Theory: Meteorite lured Inuit ancestors across Arctic

Link: Canwest News Service One of Canada's top archaeologists argues in a new book that the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit probably migrated rapidly from Alaska across the Canadian north in just a few years -- not gradually over centuries -- after they learned about a rich supply of iron from a massive meteorite strike on Greenland's west coast. "We may have been led astray by the deeply rooted archeological tendency to ascribe different sets of motives and different cultural processes to aboriginal peoples than we apply to Europeans or other societies with a written record of individual accomplishment," Robert McGhee writes.

Video: Google debuts Street View snowmachine

Link: Engadget Just in time for the Winter Olympics, Google has mounted its Street View cameras on a snowmachine for a cruise though Whistler, British Columbia, the ski village north of Vancouver that's hosting some Winter Olympics events. Google even turned the snowmachine loose on the vast Whistler-Blackcomb ski slopes. This might be just the thing Google needs to get Alaska's rural communities into the Street View world.

World-renowned Gwich'in writer dead at 88

Link: The Globe and Mail (Canada) Alaska-born Gwich'in elder Edith Josie, whose long-running Yukon newspaper column drew worldwide attention to her culture and eventually earned her a profile in Life Magazine and entrance to the Order of Canada, has died at 88 in her home village of Old Crow. Josie was born in Eagle and moved across the border to Old Crow with her family in the 1940s. Her column, "Here Are the News," was written in English -- and widely translated -- but with Gwich'in syntax, which was wisely left untouched by her editors at the Whitehorse Daily Star, notes B.C. columnist Jack Knox in a tribute to Josie. Here's a sample from a 1963 column: "Even now the spring has come cause it is daylight around 11 o'clock p.m. Pretty soon we won't use light for night time. Everyone glad to see plane every day. Even the same plane come in one day, they all have to go down to see what is going on and what come in on plane." The Edmonton Journal has published many more samples here.

Palin rolls with punches over palm notes

Link: The New York Times Responding to Monday's flap over her reliance on notes written on her hand during a National Tea Party Convention Q&A on Saturday, Sarah Palin dismissed the criticism as a typical left-wing attack on her -- and then displayed her hand with "Hi Mom" written on it during a campaign appearance in Texas with Gov. Rick Perry. Today in D.C., White House press secretary Robert Gibbs took a poke at Palin (video included) and her notes by displaying a list of words on his hand: "I wrote eggs, milk, bread," Gibbs joked, adding that he crossed out one item and replaced it with "hope" and "change" -- a reference to Palin's pointed "hopey changey" jab at the president in her Tea Party convention speech.

Alaska's first car goes on the road again

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A handmade 1905 car, thought to be Alaska's first, is being moved today from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum of the North to the city's Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum for eventual display and some restoration work. The car was built in Skagway with available materials -- including a boat engine -- by Robert Sheldon, based on magazine illustrations.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8

Palin's weekend closeups: Tea Party and 'palm pilot'

In the wake of Sarah Palin's speech Saturday at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, the movement's factions continue to debate whether she and the convention captured their spirit. The speech was well-received by the audience, which chanted "Run, Sarah, Run." But a Nashville Post blogger says Palin's speech was, plain and simple, self-serving. "Palin didn't give a tea party speech last night. She gave a partisan Republican address. It was a purely political speech designed to position her for a presidential run in 2012 or 2016. Period. She wasn't there to celebrate the organic nature of a movement she had nothing to do with creating. She was there to co-opt the name and claim the brand as hers. And she did." Continued after jump

Skagway disputes Yukon mine's shipping plans

Link: CBC.ca Port authorities in Skagway want to know why owners of a proposed Yukon zinc mine are choosing to ship ore through a British Columbia port instead. Yukon Zinc Corp. has indicated it will transport zinc, lead and copper concentrate from its Wolverine site near Ross River, Yukon, by truck to a port in Stewart, B.C., where it will be shipped to smelters in Asia. But officials in Skagway say their port is half the distance of Stewart as well as substantially closer to Asia. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell says he has no influence on the company's shipping plans.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5

Raven gown that wowed pageant judges flies coop

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A stylized Raven totem gown worn in 1971 by Miss Alaska and named best gown in that year's Miss Universe pageant is missing, and its designer would like to find it. Leah Clemmons Madonna hopes to see her creation go on display in honor of Alaska Natives at the Fairbanks visitors center. But first, she's hoping whoever has the gown will step forward. Miss Alaska Kathy Hartman wore the gown, which included a raven headdress and animal motifs based on Southeast totem poles. If you know anything about the gown's whereabouts, check the article for Madonna's contact information.

