Alaska Ear

So what will the Levi show be called? Alas, his manager, attorney Rex Butler, regretfully declined comment. Can't say anything about anything, he explained.

MORE OR LESS REAL . . . As long as we're talking about people making money off the Palins, there's a TV movie coming, based on the 2010 best seller "Game Change," a tell-all about the McCain-Palin presidential campaign. HBO announced that Julianne Moore, a real and accomplished actress, will play Sarah. Moore, 40, has been nominated four times for an Academy Award. Her last film was "The Kids are All Right."

This is the book that made Sarah look like an emotionally defective twit, so, no surprise, she told FOX News she's not thrilled about the production. On the other hand, she said in a flash of humor, she supports job creation and is happy to provide "job security" for people "who pretend like they are me." She said she wishes some of them would use the money they make to pay for her kids' braces.

One person who is happy about the film is Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, where work on the project begins this spring. He told NBC the production will create 1,800 jobs in his state.

AND YET ANOTHER . . . Juneau earmites say Bristol Palin was in town last week, reportedly to visit a new boyfriend there.

OUT AND ABOUT . . . Was that once-upon-a-time Sen. Jan Faiks, R-Gucci, making an appearance in the Capital City after a very long absence? Earwigs say she came for the Bettye Fahrenkamp Legislative Putting Tournament. It's a charity thing. The Llama Llady left us in the early 1990s after losing her seat in a contested primary.

Bill Yardley of The New York Times was also in Juneau "asking people if we're 'undoing Palin's legacy' by repealing ACES, AGIA, etc.," according to one earwig.

ROSE-COLORED GLASSES? . . . A press release from Mark Begich's D.C. office Thursday about his seat on an Armed Services subcommittee contained the following "quote" from The Boy Senator:

"Alaska's unique positioning and the constant threat to our national security from rouge nations makes Alaska's military bases more important than ever."

Rouge nations. Hmmmm. Are those the red ones on the big wall map? Countries that use too much makeup? Foreign places Sarah can see from Lake Wasilla?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK . . . An earwig reports spotting former Gov. Bill Sheffield making the rounds in Washington, D.C., presumably on behalf of the Port of Anchorage (which Bill is in the process of expanding by filling in parts of Knik Arm with public money). To an inquiry, Bill answered:

"Yes, been here all week. For Lent this year I'm giving up earmarks."

REAL LIFE . . . Connie Jones, a former head of muni Culture and Recreation, now a priest at St. Mary's Episcopal Church here, has been undergoing kidney dialysis for months and months, hoping for a new kidney. Earwigs report a friend and parishioner has volunteered to give Connie one of hers. It's one of those amazing positive stories that often escape public notice. Ear is told the transfer is set for Seattle. Insurance pays medical expenses, but that's all. Call the church if you'd like to help.

COMING SOON . . . The U.S. Census Bureau says it will release new Alaska population numbers next week. So let's see: That means the Reapportionment Board has 30 days from then to draw new voting district lines, and then more than a year to fight about them in court before re-drawing them.

LOOKING BACK . . . A seven-page "memoir" by former state Republican Sen. John Sackett is making the rounds. (You can find it on a UAF website by Googling.) Its purpose is not obvious but Ear was excited to get a copy. Sackett was a serious mover and shaker in Juneau during the 1970s and 1980s, for years chairman of the ever-powerful Senate Finance Committee while oil money was pouring in. This is someone who knows where all the bodies are buried and how all the deals were done.

Alas, instead of a tell-all, it's a tell-not-much about politics. The narrative about Sackett's youth along the Koyukuk River is interesting, but written in the reserved, detached manner that characterized his demeanor in office. The rest is basically a list of his accomplishments. An intelligently written, for-the-record short take on his life.

Sackett was plagued by a bad back and says he needed 10 surgeries to fix it. But at 66, he reports, "Life is good."

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