REP. DOOGAN 'OUTS' POPULAR POLITICAL BLOGGER WHO CRITICIZED HIM (Stinkhead Soup, Alaska Dispatch): State Rep. Mike Doogan (D-Anchorage) has revealed in his e-mail newsletter the woman behind the popular Palin-bashing blog The Mudflats. "My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name," Doogan wrote. "Doogan thinks he has exposed me," Jeanne Chilton responded in a blog post, "but in reality he has done nothing but expose himself."
SNIFF THAT, JINDAL! (Kodiak Konfidential): "Alaska farts in face of Lower 48." With NOAA atmospheric graphic tracking Redoubt gases
PUNDITS REACT TO PALIN NOMINATION OF ROSS AS ATTORNEY GENERAL:
> "Ross will cherish the opportunity to step in front of the press to defend Palin or her legislative agenda against lawmakers on contentious issues." (Andrew Halcro's blog)
> "Ross is less than savory to those who value free speech." (blogger Shannyn Moore)
> "As Alaskans who remember Ross defending goons throwing cold water on old ladies as ‘free speech,' we'd like to ‘speak' to [Palin] about your nominating him ..." (Peter Dunlap-Shohl editorial cartoon, Alaska Dispatch)
> "It's not his credentials that scare liberals. They know Wayne Anthony Ross operates without fear or intimidation, and they hate him for it." (Dan Fagan, Alaska Standard)
RAPE CONVICTION IN BARROW WAS UPHILL BATTLE (The Arctic Sounder): In a community where sexual assault is common but seldom reported, a judge has sentenced Guy Yazzie Jr. to 10 years in prison in a case that included the community's first jury conviction for rape in about five years. During jury selection, "several people admitted that they did not think that this kind of rape - having sex with a woman who is incapacitated - was something that the state should pursue," said an assistant attorney general.
POINT HOPE FEELS PAIN IN HUNT'S AFTERMATH (The Arctic Sounder): Emotions were raw in Point Hope as eight hunters were charged for killing and leaving caribou unharvested last summer. As troopers and government officials clash in the media about whether the investigation has been handled properly, the mayor says, the community has been devastated by "racist slurs" targeting Point Hope on the Anchorage Daily News Web site and other online forums. "It brought the community down so much. They were scared for their lives to even wear a Point Hope jacket in Anchorage. They didn't want to say where they are from."
DROWNING IN THE SNOWS OF KOTZEBUE (Seth Kantner, Alaska Dispatch): "Kotzebue is supposed to be stormy, but this year was more like drowning -- we'd get a blow and, if we were lucky, have a day to come up for air and shovel out, and then get hit with it again." With photos
GRAY WHALES COMING, AND THEY'RE HUNGRY (The Seward Phoenix Log): The annual migration of the California gray whales is in full swing, and they should begin passing Resurrection Bay next week on their way to lush summer feeding grounds in the Chukchi and Bering seas. Their 5,000-mile trek begins in the warm lagoons of Mexico's Baja California coast.
BENEFACTORS REPLACE COAL STOLEN FROM FAIRBANKS FOOD BANK (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): The 1,000 pounds of coal recently stolen from the Fairbanks Community Food Bank has serendipitously morphed into 10 tons of coal donations for the nonprofit agency.
ILLEGAL FIREWOOD HARVESTING ON THE RISE NEAR JUNEAU (Juneau Empire): More Juneau homeowners are heating with firewood, but freshly cut stumps and green boughs of spruce and hemlock littered along roadways tell city officials that something is amiss. Some people are cutting easily accessible trees instead of stands set aside for them. With photos
Return to Alaska Newsreader through the day for new links.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:
In a volcano's plume, a storm rages (National Public Radio, Nature)
Southeast town seeks newcomers through Craigslist ad (Juneau Empire)
Birthday girl among last to leave Redoubt before eruption (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Redoubt responds to GOP in explosive interview (The Mudflats blog)
Struggle for power on doomed fishing boat (The Seattle Times)
Russia calls Old Believers home (The New York Times)
Sylvia Plath's son commits suicide in Fairbanks (The Times of London)
