Anchorage Daily News

Economist: Alaska purchase hasn't paid off for US

Link: Newswise The U.S. paid Russia $7.2 million in gold for Alaska in 1867 -- less than 2 cents an acre. Screamin' deal, right? Wrong, says University of Iowa economist David Barker, who suggests the investment hasn't been worth it for U.S taxpayers. "Cash flow from Alaska to the federal government since 1867 has certainly exceeded the initial purchase price, but this fact is not sufficient to demonstrate the purchase was a sound financial investment," writes Barker. The feds have spent so much money on infrastructure and governing in Alaska over the past 142 years that any financial benefits the territory and state contributed to the U.S. have been vastly overrun by expenses. Barker concedes he hasn't put a value on Alaska's excellent scenery.

Winter shouldn't be death sentence for chickens

Link: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Don't roast your backyard hen this winter just because she's quit laying eggs. Hens stop laying not because of the cold but because of the dark, said Steve Brown of the Cooperative Extension Service at his "Chicken University" class Tuesday in Palmer. The solution: a simple white light. A single 100-watt bulb gives Brown eggs all year, he said. And while you're installing the light, build a perch out of boards instead of a dowel, to help the chickens keep their toes warm. "A chicken with all their toes in Alaska is pretty rare," Brown said.

Bear disarms Cordova hunter but shows mercy

Link: Cordova Times "An ordinary five-minute skiff ride from Cordova to Mud Bay on a deer hunting trip was how a weekend adventure started out for Cordovan Dan Burch," The Times writes. "Once he landed at Mud Bay, however, things went from ordinary to scary in a big, furry hurry." A brown bear rose out of the brush, took Burch's rifle in its mouth and tossed it aside. Burch assumed the fetal position and got batted a few times before the bear left him alone. "I still have the shakes, and it feels like I will never get that huge mouth and those teeth out of my mind," Burch said.

Conan apologizes to Levi; Shatner tries again

FRIDAY UPDATE Link: Entertainment Weekly Conan O'Brien last night apologized to Levi Johnston for a Wednesday "Tonight Show" skit in which actor William Shatner did a 'poetry' reading using lines from a fake Johnston Twitter page. Johnston's lawyer, Rex Butler of Anchorage, demanded a retraction, and Thursday night, after apologizing, O'Brien called Shatner back to perform legit Johnston quotes. Catch the video clip here. In an interview with local station KTVA yesterday, Johnston said he doesn't do social media online: "No. I've never had a Twitter account. I don't know Twitter. I really don't know what it is. I don't have MySpace, Facebook. Yeah, none of that stuff is me."

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Whisker's Alley: Best street name in Alaska?

Link: Turnagain Times Street signs have gone up in the new Percy Hope subdivision near Hope, and the street names beg investigation, writes Maggie Holeman. Even some of the locals don't know who they're named after. Most curious is Whisker's Alley. So who was this "Whiskers" guy?

Grit, searchers' persistence save village woman

Link: The Arctic Sounder Wanda Kippi, secretary at the school in Atqasuk, near Barrow, and mother of eight, sat in her living room with her frostbitten feet up, telling the tale of how she got lost for six days on a hunting trip and walked perhaps 40 miles after her four-wheeler sputtered out, while the village mobilized to search and pray for her. She was eventually found 2 miles from home.

Olympic torch shines light on Gwich'in, Haida towns

Link: Vancouver Sun, Canada With the Vancouver Winter Olympics three months away, the traditional Olympic Torch Relay has been skirting Alaska's border in Western Canada, bringing the spotlight to villages that rarely get media attention. The torch was in the tiny Gwichin village of Old Crow, Yukon, on Wednesday, and villagers -- some in caribou skin clothing -- piled onto snowmachines to lead a half-mile parade. On Tuesday, the torch was in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands, being carried between villages in Haida canoes. Next, the torch is headed to Inuit villages in Canada's Arctic territories.

Alaska tourism industry pleads for marketing money

Link: Juneau Empire Representatives of the struggling Alaska tourism industry sought additional marketing money from the state House Finance Committee on Wednesday. "We all know that you've got to spend money to make money," said Wade Willis of Anchorage's Vision Quest Adventures. Caleb Alderman of Anchorage Trolley was accused by one legislator of threatening the committee when Alderman called for replacing legislators who won't add money to the tourism marketing pot. "Rep. Alan Austerman, R-Kodiak, corrected Alderman, pointing out that the state already provided $8 million to $9 million for marketing," the Empire reports. Alderman then backed off his threat and praised legislators instead.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Demo wins NY-23 seat: A loss for Palin?

