Anchorage Daily News

Cat loses paws, tail, nose to frostbite, but makes it. A cat found under a truck in sub-zero temperatures by a Fort Wainwright worker has paid a heavy price to frostbite, but has survived, according to a Fairbanks Daily News-Miner story. The feline, which has come to be called Popsicle, was the victim of the worst case of frostbite that the treating veterinarian had ever seen and lost its two front paws and other parts, including its tail.

The animal, still recovering in the vet’s office, is available for adoption. “She has a pretty normal life,” said veterinarian Jeanne Olsen. “Though she’ll need some extra care since she can’t really defend herself.”

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Budget battle heats up. A Juneau Empire story today notes that a serious clash between Gov. Sarah Palin and the state Legislature is looking more likely, and the key argument could be over who expanded the budget. “Some legislators are accusing Palin of presenting a budget that looked like it reined in government, but instead had significant spending increases,” the story says.

Palin, though, shot back with a statement released Thursday afternoon in which she objected to the “mischaracterization” of her spending proposals. Her administration expects changes in her proposal, she said, but “we fundamentally disagree that spending is higher than reported, due to some committee members’ arguments over which column the funds are in.”

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“Denning” of wolf cubs on board’s agenda. The Board of Game this weekend will be considering a request from Kuskokwim River region villagers that will allow the killing of wolf cubs in their dens, according to an APRN story . “Denning” has traditionally been used as a means of cutting into wolf predation of moose and caribou.

The practice has been outlawed for decades, according to the story. But proponents argue it’s an efficient way to control wolves and boost prey populations. But foes contend the practice is outdated and barbarous.

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Looking for your wallet? A story in the The Oklahoman reports that workers who were cleaning a canal in downtown Oklahoma City came up with baby strollers, cell phones and toys among the junk. They also came up with a wallet with credit cards and a driver’s license belonging to a man with an Alaska address.

City workers are trying to reach him.

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Gravel hangs in. Mike Gravel, presidential candidate who got attention early in the race for his direct talk and imaginative advertising, isn’t getting much notice these days, but the former Alaska senator says he’s still a contender and today posted a statement on his web site reiterating his call for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Gravel notes he’s talked of impeachment before, but “today I’m announcing my very strong and unqualified support for Impeachment.” He goes on: “When we have a Vice President and President who openly declare they are above the law of the land, above the Constitution, how can we as Americans pretend that we live in a Democracy?”

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“Silly government giveaway.” A Voice of the Times opinion piece today takes a shot at the suggestion that Alaska should distribute some of its budget surplus to individual Alaskans as a way to help people with higher energy costs. “Just because we have the money now does not mean we must spend it — especially when there is no good public purpose being served,” the piece says.

An ADN editorial earlier this week also opposed the payments, contending Alaska will need the money in the future “when times are not so flush.”

Since the original story was published in ADN, the suggested payouts, which could reach $1,000 for each Alaskan, has stirred a ton of reaction. Comments attached to the online version story have sped past 200 and are still climbing.

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Proposal would pick up student-debt tabs. A Fairbanks Daily News-Miner story says that state lawmakers are considering legislation that would pay off tens of thousands of dollars in student debt for Alaskans working in professions with severe shortages. The professions would include health care, engineering and teaching, according to the story, and the payoff could be as much as $37,500.

Backers of the measure contend it would help reverse the “brain drain phenomenon” in Alaska and would help keep skilled workers in Alaska and lure them up here from elsewhere, the story says.

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Fire damages home of “Homer’s Eagle Lady.” A fire this week damaged the Homer Spit cabin of Jean Keene, who has long been known in the community and elsewhere for her feeding of eagle, according to a Homer News story. Keene was not injured and she has moved over to Land’s End Resort, where the general manager said she could stay as long as she wants.

“That's one thing I’ve always been afraid of is fire,” Keene told the newspaper. “… It could have been worse. A lot of people have had worse things happen. There’s no point weeping over stuff that's under the bridge.”

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B.C. mining surges. After struggling for years, British Columbia’s mining took off last year and figures from a new report show it reached an all-time, according to a story in Canada’s Globe and Mail. The rebound brings the industry back with a flourish from the 1990s, when spending sunk to record lows, the story says.

“The demand for metals is largely driven by emerging economies,” said Helmut Pastrick, chief economist with Credit Union Central of British Columbia. “As long as that demand outlook remains good, I would expect mining activity in B.C. would continue to expand.”

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Think all bears are asleep? Think again. Reports of a bear wandering in the Kalifornsky Beach Road area this month has disproved any notion that all bears are curled up somewhere asleep for the winter, a Peninsula Clarion story says. Problem bear calls are not common in the winter, but they come in, Jeff Selinger, wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish, told the paper.

“Periodically throughout the winter (people) see tracks and a trail,” Selinger said. “They can get scared from their den site by snowmachine traffic. The bears that aren’t in real good shape get hungry in the den and don’t go into hibernation.”

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Logging roads likely to close. A Ketchikan Daily News story says the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing the use of motorized vehicles on former logging roads in the Ketchikan/Misty Fiords Ranger District. The review is likely to end with the closing of about 100 miles of roads, according to the story.

“There really is not that much public use of these road systems,” said District Ranger Lynn Kolund. “The primary use, I think, is people taking their ATVs out by boat during hunting season.” The review is being undertaken in response to new federal rules regarding motorized travel in national forests.

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Glacier on the move. Tim Kelley at Outlook Alaska web site has posted some comparison photos of Portage Glacier taken from pretty much the same elevated angle 93 years apart. The first one taken in 1914 and the second one taken in September show how dramatic the changes have been in the glacier and its lake over the decades.

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Celebrating bald eagles. A Skagit Valley Herald story takes note of the arrival of hundreds of bald eagles from Alaska and British Columbia at the Skagit River. The birds migrate to the Washington valley to feast on Pacific salmon after the fish have spawned.

The communities in the region celebrate the event annually with the Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival. The story says the bird count this year has been about average, with 270 recorded in the second week of January.

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Bullets fly; Russian faces deportation. A KIAL story from Unalaska reports that a Russian man who was taking potshots with a .22-caliber rifle from a fishing vessel at a Dumpster on land could face deportation. Yuriy Gureev was charged with assault, among other charges, after fishermen reported they were almost hit by flying bullets while walking in the parking lot.

“Bullets had gone fairly close to people who were walking on the dock or trying to use the payphones,” said Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jennifer Shockley. “We don't have any indication that he was trying to shoot at them, but he was certainly shooting near them.”

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“I am Nanook.” So begins an essay posted on Article LookUp web site. “At least that's what the Eskimos call me. You probably know me better as the polar bear. I also go by the name of ice bear or sea bear.”

And with that, the essay continues on to make a pitch, written from a polar bear’s point of view, for help for the animals facing a threat to their survival from diminishing Arctic sea ice. “Bears drowning, bears being hunted for sport, infants starving, pollution of waters and the animals I feed on, polar bear cannibalism, bears so thin you can see their bones through their fur, bears forced to scavenge around human settlements for scraps of food instead of hunting on the ice packs that were so plentiful once upon a time,” the essay says of the bears’ plight, then urges readers to sign a petition to save polar bears.

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