Green firewood: A chimney sweep's view of danger

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A Fairbanks chimney cleaner has given the News-Miner photos of some of the most creosote-clogged chimneys he's recently seen in hopes of preventing death by chimney fire. It's a problem Charlie Whitaker says is getting worse as dry firewood gets harder to come by in the city. Besides clogging chimneys, wet firewood has been blamed for a good part of Fairbanks' intractable winter air pollution problem. Whitaker is calling on the Fairbanks borough to distribute wood moisture meters to homeowners so they can check wood before buying it and stoking the stove.

Researchers set to study Alaska eagle migration

Link: Turnagain Times Where do Turnagain Arm bald eagles go in winter? Where do Homer's famously overfed eagles go? Where do the thousands of bald eagles that visit Haines each autumn go? Nobody knows, because not a single member of those eagle populations has ever been banded or tracked, says Fish and Game. But next year, finally, the American Bald Eagle Foundation will begin a satellite-monitoring program to track eagles from Haines.

Video: A day with Levi Johnston and baby Tripp

Link: Entertainment Tonight "I think [Tripp] looks more like me," Levi Johnston tells ET. "Everyone I've talked to says he looks more like me." ET spent a day with Johnston and his year-old baby, Sarah Palin's grandson, in Alaska recently, and they say they'll air more video today.

Business leaders to politicians: Give us a break

Link: KTUU Alaska business leaders gathered in Anchorage on Thursday for an admittedly partisan luncheon -- organized by talk-radio host Dan Fagan -- aimed at calling attention to what they see as a hostile business climate in Alaska. "It's not just oil and gas. We seem to be at war with people that invest in this state," said Ralph Samuels, a Republican candidate for governor. Lobbyist and consultant Jim Lottsfeldt was more personal: "Juneau is filled largely with people that wanted to be on prom court royalty and didn't make it in high school and this is their way of being popular again."

Palin e-mails reveal a powerful 'first dude'

Link: msnbc.com E-mails obtained from the state of Alaska under public records law show that Todd Palin was deeply involved in state business while his wife was governor. Copies of about 1,200 e-mails -- some sent on private accounts -- show that he was "involved in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments, and passed financial information marked 'confidential' from his oil company employer to a state attorney," writes msnbc.com's Bill Dedman. The released e-mails also expose "behind-the-scenes preoccupations of the Palins," including family travel on state money, a tanning bed at the Governor's Mansion in Juneau and a Daily News gossip column. The state withheld 243 other e-mails from msnbc.com, claiming that Todd Palin was covered by executive privilege rules, but subject lines reveal his further involvement in state business.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4

Bird Ridge an active volcano? Probably not

Link: Turnagain Times For years, mountain runners and hikers have been wondering about hot-air vents on Bird Ridge, high above the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Girdwood. The vents support year-round plant growth and create hollow pockets in the snow cover that people sometimes fall into. Are the vents linked to volcanic activity or a hot spring? The question was put to Thomas Miller, a retired USGS geologist. He says there's no need to worry about lava flowing onto the Seward Highway. Miller adds: "It is not uncommon for AVO (Alaska Volcano Observatory) to receive anecdotal reports from pilots observing ‘steaming' peaks in the Chugach range. ... The vapor clouds generated can be very robust and mistaken for a volcanic plume."

Palin scolds Limbaugh over 'retard' joke; Beck next?

