Alaska Ear

DUH ... Oh no! The tea partiers figured out Mead Treadwell isn't a right-wing wacko after all and refudiated their endorsement of him for Lite Gov Wednesday. Maybe Mead wasn't entirely forthcoming about having supported Sen. Lisa, whom the tea people have taken a bizarre dislike to?

And yet, they still refuse to endorse Eddie Burke, who has really earned their support, who is one of them and would certainly defend the state seal with his last loaded gun.

Go figure.

If you feel the need to know facts, the story is at adn.com on the politics blog.

GOING, GOING ... It looks like the predictions about Channel 4 (Fox) and Channel 13 (ABC) merging their news operations are true. Long-time KIMO news director Ty Hardt is out and Trill Gates, aka Kitty Fox, has taken over as news director for both stations. Word is Fox will expand its half-hour 9 p.m. newscast to an hour in the fall.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD ... as we know it, Sylvia Nola Rose Kinneen, daughter of Orso's executive chef Rob Kinneen and wife Carolyn, who works at Institute of the North. Sylvia was born Monday at Providence. Mom reports everyone is healthy and happy. And presumably well fed.

HELP WANTED ... Wild Bill Wichrowski, captain of the fishing vessel Kodiak, says he has an opening and hopes to fill it with someone who lost a job due to the Gulf oil disaster. The Kodiak is one of the boats chronicled on TV's "Deadliest Catch."

Capt. Bill says it's not a contest, just a job for a qualified person interested in being the "greenhorn" aboard for the upcoming king crab season. Applicants should be in their 20s with a work history and references, plus a photo and a "paragraph about how you were affected by the BP oil spill." Mail an application no later than Aug. 20 to Capt. Wild Bill, c/o Peter Pan Seafoods, P.O. Box 1027, Valdez 99686.

There's a video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=86wWoCms PY8.

KUDOS ... Really, darlings, was everyone too busy with the World Cup to notice that Anchorage middle/high school girls beat everyone to win the under-15 division at the Schwan's USA Youth soccer tournament in Minnesota? Earwigs who kick balls say it's the biggest youth soccer event in the known universe. The two winning goals in the final game were scored by Haley Martin (Dimond H.S.) and Anna Sophia Roberts (West H.S.).

CELEBRATE REALITY ... Twits tweeted and texts tied up the blogosphere Wednesday as everybody in Anchorage messaged everybody else in Anchorage to say reality show star Kate Gosselin (does she still use his name?) and her eight children were in town. A couple of earwigs ran into the horde on the Alyeska tram and a national blog claimed a picnic with Sarah was on the agenda.

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