ANTI-LETTERMAN PROTEST GOES ON IN N.Y.: Entertainment Weekly and the N.Y. Daily News report from outside Ed Sullivan Theatre in Manhattan as a small group protested David Letterman this afternoon despite Gov. Palin having accepted Letterman's apology for sexually charged jokes he told about her daughter. Estimated protest size: 50 people. The protest was organized by Palin backer John Ziegler at the Web site firedavidletterman.com. EW says there was a small contingent of counter-demonstrators supporting Letterman, along with the usual crowd of people who didn't have tickets for the "Late Show" taping inside the theater. My Fox New York has video from the demonstration. ALSO:
> Letterman rises in ratings as furor over Palin joke rages (Media Decoder blog, NY Times)
VINTAGE BENTLEYS TOUR ALASKA: You may have seen them around Anchorage on Sunday and Monday. The Bentley Drivers Club Alaska Tour reached the city over the weekend and is about to head back down the Alaska Highway. More than 30 cars from all over North America, some valued at over $1 million, left Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 31 for the monthlong tour, reports the Whitehorse (Yukon) Daily Star. Most of the cars are open touring style, making the Southcentral weather a potential challenge. On Monday, several of the cars were driven through the Portage tunnel to Whittier -- no mention of whether the drivers were worried about rock slides, although they were wearing helmets. The Bentley Drivers Club Alaska Tour 2009 has a Web site with a daily journal (flat tires on unpaved roads, mosquitoes, wildlife sightings, forest fires) and an extensive photo gallery.
PALIN SO FAR REJECTS GAY PRIDE MONTH PROCLAMATION (E. Ross, Bent Alaska): "Anchorage PrideFest sent a Pride Month proclamation to Gov. Palin, inviting her to attend the annual Parade & Festival on June 20. Palin has not responded, although she has proclaimed Flag Day, Fishing Week and Auburn Founders Day so far for June. The proclamation asks Palin to declare June as Gay Pride Month and to ‘urge all citizens of Alaska to join me in celebrating diversity by attending, supporting, recognizing and respecting Anchorage PrideFest 2009 activities and events.' " President Obama has already declared June as LGBT Pride Month. Meanwhile, the proposed Anchorage gay-rights ordinance will get its second public hearing tonight. Another big turnout expected.
FAIRBANKS TV BROADCASTERS STRUGGLE WITH DIGITAL RECEPTION (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): "It's been a bumpy ride for some local broadcasters, who saw their coverage area shrink this weekend amid the complicated change to a digital signal. Complaints about disappearing channels and patchy reception were sprinkled throughout outlying parts of the borough. Trouble with the signal from KUAC, the local public broadcaster, seemed especially prevalent. ‘Do not lose hope,' said a KUAC spokeswoman."
PALIN ACCEPTS LETTERMAN APOLOGY FOR JOKES (Alaska Politics blog, Anchorage Daily News): Gov. Palin says she accepts "Late Show" host David Letterman's apology for the jokes about her daughter. The governor, in a statement issued today , said the apology was accepted "on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve." ALSO:
> Palin supporter Ziegler vows to continue fight against Letterman (L.A. Times)
> Did Palin not notice when comedians were making fun of daughter last fall? (Paul Farhi, Washington Post)
> 7 things Palin must do now to be a serious presidential contender (Roger Simon, Politico)
BLOG ORGANIZES FUNDRAISER FOR PALIN LEGAL DEFENSE (The Associated Press, KTUU): Gov. Palin's supporters are holding a webathon to raise money for her legal defense fund. Organizers of Conservatives4Palin say they hope to raise more than $500,000 in a week. Palin has said she has amassed more than that in legal fees while fighting ethics complaints. She also incurred legal fees during last fall's Troopergate investigation into her firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner. ALSO:
> Conservatives 4 Palin founder "seemed offended by my questions," Fagan says (Dan Fagan, The Alaska Standard)
> C4P's Mansour smacks down Fagan and chats with Eddie Burke (Conservatives 4 Palin)
Return to Alaska Newsreader later in the day for new links.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:
Creating a digital Sitka for the movie "The Proposal" (Boston Globe)
Video: Plane crash on Lake Spenard (Dustin Koehler, YouTube)
Towing dead whale gives captain stories to tell (Valdez Star)
Bill McAllister's long, strange year as Palin spokesman (Anchorage Press)
Sardines, salmon or something else? The seafood eater's conundrum (The New York Times)
UAF student survives Outback train ordeal (Sunday Mail, South Australia)
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.