Link: U.S. News & World Report First, Sarah Palin blasted White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for calling some fellow Democrats "retarded." She called him insensitive to special-needs people and demanded his firing. Palin's sensitivity to politically incorrect language set off much criticism; among those getting a laugh from it was conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who repeated the offending word (catch audio of his tirade here). So what could Palin do but call Limbaugh out too? She went easier on Limbaugh, however; she didn't demand a resignation. Earlier, Palin's rep went after Dave Carney, top adviser to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom Palin has endorsed for re-election. Carney used "retarded" several times during arrangements for a campaign debate. And now, Palin may have to condemn Glenn Beck. UPDATE: Palin spokeswoman says comments were not aimed specifically at Limbaugh.

Would harsher DUI laws deter drunken driving?

Link: Anchorage Press A bill before the Alaska Legislature would impose stricter penalties on drunken drivers -- some of which would be applied even before the accused driver has been convicted. Rep. Mike Hawker (R-Anchorage) sponsored the bill in the wake of the fatal Seward Highway crash involving Lori Phillips, who had two previous DUI convictions, plea-bargained a third and was facing a fourth when the wreck occurred. But Rep. Max Gruenberg is skeptical that harsher penalties alone will solve the problem. "We've got to deal with this and not just answer in a draconian manner," Gruenberg says. "Just passing this ... will not necessarily get the person changed or into treatment, but it will make it illegal for the person to drive ever again. I think most people would drive, and be illegal." Continued after jump

Someone is shooting protected birds in Sitka

Link: KCAW Six bald eagles and a swan have recently been killed in relatively public places around Sitka -- including a downtown park -- by a shooter or shooters who can't resist an easy target. Fish and Game biologist Phil Mooney says all the birds died from small-caliber bullet wounds -- perhaps inflicted by a youth who got a new gun for Christmas. The eagles are sitting ducks this time of year as they await the local herring spawn. "Eagles sit in pretty obvious places," Mooney said, "and because of proximity to people, a lot of those eagles will let you get fairly close to them, too, and sets it up for someone who wants to plink at them." Because swans and eagles are both federally protected species, federal wildlife officers have joined the investigation.

Comment: Palin Inc. has a brand-control problem

Link: Newser Newser founder Michael Wolff wonders if Sarah Palin is losing control of her "brand." Surely, he writes, the recent publication of the one-issue magazine "Sarah Palin: Faith, Family, Freedom" by the gossip magazine In Touch must be of some concern in the Palin camp. "From the point of view of traditional politics, it's hardly objectionable," Wolff writes, "... But from the point of view of brand control and strategy, it's no good at all. It prompts the question (one she herself must wrestle with): Is she a candidate, or some other, newer, form of political creature? This newer creature combines politics, with its dedicated consumer base, with a range of income-producing branded media. In essence, voters are being monetized." And how long will they put up with that?

Alaskan injured in quake wants to repay rescuer

Link: Miami Herald (with WSFL video) The young Anchorage woman who had her foot amputated in Florida after the earthquake in Haiti has created a nonprofit to help rebuild a school and help the young man she says saved her life. Christa Brelsford was discharged from the hospital in a wheelchair Wednesday after four surgeries and announced she'd created the fund Christa's Angels. Her aim is to raise funds for a literacy school that crumbled during the quake and to give a scholarship to one of the "angels'' who helped her brother pull her from the rubble. That student, Wenson Georges, carried her "like a baby" on the back of a motorcycle to get her medical help at a UN office 20 minutes away. Later, he gave his shirt to relief workers in need of bandages. "It was cold, and he didn't have a shirt, but he still slept on the ground and stood with me all night long to make sure I was OK,'' recalled Brelsford, who is a student at Arizona State University. She returned to Phoenix on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Don't feed the moose, even way out on the Spit

Link: Homer Tribune Occasionally a moose wanders down the Homer Spit and discovers there isn't much to eat way out there. Fish and Game recently received a report of someone feeding hay to a moose on the Spit. That's a good way to end up with a moose corpse on your doorstep, says biologist Thomas McDonough, and besides, it's illegal. "If the moose remained out there, there was a good chance it would die, either from eating this novel food or from becoming dependent on humans for food," he says. A moose may seem to enjoy a handout of a muffin, apple or carrot, but all are apt to make it sick, McDonough says.

