JEWEL SAYS INJURY WON'T KEEP HER FROM "DANCING" (The Associated Press): Homer-bred pop singer Jewel says on her blog she injured her knees while rehearsing for "Dancing With the Stars" but plans to return to the dance floor.

PALIN BIO SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON WOOTEN TASERING OF STEPSON (Immoral Minority blog): "(Trailblazer) states that Wooten's 11-year-old stepson begged (Trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's then-brother-in-law) to let him feel what it was like to be tasered. (It also points out that this may in fact have been the boy's attempt to impress his cousin Bristol Palin.) The book then describes that Wooten did not fire the probe into the boy but rather taped it to his arm. Then, after putting a few pillows around to protect the boy if he fell, 'turned the taser on for like a second, turned it off.' According to the book, the boy was unhurt and even wanted to do it again."

FASHION TEST: THE SKHOOP IN BARROW (The Arctic Sounder): Two journalists headed for the North Slope decided to test the object of an Anchorage fashion craze -- the Skhoop insulated skirt -- in Arctic conditions.

WE DON'T MIND THE MESS, MR. SCIENTIST (ADN Inside Opinion blog): Some Daily News callers and e-mailers complained that the mess in the office of Tom Murray of the Alaska Volcano Observatory -- shown in the photo above -- "gives them little confidence in his ability to warn us in time if Redoubt goes Krakatoa. Don't take the criticism to heart, Professor Murray."

THE ARCANE MATH OF THE STIMULUS BILL (WSJ's Numbers Guy blog): Senators from both Alaska and Hawaii have sought to amend the formula for distribution of stimulus Medicaid funds because the cost of living in those states exceeds the national average.

PENINSULA MUSICIANS REMEMBER "WHITEY" (The Redoubt Reporter): More than 300 people - a "roll call" of the central Peninsula music scene -- attended a memorial service on Sunday for Timothy "Whitey" Dyment of Sterling, who died Feb. 16. And more than 30 bands took the stage to perform in memory of the owner of Whitey's Music Shoppe.

CABIN FEVER: FACT OR FICTION? (Capital City Weekly): "The term first appeared in 1918, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. Historians have suggested that it described the madness of sailors who had been a long time at sea or early U.S. settlers who spent long winters inside their log cabins. What exactly is cabin fever, and is it real?"

MENDENHALL GLACIER VISITORS TREAD ON THIN ICE (Juneau Empire): The lake in front of Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau is hundreds of feet deep. In separate recent incidents, two women walking on the lake to get a closer look at the glacier's blue face broke through surface ice but could have plunged much deeper, say officials who are warning ice walkers that they're playing "Russian roulette" out there.

"JEWSKIMOS" GATHER IN NEW YORK TO HONOR A SPY (Forward.com): "We are here to give back for what the Jews who came to Alaska have done for us," said state Rep. John Harris at the Feb. 3 dinner honoring Ruth Gruber. In 1941, Harold Ickes, secretary of the interior to President Roosevelt, appointed Gruber to be "a personal representative to the territory of Alaska on a government fact-finding mission." In other words, a World War II spy. Other Alaskans and former Alaskans in attendance at the dinner included Rabbi Joseph "Yossi" Greenberg and furrier Perry Green.

DERELICT BOAT IN SELDOVIA HAS COLORFUL HISTORY (Homer Tribune): The Husky II was a Kuskokwim River workhorse and a World War II troop transporter. Now the Coast Guard will have to spend almost a half-million dollars to rid the Seldovia boat harbor of the rusty vessel. With photo

TRADITIONAL MEETS MODERN: THESE VIDEOS ARE MESSING WITH MY MIND (Alaska Real blog): "I would be interested to hear what non-Tlingits think of these two (YouTube) videos. ... These videos turned me upside down with their interpretation of the (Tsu Héidei Shugaxtutaan) song and dance."

ALASKA BLOGGERS AND THE RURAL CRISIS (What Do I Know? blog): "Some Alaskan bloggers seem to be reacting to what I'd call 'fighting words' on this topic, rather than trying to push the discussion further. We need to get more people into the same room and talk past the (often legitimate) anger and posturing until they see they have more to gain by understanding each other, that we are all Alaskans whether we live in villages or cities."

FEDERAL STIMULUS COULD FUND UAF RESEARCH BOAT (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): The federal economic stimulus package could provide the final push in efforts to build a long-discussed, Alaska-based ocean research icebreaker.

PRICE OF RURAL BYPASS MAIL SERVICE IS GOING UP (KYUK, Bethel): Postal rates are increasing across the country on May 11 -- 2 cents for a first-class letter. But some rural Alaskans will be paying over 50 percent more for large parcels.

PALIN TURNED OUT TO BE A BETTER VP CANDIDATE THAN JINDAL WOULD HAVE (TPM Café): "Looks like if we'd had a McCain-Jindal ticket, there would have been a run on NoDoz and a noticeable spike in basement meth labs across the country. Nope, Sarah kicks Jindal's ass."

ALCOHOL FILLS THE UNALASKA POLICE BLOTTER (Unalaska Advertiser): "Drunk disturbance: Intoxicated caller reported that he had shone a laser light inside of a bar, hitting a large man in the eyes. The large man then smacked the caller in the back of the head. No charges where pursued."

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:

Where's the aurora this winter? (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Alaska moose hunt an inch short of perfect (Wahpeton Daily News, N.D.)

UAF scientist studies ‘bubbles of warming' in tundra ice (L.A. Times)

Anchorage food gatherers empty Peninsula tide pools (Homer Tribune)