Alaska Ear

For those who don't remember, the whales' plight caused a big international stink and a Russian icebreaker eventually "freed" them. Barrymore plays a Greenpeace activist and Krasinski plays a "small town newspaper reporter." (Not as small a town as Barrow, Ear bets.)

Earwigs who talked to the scouts said they were interested in Rick Mystrom's big house at Finger Lake.

Hmmm. Do they think Finger Lake looks like the Slope? And, at the risk of seeming negative, does anyone think they're really going to shoot the film here?

SEAL WATCHER WANNABES ... With Gov. Parnell looking like a sure thing in the August primary (assuming he doesn't blow his lead like he did in the race against Don Young two years ago), the real fight, ergo the real fun, is the Republican primary race for lite governor, which now promises a third contender.

Best known as a longtime aide to the late Wally Hickel, former DEC Deputy Commissioner Mead Treadwell has switched his original interest in the governor's race to the lite gov's job, a nod to Parnell's seemingly unbeatable numbers. He joins Rep. Jay Ramras, a Fairbanks hotelier, and right-wing ex-radio mouth Eddie Burke on the ballot, with perhaps more to come.

He's only filed a letter of intent, one step shy of declaring candidacy, but Treadwell resigned from his job as chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission last week to "avoid any conflict of interest as I prepare to seek statewide public office in Alaska." The chances of a conflict seem pretty certain, given that the commission job is a presidential appointment, meaning he works for President Obama, and he's running for office as a Republican.

The big question is, does Treadwell have the chops to satisfy the ongoing hunt for a lite gov candidate Parnell can stand to run with in November? Or a candidate right-centrist Republicans want to vote for? Not everyone thinks the answer is yes. Word is Sen. Linda Menard from the Valley is still thinking about jumping in. She'd have the Palin crowd behind her. And where is Loren Leman? He's actually held the job. And how do more candidates affect the fortunes of front-runner Ramras?

Stay tuned. There are three weeks left to file.

UN-ANCHORED ... Word is KTVA anchor Dianne Baker is leaving us in late May, headed to Montana where her fiancé lives. She's been here almost two years.

BUMPER SNICKER ... Seen on a car with Alaska plates: "SHE DOESN'T SPEAK FOR ME!"

She? Who could that be?

Yeah, there's still only one "She." She who was governor. She who just got named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people.

ON THE MOVE ... Candace Winkler, currently head of thread , the organization formerly known as ChildCare Connection, is the new CEO of the Alaska Community Foundation, a $40 million fund that hands out money to various good causes around the state.

FLYING FACTOID ... Did any of the news stories about the woman killed in that awful head-on collision last week in Wasilla mention that she was once married to Alaska's most famous Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten? She was his wife after Sarah's sister, Molly McCann, and was subsequently divorced from him.

IT'S THE NEW 35 ... Radiomouth Dan Fagan will celebrate his 50th birthday in style, if his friends have any say. Invitations are out to a big party Friday . Celebrants are urged to show up with a toast or a roast. (Ear thinks they mean teasing jokes, not a leg of lamb.)

OUT AND ABOUT ... May 22 is shaping up as a good day around town for things literary and cultural.

Writers Andromeda Romano-Lax and Deb Vanasse signed a lease on May 4 for that cute house downtown on L Street next to Snow City Café for their 49 Alaska Writing Center. They're calling it Raven Place. The plan is to lease it during the summer as a tourist guesthouse and use that money to support workshops, classes and other activities for writers all year. They're having a $100-a-ticket fundraiser on May 22 with Heather Lende, celebrating the opening of the center and Heather's new book, "Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs."

Also on May 22, Your Favorite Good Morning Newspaper launches its all-about-Anchorage city magazine, called 61º North. Subscribers will get it with their paper. Others can find it around town.

May 22 is the official opening of the Smithsonian's new Arctic Research Center with an amazing exhibit showcasing 600 Native artifacts never seen here. The center is in the new wing of the Anchorage museum. The artifacts have been stored in the attic of the Smithsonian from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

REST IN PEACE ... Wally Hickel. Thank you for everything.

Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Read Ear online at www.adn.com/ear. Message Sheila at 257-4341 or ear@adn.com.