Caribou-wasting trial finally begins in Point Hope

Links: The Arctic Sounder, Alaska Dispatch Trial got under way in the Inupiaq Eskimo village of Point Hope on Tuesday for the three remaining defendants in the highly publicized caribou waste case from 2008. Only two of 37 dead animals called "clear" cases of waste by troopers are up for debate in the trial, which is being heard by a judge instead of a jury because the charges were reduced to noncriminal violations. Testimony on Tuesday centered on the health of the animals shot and whether the meat was worth salvaging. Three of the original defendants have pleaded guilty and accepted fines, and a fourth had charges dismissed. Among those in the courtroom were about 20 students from a high school government class.

Alaska lawmakers get behind electric vehicles

Link: CoastAlaska via APRN Electric vehicles are an increasingly common sight in Southeast Alaska communities, with their limited road networks and warmer climates, and the Legislature has passed a bill that might encourage more people to buy them. The bill -- sponsored by Sen. Bert Stedman of Sitka -- would allow electric vehicles on roads with speed limits up to 45 mph, up from the current 35. That would, for example, let Wrangell residents drive them to the airport. Alternative energy advocates say electric vehicles are perfect in small cities where most drives are under a couple miles, which usually isn't long enough to allow an internal combustion engine to warm up and achieve maximum fuel efficiency.

'Deadliest Catch' skipper recovering from stroke

Link: KING5, Seattle "Deadliest Catch" skipper Phil Harris roared out of a medically induced coma with his "trademark [profane] bluntness," his sons report from an Anchorage hospital. "We are encouraged but still very cautious," sons Jake and Josh said in a posting on the Web site for his crabbing boat Cornelia Marie. He suffered a stroke last week while offloading the boat on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea and was medevacked to Anchorage.

Alaskans ready to move on from Palin mania

Link: AOL News Alaska's political life has "mellowed," as one coffee shop owner puts it, since Sarah Palin has turned her focus to the national political scene. "The distance between Palin and her roots in the permafrost will only continue to grow," writes Andrea Stone. "But whether they count themselves as Palin fans or detractors, Alaskans hold a few shared views of the career turn their former governor has taken. One is that the national stage suits Palin well. Another is that after the frenzied months that followed her return from the presidential campaign trail in November 2008, the calmer, post-Palin political atmosphere is welcomed."

Will Palin profit from her $100K Tea Party speech? (The Atlantic)

Fox News to air Palin speech at Tea Party Convention (Politico)

Canada puts Arctic borders, climate on G7 agenda

Link: The Associated Press Finance chiefs from the so-called G7 nations -- including the U.S., Japan and the major European economic powers -- will converge on the capital of a vast Canadian Arctic territory Friday and Saturday for their annual "bull session" on the world economy. The choice by the host nation to have the meeting in the Inuit community of Iqaluit, Nunavut, was more than a nod to Native culture and global warming; it was intended to highlight Canada's claims to resource-rich Arctic waters, disputed by the U.S. and other nations, including a boundary dispute involving Alaska and the Yukon territory. Continued after the jump

Obama nominee talks Alaska gas with senators

Links: APRN (audio), KTUU (with video) Larry Persily, President Obama's nominee to be the coordinator of the Office for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects -- in short, the federal gas line coordinator -- told senators including Lisa Murkowski during his confirmation hearing in D.C. on Tuesday that he will cut through red tape to help make getting Alaska gas to the Lower 48 a reality.

Heritage group names Sitka 'distinctive destination'

Link: National Trust for Historic Preservation Sitka (with video) Sitka has been named one of a dozen "distinctive destinations" for 2010 by the trust, which cites in particular its Russian and Native heritage " still at the center of daily life in the bustling downtown."

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

Veterinarian plans to deliver services in villages

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A Fairbanks veterinarian is launching a nonprofit organization that aims to give Interior Alaska villagers easier access to basic veterinary services. Dee Thornell, owner of the Animal House Veterinary Hospital, hopes to launch the service this summer with an apprentice. She'll get transport help from her husband, a pilot. She hopes to fill the niche left by controversial vet Eric Jayne, who gave up his license last month when he was under investigation for negligence after complaints were filed against him.

