TROUBLE IN PARADISE? . . . Proof that there is still gossip when the sky is dark and the Legislature is unplugged. The marriage of a relatively high profile legislative staff couple is reportedly in trouble. The source of this rumor? She changed her Facebook status to "It's complicated."
NO GO . . . Friends report Mike Miller has decided against a run for the Legislature next year. Mike (of the North Pole/Santa Claus Millers) was president of the Senate back in the late 1990s.
JUST KIDDING, DARLINGS . . . Did Ear really say "The Frozen Ground" movie people rounded up a stray street moose for a scene where the heroine, played by Vanessa Hudgens, has a surprise encounter with our favorite ungulate in a downtown alley? Surely not. Of course, the extremely conscientious production crew jumped through all the required hoops and permit requirements and signed Jack from the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center to play the part of "Moose." And did Ear suggest Jack had a diva moment and charged someone? Mais non! Perhaps an accidental encounter with a light pole and the resultant commotion excited him a bit, but he was soon calmed by his oh so professional handlers. OK, we all friends now?
STACKED DECK . . . The new edition of the "Alaska Outlaws" playing cards is out with, as usual, a couple of timely additions: Those Alaska Peacekeepers Militia lunatics and their leader, Schaeffer Cox, are the Jack of spades and Jack of diamonds, respectively. Michele Linehan, currently unconvicted of murder pending a new trial, is back as the Queen of hearts, and Sarah, the Queen of clubs.
A new card that caught Ear's attention is Pillow, the city's most famous stripper back in the '70s and '80s, now a sedate married artist and charity volunteer (OK, not that sedate). Anyhow, she is described as working at the Bush Company, lap dancing, and having appeared in a movie called, "A Low Down Dirty Shame." None of this sounded quite right, especially since Ecdysiast Ear actually saw her dance at PJ's in the mid '80s. So Ear read the card to Pillow, who declared her "knickers in a bunch" over the misinformation. She never worked at the Bush Company, she was known for never giving lap dances and the movie "Pillow" was an alleged imposter who Pillow says she sued.
Oh well. Apart from that, the cards are fun stocking stuffers.
GOOD NEWS . . . Friends of Rep. Mike Hawker report he got a one-year-after clean bill of health from docs at the Mayo Clinic. That's one year after local docs told him his prostate cancer would kill him within a year, according to Mike.
KUDOS . . . Earwigs report a David Holthouse story about white supremacists in Montana, picked up by the WSJ Online, has attracted the attention of NPR's "Here and Now," which is scheduled to air an interview with David about it on Monday. The show is on KSKA, from 9 to 10 a.m. David produces the Alaska Humanities Forum magazine when he's not reporting and writing other stuff.
ON THE ROAD . . . An earwig with the necessary political savvy to get the reference reports seeing the following personalized license plate holder in Anchorage recently: "Not Guilty . . . Get 'er done." Where exactly is Pete Kott these days?
ON THE MOVE . . . Daily News political reporter Sean Cockerham is leaving Anchorage for the McClatchy bureau in D.C., where he will cover Washington happenings for the Daily News and McClatchy's Boise paper. He's been with the ADN off and on since 2002.
Bobbi Quintavell is the new chief operating officer of Doyon Ltd., replacing Aaron Schutt, who recently became president and CEO. Quintavell is former president of the Barrow-based Arctic Slope Regional Corp.
Penny Gage, who sandwiched two years in Nicaragua with the Peace Corps between stints at the Rasmuson Foundation will become a staffer for Sen. Bert Stedman. She's a niece of legendary lobbyist Sam Kito.
NO COMMENT . . . Don Young, Congressman for All Alaskans Who Voted for Him, announced he's moved his office to B Street, south of Tudor, to save taxpayers "thousands of dollars" and provide constituents with free parking.
Former Rep. Tom Anderson, free and hosting a radio show after serving his stretch in federal prison for a minor role in the late, great corruption saga, is a guest on the Shannyn Moore's TV show this weekend. His show is called "Ethically Speaking." (It airs from 5 to 6 p.m. on KOAN Fox Newstalk.)
Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Message Sheila at ear@adn.com or 257-4341. Find Ear online at www.adn.com/ear.
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