The lone bright spot for Democrats in Tuesday's local and state elections was the victory of Bill Owens in the strange off-year race to fill a New York House seat long held by the GOP. Did Sarah Palin and the hard-right wing of the Republican Party overreach by endorsing third-party candidate Doug Hoffman in a moderately conservative district, as Marc Ambinder at CBS argues? Andrea Tantaros of Fox News says Palin "can't run around endorsing unwinnable candidates. She'll lose her political mojo and be labeled a spoiler." Not good for anyone who hopes to run for president. But Erick Erickson at Red State says the campaign was a victory for the GOP grass roots: "We did exactly what we set out to do - crush the establishment-backed GOP candidate." A Hoffman victory would have been just "gravy." Ben Smith of Politico cautions Democrats not to read too much into the Owens victory: "The resurgent conservative movement did show -- to anyone who still doubts -- that it's a ... powerful force." As for Palin herself, she says in her Facebook post today that "the race for New York's 23rd District is not over, just postponed until 2010."

Photos: Orphaned Alaska moose debut at B.C. zoo

Link: Vancouver Province, Canada Visitors to the Greater Vancouver Zoo can now view two male orphan moose that arrived Sept. 10, soon after being separated from their moms in Southcentral Alaska. They have grown to 350 pounds each and will soon be introduced to the zoo's adult female moose, officials said.

Village man rescues son before drowning

Link: KYUK via APRN A resident of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta village of Kotlik tells of watching fellow villager Michael Hunt, 42, drown in icy river water, but not before he saved his 14-year-old son's life. Hunt and his son were riding one snowmobile when they broke through the ice. Another man who came upon the scene afterward saw Hunt push his son up onto a chunk of ice. "That's when he took his last breath and went under," the witness said. He and another man pulled the boy to safety, and villagers later recovered Hunt's body.

Auklets back on Sud Island; marmots must go

Link: Homer Tribune Why in the world did the Alaska Game Commission in 1930 stock Sud Island with hoary marmots? Nobody seems to know, but the effects are well-known: The island's population of rhinocerous auklets was chased off by the big, egg-eating rodents. Now the auklets have returned in small numbers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a marmot eradication program on the island, which is in the Barren Islands group between the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island.

Dipnetting 101: Class proposed to clean up fishery

Link: The Redoubt Reporter Kenai River dipnetter Steve Rasmussen of Eagle River says he'll ask the Alaska Board of Fisheries to institute a test people must pass to get a dipnetting license. But the test would focus more on social obligations than it would on fishing laws. "We do need to take steps to police ourselves before others either police us or eliminate us," says Rasmussen. "As a group, we've become that big of a problem. ... While the great majority of dipnetters are very law-abiding and very respectful, there's a few, I guess you'd say bad apples, that I think are endangering it for all of us." The "problem" he's mainly referring to is the trashing of Peninsula beaches at the mouths of the Kasilof and Kenai rivers by hordes of dipnetters, most of whom are from Anchorage. Rasmussen has taught hunter education classes and is a volunteer instructor for the Department of Fish and Game.

Long sleep costs Anchorage fisherman his net

Link: The Brig State troopers report that an Anchorage fisherman lost his drift gillnet in the Copper River Flats near Cordova sometime while he was napping aboard his boat -- for seven hours. He has a court date this month for not supervising his rig in the August incident.

Name-calling erupts at Assembly over 6-year plan

Link: KTUU Name-calling interrupted Tuesday night's Anchorage Assembly meeting as members debated the city's priorities in Mayor Dan Sullivan's six-year plan and how to pay for them. Assemblyman Bill Starr implied his colleague Sheila Selkregg was a communist for proposing amendments to the plan that included one under the title "Social Equity." "If you think that makes me a communist, I think ... you sound a lot like a McCarthy person," Selkregg responded. The Assembly eventually OK'd Selkregg's amendments, which were promptly vetoed by the mayor because, he said, he'd been given no warning they were coming.