'Storms' in space can disrupt transpolar flights

Link: All Things Considered, NPR Commercial jet flights that go over the north or south poles will be increasingly vulnerable to bad "weather" in space, scientists say. Solar eruptions are expected to increase as the sun rebounds from the more inactive part of its 11-year cycle. That will be put jet electronics -- including radio communications and GPS trackers -- at risk of interference. Faced with a forecast of bad space weather, air traffic controllers may have to divert planes in midflight, which could bring them to places like Anchorage for emergency refueling.

Home sales soar in economically 'lucky' Fairbanks

Link: USA Today Fairbanks has fared better than the rest of Alaska and the nation through the economic downturn. Its diversified economy let it avoid much of the boom-bust cycle, and then late last year, thousands of soldiers came home from Iraq. "Soldiers ... were buying things and going out to dinner, things that help stimulate the economy," says state economist Alyssa Shanks. As USA Today points out in its "Close to Home" series, that spending plus a relatively low 7.9 percent unemployment rate helped drive Fairbanks home sales up 66 percent for December.

As Iditarod sponsors fall away, race tightens belt

Link: The New York Times The Times ticks off the sponsorship setbacks for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race -- pullouts by Chevron, Cabela's and the Versus and Discovery cable TV channels -- and points out that online coverage is the only remaining option for fans outside Alaska. That's sad, says competitor Hugh Neff, who was first exposed to mushing through TV: "TV was my first inkling of what it was about. Seeing the forbidden northern Alaska, the challenge of going 1,000 miles with just your best friends, your dogs." Four-time champ Jeff King, who donated $50,000 of his own cash to the depleted race purse this year, tells The Times it would be a "fairy tale" to win it back in this year's race. Find ADN coverage of this year's race and past races here.

Palin on use of 'retarded': Has she gone 'sappy'?

Link: U.S. News & World Report As has been noted on many national blogs today, Sarah Palin took to Facebook on Monday to blast White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for using the word "retarded" last year to criticize some Democrats in Congress. She said she was speaking as a parent of a Down syndrome child in asking Emanuel, "Have you no sense of decency?" U.S. News contributing editor John A. Farrell -- pointing out that he also has a mentally disabled family member -- says he's disappointed to see Palin "embracing this kind of political correctness. ... Perhaps Alaskans, when their snowmobiles carry them into a sturdy fir, or a moose applies its antlers to their buttocks, or their fishhooks snag a finger, shout, 'Gee! That was painful!' Maybe the whole state is filled with sappy, politically correct morons like Ned Flanders. I surely hope not."

Palin PAC spends $63K on gifts of her own book (The Week)

Palin endorses Ron Paul's son in Kentucky (N.Y. Times)

Palin magazine hits newsstands (Washington Post)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29

Stinky laundry, chickens and -- oh yeah -- the mail

Link: Homer Tribune Cora Mae Wise and Maryann Lyda know firsthand how important the post office is in a small town. Together, they represent 56 years at work in the Homer Post Office. And they sympathize with people who see what they believe is a depersonalization of the service. "It is frustrating to some people to see the post office change. In the old days we were trained to be of service, to be part of the community," Wise recalled. "With expansion, we have to give up our small-town practices for a more business-like approach. But it should always be that the customer comes first." But some of the old charm remains, they say. Fishers still mail home their stinky laundry so they can carry their catch with them on the plane, Lyda says. And, as they have done for years, Homer residents can still post those touching memorial notices in the post office window.

Alaska boarder's name will test Olympic announcers

Link: Alaska Public Radio Network Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, believed to be the first Alaska Native ever in the Olympic Games, expects her tongue-twister of a surname will be just as big a challenge for announcers in Vancouver, B.C., as getting a medal in the snowboardcross competition will be for her. "They all fumble up on the last name so they just don't even say it. A lot of times there'll be four people on the course and the announcer will say, 'Here comes ... Callan.' It's like I'm Madonna or Cher or something. I'm just a one-namer."

Palin vows she'll give Tea Party Convention speech

Link: Huffington Post (with Fox News video) Sarah Palin told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Thursday that she won't pull out of the National Tea Party Convention next week in Nashville -- as have some prominent conservative lawmakers. "Oh, you betcha I'm going to be there. I'm going to speak there because there are people traveling from many miles away to hear what that Tea Party movement is all about and what that message is that should be received by our politicians in Washington. I'm honored to get to be there." Palin is getting $100,000 to deliver the keynote address at the conference. She also urged the GOP and the Tea Party movement to "merge" and "forge ahead with a cohesive message."

