Alaska Ear

According to the Ketchikan Daily News, those Republicans annoyed at Rep. Kyle Johansen for squandering his leadership juice for love have decided to go ahead with a recall effort. "District 1 has been embarrassed by (Johansen's) irresponsible, juvenile behavior, and (he) has lost the trust and confidence of his constituency," says the recall application.

Johansen is fighting back. He said his constituents didn't get any less pork in the capital budget than usual and his district wasn't punished for his self-destructive efforts to get a committee appointment for his hot love, Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, other than him being frozen out of boring majority caucus meetings. (OK, that's not exactly how he put it, but you get the idea).

Outcasts Millett and Johansen formed the Love Caucus for the session and it's unclear if things will change when the Legislature reconvenes in January. (OK, maybe Ear formed the Love Caucus for them, but you get the idea).

The recall people say Kyle promised he would be back in the majority caucus before the end of session, but wasn't.

All the fuss of a recall seems like wasted money and energy to Ear. Johansen has one year to go in his term so why don't the Republicans just off him in a primary?

HE'D RATHER SPIT . . . Legislators aren't the only amusing politicians. A well-placed earwig reports Gov. Parnell slipped out of the Capitol late last Saturday for an evening dentist appointment. "The governor thought a root canal would be less painful than watching another Senate Majority press conference."

END AND BEGINNING . . . Well darlings, when earwigs said Deborah Williams had resigned as executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, the Divine Appendage thought that was interesting news. But, it turns out, not nearly as interesting as news that Williams is getting married this weekend to Department of Interior engineer Rance Wall. A private Hillside ceremony was planned for Saturday.

If you want to know how they met, you'll have to ask her. You'll never guess and Ear promised not to tell.

Williams headed the Interior Department in Alaska during the Clinton administration and ran the Alaska Conservation Foundation after that. She leaves the Dems after two years as executive director. No word yet on her successor.

PASSAGES . . . Mike Gordon, owner of Chikoot Charlie's and prominent figure in the local liquor and restaurant business community, graduated Friday from the University of San Francisco with a BA in politics (a minor in philosophy). In a phone call from SF a couple of hours after the ceremony, Mike, who is 68, said it was one of the happiest days of his life.

Mike said he dropped out of college in 1963, with just one semester between him and a degree, and always "felt incomplete." He took advantage of the university's online courses to complete the missing 17 credits while running his businesses, and racked up a 4.0 GPA, he said. "And the professors didn't cut me any slack." Congrats!

ON THE MOVE . . . After 40 years in Alaska, including 21 years at the old Capri movie house and 11 at the Bear Tooth, Rand Thornsley is moving to Washington state. Earwigs say Rand has bought a theater in Camas, Wash. It's a classic old place, built in 1927, called the Liberty Theatre.

ALSO MOVING . . . The Homer Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director: Monte Davis, of the musical duo "JoAnn and Monte." And how cool is that! He's been the membership and advertising manager for the Alaska Travel Industry Association since 2009 and an Alaskan since 1970.

Sharon Leon, long-time director of the Anchorage Youth Court, is retiring after 22 years. This is one of those programs that quietly makes a difference in kids' lives, day in and day out, year in and year out. She'll be missed.

OOPS . . . Speaking of Fairbanks, Ear apologized to Rep. Bob Miller, D-Fairbanks, for incorrectly making him an R in last week's column. Only for a little while online but it's hard to pick up all those papers on doorsteps and fix something.

WAIT WAIT . . . A spokeswoman for UAF Summer Session says they still have some $40 tickets available for the live taping of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" on Aug. 11. Call 866-404-7021, 8-5, Monday to Friday.

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