Juneau's new school start times mostly welcomed

Link: Juneau Empire This school year, Juneau is sending its high school kids to class later and its elementary kids earlier, and reaction is mostly positive, officials say. Some teachers say teens seem more alert with the 9:15 a.m. start time instead of the old 8 a.m. start. And in elementary schools, which now start at 8 instead of 9:15, the reaction is similar. But there are more complaints with the later high school start, officials admit. Sports and other after-school activities finish later, pushing back homework and causing some teens to stay up later. And some kids are now working morning jobs. "It's breaking a pattern our city has had for years and years and years -- people are still adjusting to it," said a high school principal.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Eagle River gets Mount Baldy back

Link: Alaska Star Eagle River's favorite mountain is again open for business. After five years of strife involving a developer whose plans cut off access to the Mount Baldy parking lot, the municipality finally completed a road extension and other details and declared the new trail head open. Paragliders are as happy as hikers are: "In the past we were parking on the edge of the narrow road, which wasn't always safe," he said. "Now we have a larger parking area, and that gives us the room we need to load and unload our equipment without having to dodge cars," said Phil Smith of Midnight Sun Paragliding. The dispute was eventually resolved with a three-way land swap approved by voters.

Of caribou and people: A matter of respect

Link: Alaska Dispatch As the trial date approaches for the defendants in the Point Hope caribou slaughter, Dispatch correspondent Seth Kantner of Kotzebue writes of villagers' relationship with caribou and about his own family's dependence on caribou meat. He wasn't surprised by what he heard about the Point Hope case; he saw similar behavior last year when a huge herd came close to Kotzebue. "Out on the ice north of town and beyond a circus was going on. Four-wheelers and snowmobiles were chasing caribou in all directions. Not everybody -- but some -- were getting crazy, shooting crazy. Chasing and shooting big bulls (even though their meat is stinky with hormones in late October, and tastes worse after being run hard.) Shooting cows with calves, chasing everything. It was scary out there on the ice. It was sad. And it was exactly what I had predicted. It was exactly what friends of mine (Native, white, etc.) had predicted with so many animals coming so close to a community. We've seen it before." But, Kantner points out, the behavior is not about race, nor about village life. "Put enough people with enough guns close to enough animals and that behavior can show up. ... It's about lack of respect for the animals and the land. And any color of human is capable of that, none immune."

Journalists' new Palin book includes 'lost' speeches

Link: The Daily Beast It's been widely reported before that the McCain presidential campaign rejected Sarah Palin's plan to deliver a concession speech on election night. "McCain's aides literally turned the lights out on Palin when she retook the stage later that night to take pictures with her family, fearing that she would give the concession speech after all," says "Sarah From Alaska," a new book out today by journalists Shushannah Walshe, formerly of Fox News, and Scott Conroy of CBS News. They've given The Daily Beast copies of the speeches Palin wasn't allowed to deliver -- both victory and concession.

Alaska Public Radio Network: Interview with 'Sarah From Alaska' co-author Walshe

Wall Street Journal: What you need to know from 'Sarah From Alaska'

Washington Post: Reviews of "Sarah From Alaska" and "The Persecution of Sarah Palin"

'Battle of the Blades': Reality show from the rink

Link: National Public Radio Attention, hockey players: Stop fighting and start working on your figures. "Battle of the Blades," one of Canada's most popular reality TV shows, may be coming to the U.S. The show pairs male hockey players and female figure skaters for an icy version of "Dancing With the Stars." Producers in the U.S. and other hockey nations are talking about doing their own versions of the show. Former Montreal Canadien Claude Lemieux says the slow, romantic dances are easier; it's the hip-shakers that make him nervous.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Native corporation runs troubled NY immigration jail

Link: The New York Times A Manhattan immigration jail holding hundreds of men in allegedly filthy conditions without proper access to medical care and legal advice is being operated under a no-bid contract by a subsidiary of the Glennallen-based Alaska Native corporation Ahtna Inc. Lawyers battling for improvement in treatment and conditions for Varick Street Detention Center detainees say they have met with resistance from a warden who once said he had to put the financial interests of 1,200 Ahtna shareholders first.

Southeast towns welcome back ferry LeConte

Link: Juneau Empire After two months without the services of a big state ferry, small Southeast communities are happy to see the LeConte back from its annual maintenance overhaul. This year, though, there was no available state ferry to take the LaConte's place connecting Angoon, Hoonah, Tenakee Springs, Pelican and Sitka to Juneau. Its sister ship, the Aurora, was getting its long-term overhaul at the same time. So the state contracted with Allen Marine of Sitka to run the route, and reviews were generally good -- though one user pointed out that Allen's smaller boats didn't encounter any particularly bad weather, and there were weight restrictions on baggage just as Permanent Fund dividends came out and people wanted to head into Juneau to shop.