Palin, NOW spar over anti-abortion Super Bowl ad (Politico)

Palin favorable rating in Alaska drops below 50% (TPM, Public Policy Polling)

'Purity' test dispute highlights tension between GOP, Tea Party movement (Washington Post)

State celebrates its parks with a photo contest

Link: Alaskology The Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is hosting a photo contest to draw attention to one of Alaska's greatest resources on its 40th anniversary: the state park system. Six winning photos will be used to create anniversary posters to be distributed throughout Alaska. Get the full details here.

Hackers briefly take over Palmer chamber Web site

Link: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Hackers in Turkey posted militant and anti-Semitic text on the Web site of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce Web site this week, officials say. How they gained access remains a mystery, but the damage was quickly fixed. "Some organization in Turkey has been hacking a bunch of Web sites for the past couple of years," says Mat-Su Technical Services owner Jesse Jones, who maintains the site. "They don't steal any information. They don't redirect to another Web site. There is no malware."

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

Eagle Lady's gone, but eagles return to Homer

Link: Homer News Homer's famed Eagle Lady, Jean Keene, died a year ago, and eagle lovers wondered what would happen to the hundreds of birds she fed each winter at her compound on the tip of the Spit. The compound is gone, but the bald eagles are back in force. Scores of them have been hanging around the Spit. Why? Nobody is reporting feeding of eagles -- now illegal -- but they don't seem that hungry either. It's suspicious. Photographers, meanwhile, are just happy to have their favorite subject back in focus.

Imagining Alaska's future on wheels and tracks

Link: Outdoor Life Does your rig keep falling into glacier crevasses? Tired of towing a sled on a trailer when one vehicle should be enough to get you down the highway and out into the hills? If you're wondering about the future of snowmachines and hunting trucks, check out the sketch competition by Local Motors, a design outfit that aims to build and micro-market futuristic vehicles. They attracted plenty of ideas for snow-go's and have posted the drawings on their Web site.

In memoir, ex-treasury chief assesses Palin

Link: The Wall Street Journal Now it's former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's turn to weigh in on Sarah Palin in a memoir. He says the vice presidential candidate "rubbed me the wrong way" during a phone discussion, especially when she called him Hank "right away ... even though we'd never met." Paulson says she didn't seem to "grasp the full dimension" of the issues they discussed.

New wolf snare gives moose a way out -- usually

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Fairbanks trapper Jim Masek is tired of being "punched" by angry moose caught in his wolf snares over the past 20 years. He's endorsing a "breakaway" snare -- used commonly in the Lower 48 -- that lets a struggling moose get free but would hold a wolf. "(Dealing with a snared moose) is a real risky game," said Masek. "You're probably going to get the snot kicked out of you when you're trying to get the snare off and then again once you get it off. ... We're not out there to kill moose." Unfortunately, the breakaway snares don't work on a moose caught by the nose; the moose won't fight. "It hurts," said Fish and Game biologist Craig Gardner, who helped develop the snare. "If you catch a moose by the nose, it's a dead moose. (The snare cable) cinches up tight and the nose freezes quick."

Palin pans Obama as lecturing 'mandation' pusher

Link: Mediaite (with Fox News video) Sarah Palin went live on Fox News as a commentator Wednesday night with Sean Hannity following President Obama's first State of the Union address. She was "more rambling than pithy," Medialite says, and her only real flub was use of the word "mandation" instead of "mandate" in criticizing Obama's health care reform efforts. Read the reactions of the Alaska congressional delegation to Obama's speech here.

Study: Alaska good for small-business startups

Link: Rasmussen College Alaska is among the five best U.S. states for new small businesses, a study by a Rasmussen researcher concludes. "No individual income tax, no sales tax, and a progressive corporate income tax that rises with growth and profit. ... With low costs in general for real estate, Alaska remains a high point for starting a business."

