Anchorage Daily News

WEIRDNESS DOESN'T WAIT ... for the session to begin. A Juneau early responder reports that a digital countdown clock has appeared over the entrance to the governor's third-floor offices. It says "Time to Make a Difference," and it's counting down Sarah's first term -- to the second, which raises several questions: Will it buzz or jingle or shoot off fireworks when it hits 0000:00:00:00? Is there a snooze alarm? And what happens if she decides to run against Uncle Ted? Does it seize up?

There's one at her Anchorage office too.

The second session of the 25th Legislature begins Tuesday.

REST OF THE STORY ... All the news outlets did stories about the dueling Palin/Therriault and Lyda Green fundraisers downtown Wednesday night, so what else is there to say?

Gene's was at the Cook (reportedly raised $32,000) and Lyda's at the Corsair. Didn't you just love Sarah saying she would have gone to Lyda's party too, if only Lyda had asked? As if.

And Lyda's claim that she extended a "verbal invitation" to Sarah? As if. Ear inquired and the governor's office said no one there got an invite, verbal or otherwise.

So what is it with these two? Was there a secret Goddess of the Valley contest and Lyda can't forgive Sarah for being prettier? Is Sarah jealous because Lyda's hair never moves? Yikes.

Whatever, Ear stopped laughing long enough to check in with Mat-Su guru Myrl Thompson, who told the following story:

Myrl was at the Cook on Wednesday with a friend when Ray Metcalfe showed up. Ray's been torqued at Lyda ever since she was quoted saying she saw no evidence of corruption by Ben Stevens when he was in the Senate.

Ray had a copy of his APOC complaint against Ben and was looking to "serve" it so Lyda could no longer claim ignorance, he said later.

You're in luck, said Myrl to Ray, delighted to pour gas on the fire. "My friend here just happens to be a licensed process server."

So the three headed across the street to the Corsair, where Lyda and aide Portia Babcock were greeting well-wishers at the bottom of the stairs. Hi, said Myrl's friend, handing Lyda the papers. "You've been served.

"Thank you," said Lyda.

Figuring she was on automatic pilot from greeting well-wishers, Ray said something like, "No, Lyda. This isn't a good thing."

But it takes more than Ray and a process server to crack a veteran politician's public aplomb.

"Thank you," she said firmly.

HANDS ACROSS THE ABYSS ... Meanwhile, an earwig cruised by the Quarter Deck at the Cook while all this was happening and caught Tony Knowles shaking hands with Ted Stevens. OMG, secret meeting! Conspiracy!

Turns out there was a remembrance party for David Roderick, the Alaska Railroad attorney who died Dec. 4. Lots of notables from both parties were there, said David's brother, former Anchorage Mayor Jack Roderick.

DISCONNECT ... Maybe this is why there haven't been any new indictments yet. From an Associated Press story that moved over the wires Thursday:

"Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time. A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said.

" 'We also found that late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence,' according to the audit by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.

"More than half of 990 bills to pay for telecommunication surveillance in five unidentified FBI field offices were not paid on time, the report shows. In one office alone, unpaid costs for wiretaps from one phone company totaled $66,000. The FBI did not have an immediate comment."

OUT OF PRINT ... The Alaska Budget Report is suspending its subscription-only weekly, published during the legislative session and relied on by political insiders for detailed information about government innards.

Editor/reporter Rebecca Braun is expecting a baby any day and has decided the two jobs are one job too many. She says she hopes to resume publication in 2009.

FLYING FACTOID ... Oil industry watchdog Rick Steiner recently submitted a Freedom of Information request to state Fish and Game for public records regarding the listing of polar bears as endangered. He wanted the records "to see how politics influenced their position to oppose the listing," Rick said in a note.

F&G Commissioner Denby Lloyd wrote back that the fee for what Rick wanted would be $468,784.

Rick, a prof at UAA, said he's going to ask if they'll accept his IOU.

Denby gently suggested Rick might want to narrow his search request. Rick not so gently suggested it was obstructionism by Palin, who has said publicly she doesn't think polar bears should be listed.

ANSWER/QUESTION ... Yes, that's Pete Kott's lovely model daughter in those TV commercials, selling Sav-on Flooring. And, no, Ear did not know she was pregnant. Dad asked last week to delay reporting to federal prison until after Jan. 21, her due date.

NOTE FROM HOME ... An earwig wrote on Thursday:

"This evening, while watching a program called 'Naked Science' on the NATGEO channel, my husband and I were astounded to learn that the 1964 earthquake 'leveled the Alaskan capital of Anchorage.' "

Write your own joke, darlings.

FLYING FACTOID ... Along with its letters to Sarah, full-page ads and that $5 million gift to Providence Alaska Medical Center last week, Conoco Phillips was handing out chocolate candy imprinted with its logo. Darlings, they must really want in on the pipeline.

WAY TOO NEW AGE ... Especially for a notice of delayed shipment from a company that sells women's underwear in catalogs designed for men.

An earwig got this note from Victoria's Secret: "We experienced issues during the processing of your most recent order. As a result, we were unable to ship some of your items at this time. We truly apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience this may have caused."

Alors, it's official: everyone has issues.

Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Find Ear online at adn.com/ear.

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