Dog rescue leaves owner, responders cold and wet

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A woman was rescued in downtown Fairbanks on Sunday after breaking through ice on the Chena River while trying to save her dog from freezing water. A policeman and firefighter rescued the 57-year-old woman but only after falling through the ice themselves.

Junked cars, trash blight Southeast eagle preserve

Link: Chilkat Valley News A state trooper based in Haines is leading efforts to clean up an old junk car dumpsite in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. "It's been a problem that's gotten worse all summer," trooper Josh Bentz said. "They're starting to stack up in there." The area near the confluence of the Chilkat and Klehini rivers has long been used as a dump for junk cars and broken furniture, locals say, and officials are worried leaking vehicle fluids will contaminate the area's popular salmon-fishing waters. At the same time, Bentz is also trying to get under control a trash problem along the Haines Highway.

Palin weighs in on Virginia governor's race

Link: USA Today Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin jumped into the Virginia gubernatorial race today with a robocall that asks voters to "vote for Sarah's principles" by backing Republican Bob McDonnell. The call, in which the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate says "the eyes of America will be on Virginia," is paid for by the Faith & Freedom Coalition.

The Hill: Rice book may outsell Palin's, poll indicates

N.Y. Times: Biden takes shot at Palin over energy

Huffington Post: Palin enters fray in N.J. governor's race

Do rural Alaska felons need to be gunless for life?

Link: Anchorage Press In rural Alaska, where carrying a gun can be a necessity for food and protection from wildlife, there's no way for reformed felons -- even nonviolent ones -- to get their guns back, the Press writes. The federal gun law could use an Alaska exception, says federal public defender Richard Curtner. "But people convicted of crimes don't have any lobby. There are all kinds of exceptions written into law for banks and for corporations, but when you've done something wrong in your past, there's no lobbyist for that," he says. Felons who have paid their debt can request reinstatement of their right to carry a gun, but the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives hasn't performed the required background checks for 17 years. The situation begs another question: Is any authority in rural Alaska checking felons to make sure they don't own a gun?

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

Oh my gourdness! 319 pounds of Halloween art

Link: Peninsula Clarion Monster pumpkins don't frighten sculptor Joy Falls, an instructor at Kenai Peninsula College. She "jumped at the chance" to carve a 319-pounder donated by J.D. Megchelsen, the Nikiski grower whose giant gourds wow Alaska State Fair visitors each year. Falls even visited the pumpkin while it was still growing in Megchelsen's patch so she could start imagining the face she would carve. You can see the pumpkin from 10:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center, or click the Clarion link above for a couple of photos.

Ongoing Australia oil spill compared to Exxon Valdez

Link: Upstream Online The World Wildlife Fund says a wide range of marine wildlife - including dolphins, sea birds and two species of turtle - is under threat from the 2,500-square-mile oil slick caused by the Aug. 28 Montara drilling rig blowout, which continues to leak oil into the Timor Sea off Australia's remote northwestern coast. The amount of oil spilled so far is a tiny fraction of what was spilled in Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez, but "we know that oil can be a slow and silent killer. Impacts from the Exxon Valdez disaster are still being seen 20 years later, so we can expect this environmental disaster will continue to unfold for years to come," says the WWF. Another attempt to cap the well blowout will be made this weekend.

Levi 'going to court' against Palins over son Tripp

Link: The Guardian (U.K.) Levi Johnston has told a Guardian reporter in Anchorage he's being denied access to Tripp, his 10-month-old son with Bristol Palin, and he'll have to go to court against the Palins over it. (The article includes a 10-minute audio clip from the interview.) "I'm up to the point where I can't see my kid again. I'm done. I'm sure we'll end up in court. We're definitely going to court," said Johnston, 19. Johnston said there had been times when he had been allowed to see Tripp about once a week, but there had also been periods when he had virtually no access. "Everything got bad again. So I said screw them." Sarah Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, responded: "Other than noting that Tripp's father is always welcome to visit his son, we are unable to respond to these allegations as it is inappropriate to discuss child custody matters publicly." The Guardian plans to publish its full interview with Johnston on Saturday.