Show looks at human survival in prehistoric Alaska

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner The National Geographic Channel looks thousands of years into Alaska's past tonight for its "Naked Science" series show on how humans adapted to conditions on this side of the Bering Land Bridge. "Surviving Ancient Alaska" features archaeological digs in Denali National Park and discoveries of human remains and artifacts in melting glaciers near Lake Clark. The one-hour show airs at 9 tonight. See the trailer and more here.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27

Will Palin keep her Tea Party appointment?

Link: Mother Jones Sarah Palin is under some pressure to pull out of her scheduled speaking engagement at the National Tea Party Convention next week in Nashville. MJ is quoting anonymous sources saying tickets for her speech -- touted by organizers as a major coup -- aren't selling and she's facing the embarrassment of a half-empty auditorium. Some convention sponsors have already pulled out over disputes with Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips, who's organizing the convention and, some say, charging too much for tickets (Palin is reportedly getting a $115,000 speaker fee) and trying to make a profit for himself. Some conservative activists are calling on Palin to pull out in protest. "In her contract she is allowed to send a representative if she can't make it if she's sick or something. Maybe she'll come down with the flu," activist Anthony Shreeve says. Others, though, are hoping she won't let down those who already have tickets. Continued after jump

2 GOP lawmakers pull out of Tea Party Convention (AP)

Bill to criminalize bestiality advances in Legislature

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A bill outlawing sex with animals is still moving toward passage in the Legislature -- it was passed by the House last year. "The animal cruelty laws already in statute generally make it a misdemeanor to torture or intentionally kill animals outside of standard veterinary care or common farming practices," writes the News-Miner. "[Anchorage Rep. Bob] Lynn's proposed change would add the crime of 'knowingly ... engag(ing) in sexual conduct with an animal.' The bill is supported by animal control officials in the state.

Glacier profiling: We're still on thin ice, scientists say

Link: Mother Nature Network Once again, climate change deniers are claiming a scientific foul-up is evidence that it's all a hoax or exaggerated. The latest mess is Glaciergate, in which U.N. experts admitted they misstated how long it would take Himalayan glaciers to melt. But climate scientists warn against letting the scandal make you compacent. Sure, some glaciers are advancing, they say, but most aren't, and the advancers are simply responding to changes in local weather and water temperatures -- warming, mostly -- that have increased snowfall in glaciers' snow-accumulation zones. This MNN report looks extensively at the bigger picture of glacier formation and diversity.

Alaska and courts are battlefields in climate fight

Link: The New York Times A losing battle against erosion in the barrier-island Alaska village of Kivalina is at the forefront of major climate-change lawsuits that are "gaining steam," the Times reports. Kivalina is accusing fuel and utility companies of helping cause climate change that's eroding its island -- by reducing the sea ice that provides the community protection from storm surges and wave action. "The game pieces are being set for eventual Supreme Court review," one legal scholar tells The Times. But the case doesn't have to get that far to have an impact as significant as the long legal assault on the tobacco industry. But some are worried the potential legal ramifications will stifle needed debate in the U.S. over how to curb greenhouse gases.

An explosive day outside Fairbanks?

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner A Chena Ridge cabin containing carelessly stored hazardous and explosive materials will be "cleaned up" today, troopers say, but they're warning of the possibility of "multiple explosions" through the day as the work progresses. Fertilizer, battery acid and ethanol have been discovered in the cabin, but much of what's in there hasn't been identified yet. A resident of the cabin, Dane Kopenen, 20, was injured in a Jan. 10 explosion there, and troopers have been guarding it since.

Exotic cats ban up for Board of Game review

Link: The Redoubt Reporter The Alaska Department of Fish and Game this week will recommend to the Board of Game that it not lift restrictions on exotic cats. It says exotic hybrid cats can survive in the Alaska wild and that they might interbreed with wild species or transmit disease. But a Ninilchik woman who has been crusading to allow Savannah and other cats as pets says the department's fears are not based on fact. Biologists are citing the escape of a Savannah cat in Anchorage and "unconfirmed" reports of interbreeding with bobcats as evidence of the danger, but the exotic cat supporters say that's nonsense.

Interior fishermen debate Yukon kings at Fish Board meeting (News-Miner)