Bethel police officer cleared in killing of family's loose dog (KYUK): An internal investigation by Bethel police has concluded an officer followed proper procedure when he shot a pet dog after it became aggressive.
Man admits he shot the wrong bear in Bear Valley (Alaska Dispatch): Brian Garst of Wasilla shot and killed a sow with three cubs in Bear Valley because he thought it was a boar that had been "tearing up" his girlfriend's house. Never mind that moose meat left out in the yard. The Detroit Zoo got the cubs.
Kodiak sees big decline in self-defense killing of bears (KMXT): Just one bear has been killed in defense of life or property this year in the Kodiak area. Normally, the number is 15 to 20. A biologist says a good wild berry crop might have kept bears away from the city.
ADN advised to abandon anti-Fairbanks rhetoric (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): "It's easy for reporters in any town to latch on to a simple idea and trot it out whenever they need a line that requires no thinking. That's what happens when the Daily News reprints cliches about how bad things are in Fairbanks," writes columnist Dermot Cole.
Photo essay: "Stranded" polar bears of Alaska's Barter Island (Guardian, U.K.): Freelance journalists Will Rose and Kajsa Sjölander photographed polar bears in Kaktovik left on land by receding summer ice as part of a multimedia project documenting the impact of climate change and resource exploration in the Arctic.
Book by Anchorage journalists tells history of Alaska's oil-and-politics stew (Alaska Public Radio Network): "Crude Awakening," a new book by Tony Hopfinger and Amanda Coyne of Alaska Dispatch, grew out of the Alaska political corruption scandal. See reviews here and here. Read an excerpt from the book here.
Kodiak overtakes Homer as top halibut port (KBBI, Homer): The Alaska halibut season ended with Kodiak in the No. 1 slot for halibut landings. Kodiak bests usual No. 1 Homer for the first time since the Individual Fishery Quota system was established in the mid-1990s.
Alaska's first pizza factory opens in Homer (Homer Tribune): The owner of Starvin Marvin's Pizza became the first person in Alaska history to get a USDA license to sell pizzas to grocers.
Palin leaning toward Gingrich endorsement, associates say (RealClearPolitics): Sarah Palin is likely to endorse a GOP presidential candidate early in the race, and she's leaning toward Newt Gingrich, reports Palin watcher Scott Conroy. But her advisers wouldn't promise that she won't change her mind and do something completely unpredictable. Newt shouldn't get his hopes up.
Thanksgiving memories: Palin pardons a turkey
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