Homer llamas show animals can experience grief

Link: Psychology Today PT correspondent Marc Bekoff, an evolutionary biologist and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals," writes of the evidence that animals experience emotions, especially grief. He cites the observations of llama owner Betsy Webb of Homer, who watched two of her animals cope with the sudden death of two others. "We carefully hoisted Boone and Bridger over the fence and into the ground, then covered them," Webb wrote. "The other pair, Taffy and Pumpernickel, stood by and watched the entire process quietly. For the next two days, stoic Taffy ... stared at the hole in the ground. Excitable Pumpernickel stayed in his little barn and wailed for two days."

Tough times on the turkey farm

Link: Alaska Dispatch The owner of the poultry farm in the Valley made famous in a Sarah Palin interview filmed as turkeys were being slaughtered behind her says he's trying to hold on through the recession that's killing demand for his premium free-range birds. "We're just hoping we can come out the other end of this thing on an even keel and can get out of debt," says Anthony Schmidt of Triple D Farm and Hatchery. All of his Thanksgiving turkeys are reserved for this year, he says, because he had to cut way back on orders.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

Junk-filled yard: Alaska right or visual pollution?

Link: Homer News The Homer Advisory Planning Commission has unanimously rejected an appeal by a longtime resident challenging a city order that he clean up junk vehicles and other items stored on his residential property between the Spit and Bishop's Beach. "As far as I'm concerned, the Planning and Zoning Department is running the Alaskans out of Homer," property owner Mike Kennedy said. "They're trying to replace us with Santa Barbarans." The city has been battling Kennedy over his property since the 1980s.

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Mayoral candidate's junkyard draws complaint

Instrument of change in FASD battle

Link: Bristol Bay Times Morgan Fawcett, a 17-year-old Tlingit originally from Southeast Alaska, considers himself lucky. Unlike many victims of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, he's aware of his problems. And he's using his strong vocabulary and genius for flute-playing to travel around the country, speaking at events about the lifelong struggle he faces. He gave the keynote address at the First Alaskans Institute Elders and Youth Conference last week in Anchorage.

KTUU: Fawcett speaks at Elders & Youth Conference

Bill Allen just a victim of greedy politicians?

Former Veco Corp. owner Bill Allen was finally sentenced Wednesday for his central role in the Alaska political corruption scandals. One thing few in the courtroom accepted, apparently including Judge John Sedwick, was defense attorney Bob Bundy's contention that Allen was a "sitting duck" for greedy politicians. "I had to restrain myself so I didn't burst out laughing at this characterization," writes a blogger who was there, UAA professor emeritus of public administration Steve Aufrecht. The "sitting duck" line set off a "rapid-fire clacking" from reporters' laptop keyboards, blogger AK Muckraker observed. Allen apparently didn't buy the characterization either, saying in his pre-sentencing statement that he "went over the line, too far" in his dealings with politicians. Anchorage political cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl points out at Alaska Dispatch that the legal "line" wasn't a vague one.

Juneau angler hauls in massive snag of lures

Link: Juneau Empire When a boat anchor didn't dislodge a ball of lures rooted in the bed of Cowee Creek, David Athearn fashioned a makeshift grappling hook, looped it onto the bumper of his SUV and pulled the tangle - which had been deviling anglers all season - from the water.

Iowa Republicans wince at paying for Palin speech

Link: Politico She probably won't accept the invitation anyway, but a conservative group's attempt to lure Sarah Palin to an Iowa speaking engagement with $100,000 cash has the state's Republicans aghast. Politicians normally don't need a cash incentive to speak in the state that hosts the nation's first presidential caucus every four years. "If somebody tells me they want me to pay an appearance fee, it tells me they're not very serious about running for president," said Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief.

Politico: Seller of Palin-autographed Xbox 'out of his mind' on asking price

Politico: Democrats use Facebook to counter Palin

ADN politics blog: 70% in CNN poll say Palin unqualified to be president

The Atlantic: Bloggers take sides in Palin-Johnston smackdown

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

Witness to roadside bear shooting recalls 'fiasco'

Link: Redoubt Reporter The shooting of a brown bear from the shoulder of the Sterling Highway near Cooper Landing three weeks ago -- watched by passers-by who had been photographing the bear as well as two state troopers who were directing traffic -- is still under investigation, says U.S. Fish and Wildlife. But one hunter who witnessed the event was so disgusted by the other hunters' actions that he has gone public with new details of the incident. "I've never seen such a fiasco in my life as this was. I don't know what other words to use, other than just an absolute joke," says Jerry Holly. "I have no trouble with hunting and I'm an avid hunter myself. But if that was hunting, I'm a jet pilot." Most egregious, Holly says, was the shooters' carelessness in aiming as they continued to fire on the bear while it rolled down an embankment and into the ditch. Fish and Wildlife cited one of the hunters for shooting in a closed area and seized the carcass.

