOMEN SNOWBOARDING FILM (ESPN): Photographer Stan Evans is part of the team making "Stance," destined to be next winter's only all-female shred movie. "We are really trying to show the women with their individual voices," he says, "what they like to ride and where they want to be." With photos
PALIN HAS HALF-MILLION 'FRIENDS' (San Francisco Chronicle): With help from her political action committee, Gov. Palin has collected more Facebook friends than Russian Prime Minister Putin and French President Sarkozy but nowhere near the number President Obama has collected.
CARGILL TV AD CAPTURES SITKA CHARM (KCAW, Sitka): Cargill Inc.'s brand-management team chose Sitka to be featured in one of its "corporate folk stories," now being aired on TV nationwide. See the ad here.
Return to Alaska Newsreader through the day for new links.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:
Unalaska police blotter read around the world (Los Angeles Times)
Magazine salutes Alaska ‘sled dog hero' (PeoplePets, Peninsula Clarion)
In rural Alaska, families struggle (CNN)
Alaska: Pedophile's paradise (The Stranger)
Blogger observes moose, shares unscientific conclusions (The Mudflats)
Never mind earmuffs - Kotzebue needs earplugs (Keeping It Real at 66 Degrees North Latitude)
Palin's Esquire magazine interview (Esquire)
Moose hit by car had malformed hooves (The Redoubt Reporter)
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.