Whitekeys shows canceled: "Whale Fat Follies," a one-of-a-kind Alaska variety show hosted by local personality Mr. Whitekeys, was scheduled to run from June 24 through Aug. 21 at the Tap Root Public House in Anchorage. However, according to the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, all summer shows have been cancelled due to "a personal emergency in the cast." If you purchased tickets with a credit card they've already been refunded, but if you need assistance call CenterTix at 907-263-2787 (ARTS).
Cooling down the terminal: Valdez saw record high temperatures Monday, leaving many people in the coastal community melting; it also left the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal looking for ways to cool down. The marine terminal -- the end of an 800-mile long pipeline system that transports crude oil from Alaska's North Slope onto tankers -- was shut down for 4 1/2 hours Monday night as a precautionary effort to cool down according to Alyeska spokeswoman Katie Pesznecker. She said it was unusual for the terminal to shut down because of high heat, but that the only impact was a tanker leaving the terminal later than scheduled.
Recycle the dead trees: Hoarding phone books for the zombie apocalypse? Reconsider: Most people are too busy investing in bitcoin and Facebook e-shops -- or having Siri dial the library -- to bother with brick-and-mortar listings in a book too bulky to wield and too flimsy to stand alone. Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) is offering yellow pages recycling this weekend at Anchorage's summer solstice festival. After that, drop the bulky books at most any Carrs grocer in town. Then resolve to opt out of the yellow pages recycling racket next year by clicking here.
I'll be watching you: NASA's Earth Observatory on June 17 captured a rare satellite view of Alaska -- one with hardly any clouds. "The south coast of Alaska even has the dubious distinction of being the cloudiest region of the United States," NASA wrote with the photo, "with some locations averaging more than 340 cloudy days per year." But Alaska has been experiencing a statewide heat wave thanks to a high pressure front that seems to be camped out above the state's Interior. As a result, the Last Frontier has been much clearer than usual (aside from the forest fire smoke, that is). Check out the photo below.
No surprise: Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan has announced his intent to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2014, just one day after current Lite Gov. Mead Treadwell said that he would make a move for U.S. Senate next year. Sullivan had previously filed for statewide office, but hadn't specified which office he would run for. He'll have at least one other challenger in the primary: State Sen. Lesil McGuire has similarly said she'll take a stab at the seat that will be vacated by Treadwell.
Sandbar Mitchell airplane project: Attempts to resurrect an old warbird, long sunk in the Tanana River up near Fairbanks, Alaska, are moving forward. Patrick Mihalek of Michigan has been raising funds to pull the "Sandbar Mitchell," a B-25 Mitchell bomber, from the Interior Alaska river in order to relocate the plane to a museum. Mihalek has met his fundraising goals, he recently announced on Facebook, and a team is en route to Alaska to begin fieldwork.
Tongass bill moves forward: Sealaska, the largest of the 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations, is one step closer to obtaining a fraction of the Tongass National Forest, as the Southeast Alaska Native Entitlement Finalization and Jobs Protection Act was unanimously adopted by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday. Through an executive order in 1907, Native lands were divided without negotiation, creating the 16.8-million-acre national forest, but passage of the act would finalize a land claim adopted by U.S. Congress in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, according to Sealaska. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said no legislation is perfect, but commended the committee for producing such careful legislation agreeable to both sides. The bill should move to the full Senate for consideration soon.