Hunter cited after bear killed in front of wildlife viewers

'Haunted Hickory' a Coast Guard fright in Homer

Link: Homer Tribune The Coast Guard is supposed to keep people safe, not scare the pants off them. But the crew of the Homer-based cutter Hickory says it's all about fun every Halloween in a haunted-house fundraiser for the Homer Food Pantry. The crew enjoys getting the ship ready, says Scott McAloon, an organizer. "Typically, a couple of guys each take different parts of the ship and put their own spin on things. We do different themes throughout the boat. You don't come on a haunted ship to not be scared." This year's 'Haunted Hickory' event is Friday night.

Levi on CBS: Holding back 'huge' things about Sarah

Wednesday update with video (CBS): Levi Johnston says he's keeping some "huge" things about Sarah Palin from the public. In Part 1 of a two-part exclusive interview with "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, which aired Wednesday, the father of Palin's grandson says, "There are some things that I have that are huge. And I haven't said them because I'm not gonna hurt her that way. ... I have things that can, you know -- that would get her in trouble, and could hurt her. Will hurt her. But I'm not gonna go that far. You know, I mean, if I really wanted to hurt her, I could, very easily. But there's -- I'm not gonna do it. I'm not going that far." Johnston says he's referring to things Palin did while she was governor of Alaska. Asked whether those actions were illegal or immoral, he refused to elaborate.

Alaska Politics blog: Palin discloses receiving $1.25 million retainer for memoir

Palin got $1.25 million retainer for book while in office

Coast Guard looks at wood as building heat source

Link: Juneau Empire The Coast Guard is looking to move into the realm of heating with biomass products, and the first project it's considering is in Southeast Alaska. The Guard is considering heating its buildings in Ketchikan and Sitka with boilers fired by wood chips, a prospect that could boost the region's struggling timber industry.

APRN: Haines looks at wood to heat borough buildings

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

Stimulus money helps Palmer clean up wastewater

Link: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman A $2.5 million federal stimulus grant is helping give Palmer an upgraded sewage treatment system that will work flawlessly year-round without the use of chemicals. People who live near the facility have complained about the smell, especially in springtime, and the Environmental Protection Agency says there is too much ammonia in the city's discharge into the Matanuska River. The final treatment step is now sterilization of the effluent with ultraviolet light. "The Canadian who installed the light said you can drink [the discharge]. But he didn't, so I won't," city utilities manager John Berberich said.

Out of spotlight, Parnell focuses on energy

Link: The Wall Street Journal Gov. Sean Parnell had to steer WSJ reporter Jim Carlton away from the subject of Sarah Palin during a recent interview. "I thought we were here to talk about what I'm doing," he said. So what's he doing? "Focusing on how to rebuild Alaska's energy-dependent economy, which has been battered by falling oil prices, and jump-starting a proposed natural-gas pipeline project," the WSJ reports. And his poll numbers are startlingly good.

Alaskans join worldwide '350 Day' rallies

Link: Alaska Public Radio Network About 100 Anchorage residents gathered at Kincaid Park on Saturday to chant "We want our snow!" in one of the 350 Day rallies held in 181 countries. The rallies drew attention to increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that most scientists believe is contributing to global warming. The Kincaid Park group posed for a photo -- holding skis, snowshoes, snow shovels and sleds -- that will become part of a worldwide slide show. "The idea was to show these photos, which didn't include any of those languages that might be create barriers, to world leaders ... between now and the [December climate conference] in Copenhagen," said the Anchorage rally's organizer.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26

Fairbanks cabbie says he's logged 7.5 million miles

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Alan Marshall, 81, has been driving a cab in Fairbanks for a long, long time. Fifty-one years, to be exact. More than 7.5 million miles, he claims -- hundreds of miles per shift. He has stories to tell, of course. There was the time late one night in 1984 when he drove President Ronald Reagan and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to an ice cream parlor. No White House staff. No Secret Service. Just Reagan and Weinberger. True story, Marshall swears.

State neglect of Kenai dipnet fishery irks community

Link: Peninsula Clarion The state mandates the popular personal-use dipnet fishery at the mouth of the Kenai River each summer, but it's the city of Kenai that gets stuck with the hassles created by dipnetters, who are mostly from out of town. The city provides portable rest rooms, beach cleanup, medical response, police patrols and traffic control. "We didn't ask for this fishery. ... The state forced it on us," said Councilman Joe Moore last week. "We've been reacting ever since. It's not Kenai's responsibility to manage this fishery." The state responds: "If the city council is concerned, DEC is concerned," said Weld Royal, Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman. "We would welcome suggestions from the city council."

Images and memories of the AFN convention

The Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention wrapped up in Anchorage over the weekend. Wasilla blogger and photographer Bill Hess is commemorating the convention with a series of "Wandering About the AFN" posts with photos and anecdotes. Mudflats blogger AK Muckraker also had camera in hand as she wandered the Denaina Center. "I love when AFN happens and enjoying the happy feeling of those who gather," she writes. "Even though sometimes the topics can be serious, and even sobering, there is an abiding sense of community and closeness. The AFN is like a big friends and family reunion. it's impossible to look around without seeing people smiling and laughing and hugging friends they have not seen since last year." KTUU reminds us that the state's largest gathering of indigenous people will return to Fairbanks next year, depriving Anchorage businesses of a big annual shot of cash. "We'll miss them," said Ronada Hutchins of the Alaska Mint. "Miss the beautiful artwork that we see, miss the excitement and the good times."

ADN coverage of the AFN convention

Hummer limo: Swankiest ride in Bethel

Link: Delta Discovery First, take your shoes off. That's the rule if you want to ride in James Pak's Hummer limousine, the sweetest set of wheels in Bethel. And no booze on board either, he says. A couple of years ago, Pak, a taxi driver, sensed residents were in the mood for fancier vehicles; more owned their own cars and trucks and weren't chartering taxis for special occasions as often as they used to. So he ordered two limos, a Caddy and the Hummer. "Lots of people ask me, why did you bring [the limos] here? There's nowhere to go?" Pak says. But that's not the point: "When people take it, it makes them happy."

Alaska's great wide open: Anything is possible

Link: Smithsonian magazine Correspondent and author Pico Iyer -- "not an outdoors person" -- pays his first visit to Alaska as the state celebrates its 50th anniversary. He determines he has entered "the realm of the possible," a land that almost forces its inhabitants to dream big. "Hours after I touched down, from California, I set my watch back an hour, walked the few small blocks of downtown Anchorage (ending abruptly at a great expanse of water) and realized I was surrounded by Canada, Russia and the Arctic. The unpeopledness and scale of things made me feel as if I had fallen off the edge of the earth, into an entirely otherworldly place like nothing I had ever seen (with the possible exception of Iceland or parts of Australia). ... You don't come to Alaska for its cities, I started to understand, but for everything that puts them in their place." Check the photo gallery here.

Homeless deaths rise, and Anchorage copes

Link: The New York Times A 6-minute video accompanies this Times look at how Anchorage is coping with homeless inebriates under Mayor Dan Sullivan's more aggressive approach, backed up by forced treatment at the Clitheroe Center under the state's Title 47 law. "Involuntary commitment of homeless alcoholics has been used elsewhere in the country," writes The Times. "Some homeless advocates say it infringes on civil rights, and they question its effectiveness. Here in Anchorage, several longtime advocates said the severity of the situation had made them open to giving it a chance."

ADN coverage of Anchorage's homeless

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

Moose doesn't survive fall into backyard pond

Link: Alaska Star A Hiland Road couple and their neighbors tried desperately to save a moose calf that had fallen into their concrete-lined backyard pond in early October. But by the time they dragged her out, after she had spent hours in cold water, she had deteriorated too much to get up and walk away. "The moose's eyes had followed us with an almost eerie calmness, and she had been quite docile during the rescue. She had reacted very little to our activity and touch, almost like she knew we were trying to help," writes homeowner Mary Wasche. Fish and Game biologist Rick Sinnott arrived and, after determining the moose was beyond saving, dispatched her "quickly and humanely."