Anchorage Daily News

Mystery fish stumps Barrow elders, biologists

Link: The Arctic Sounder The hottest roadside attraction in Barrow these days is a frozen fish on display beside Charles Maasak Brower's house. It's not just any fish, locals say, and biologists agree. Brower found the footlong, eel-like creature dead on the beach being gnawed by a fox. He brought it back to town and asked elders and biologists whether they'd ever seen anything like it. They hadn't, but biologists speculate it's a species of wolffish that lives in the Arctic but hasn't shown up in Barrow before.

Alaska No. 2 in 'failure to properly feed people'

Link: The Huffington Post The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently ranked Alaska in roughly the middle of the pack for "food security," the ability of residents to rely on a regular, affordable supply of food. But the Huffington Post has put the USDA numbers up against census statistics for median family income to determine which states have the most hunger when compared to wealth. "More than states that are merely poor," the Post writes, "these are the states with clear policy issues that render them unable to translate resources into full bellies." Alaska comes in No. 2, after Colorado. Merri Mike Adams, managing director of the Food Bank of Alaska, points out that Alaska is the only state without a USDA warehouse, making it difficult to stockpile food in case of emergencies. High shipping costs and other actors also give Alaska unique challenges, she says.

Noorvik overturns ban on Native dance

Link: Arctic Sounder Inupiaq elders and the Christian church congregation in Noorvik, near Kotzebue, have voted to overturn a century-old ban on traditional dancing in the village. Missionaries instituted the ban because they associated dancing with shamanism, and generations of villagers have grown up without learning the moves. Motivation for the vote was Noovik's selection as the first U.S. community to be counted in the 2010 census. Villagers want dancing to be part of the celebration and have brought dancers from other communities to hold classes. "It's a long story of how Eskimo dancing was taken away from our culture," said Hendy Ballot Sr., Noorvik tribal administrator. "We're a generation that is pretty much losing all our Native culture, language, lifestyle and traditions, like dancing."

Fantasy sno-go would cruise Alaska in style

Link: Wired Alaskans who already have everything can start dreaming about the ultimate snowmachine. The i-Scoob (a play on, yes, "ice cube"), a concept by Diseno Art, is a two-passenger, dual-track gas-electric hybrid with solar-rechargeable batteries (admittedly worthless in the Arctic winter) as well as joystick operation, climate control and an awesome sound system. Coolest feature: It would float if it broke through the ice on a lake or river.

Zoo replaces dead polar bears with electric ones

Link: Riverfront Times, St. Louis The St. Louis Zoo has had trouble keeping polar bears in recent years; several have died, from both natural and unnatural causes. But the zoo still has an empty polar bear exhibit -- a perfect place to install electronic polar bears for the holiday season.

Video: The cooler adventures of the 'Ice Bloggers'

Link: Snow Covered Hills blog, Canada First there was "Ice Road Truckers." Now it's "Ice Pilots NWT." What's next? It's "Ice Bloggers," of course.

Economy bleeds the blood-donation business

Link: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Statewide demand for donated blood has dropped 10 percent in recent months, leading to the closure of Blood Bank of Alaska donation centers in Wasilla and Soldotna at the end of the year. "With the increase in people losing their jobs, and with it their insurance, people are doing less elective surgeries," said BBA spokesman David Large. The Blood Bank will still send its mobile units to the Kenai and Mat-Su, and hospitals say the closures won't affect blood supply.

Palin tells Ohio crowd she'll 'speak truth'

Link: WCPO, Cincinnati Sarah Palin told a crowd at a mall in suburban Cincinnati this morning she'd continue to "speak the truth" about politics. Then she sat down in a bookstore to begin signing copies of her memoir, "Going Rogue," for hundreds of people waiting in line. (Video clip included)

Palin concedes 'mistakes' during 2008 campaign

Link: Politico Sarah Palin said Thursday that she "made mistakes" while campaigning for vice president in 2008, and acknowledged some culpability for her damaging interview with CBS's Katie Couric. "There were mistakes being made in the campaign. I made mistakes in the campaign," Palin said during the first part of an interview that aired Thursday evening with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

Mat-Su: A place in time, not all frozen

Link: The New York Times A travel correspondent focuses on Matanuska Glacier, Hatcher Pass and the Valley's Colony history in the latest entry in the Times' "American Journeys" series. (Slide show included.)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19

Fashion consultant to Palin campaign comes out of the closet

Link: The New York Times Lisa A. Kline, the wardrobe consultant who did Sarah Palin's fashion makeover for the Republican National Convention in September 2008 and in the process set off the "Wardrobegate" scandal, has come out of the closet to back Palin's assertion in her memoir, "Going Rogue," that it was a "trumped up controversy." The clothes were foisted on the Palin family at the last minute by the McCain campaign, Kline says, and many were never worn. "The campaign advisers realized the kids, everybody, needed to be dressed," Kline said. "This was a family that was about to stand before the world, and they just came with their everyday-life clothes."

Hundreds line up in Indiana for Day 2 of 'Rogue' book tour (FortWayne.com)

Palin and the media: Co-dependency in action

Link: Politico "Sarah Palin talked on the campaign trail about trying to get around the elite media filter, but this week she's pushed her way straight through it," Politico's Michael Calderone writes. "And the media - liberal and conservative, bloggers and network anchors - have responded by dedicating magazine covers, air time and online real estate to everything related to the book-promoting, media-bashing former governor of Alaska."

Media has reached "Peak Palin" point in coverage (Gawker.com)

'Going Rogue': the quiz

Link: The Atlantic "You've seen the interviews. You've read the instant reviews. You know everything about Sarah Palin's new book. Or do you? Test your Palin-tology."

Canada's parliamentary restaurant to serve seal meat

Link: Toronto Star A committee of Canadian politicians has decided to add seal meat to the menu of the posh restaurant inside Canada's Parliament Building in Ottawa. The Canadian government has been blasted by Europeans and wildlife groups for allowing the seal hunt but has remained steadfast in support of it. It is not, however, primarily a meat hunt; it's an income-producer that relies on sales of fur to Russia and China and seal oil to medical researchers. Not all Parliamentarians support the new menu choice."The harp seal that they are talking about and are so excited about, it tastes horrible," said Liberal Senator Mac Harb. "[The menu committee should] have a feast first before any other members of Parliament so they can see firsthand how tasty it is. I'm sure they'll conclude quite quickly it's not edible."

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

Live blog, video: Palin greets crowd in Grand Rapids

Link: Detroit Free Press "Alaska and Michigan have so much in common, with the huntin' and the fishin' and the hockey moms," Sarah Palin told a Grand Rapids crowd as she emerged from her tour bus for the first stop on her "Going Rogue" book-signing tour.

ADN politics blog: Odds and ends from Palinpalooza

ABC: Palin backs Israeli settlement expansion

HuffPo: Unofficial index to 'Going Rogue'

HuffPo: Palin tells Fox's Hannity her news sources

People: Levi says no to Palin Thanksgiving

CNN: No time to read 'Rogue,' Obama says

Reuters: McCain defends campaign team against Palin

Sitka bookseller donates proceeds from 'Rogue' sales to anti-Palin wildlife group

A sampling of reactions to Palin's 'Going Rogue'

Sally Quinn, The Washington Post: Sarah Palin writes that one summer at Bible camp she "put my life in my creator's hands and trust him as I sought my life's path." ... Perhaps God wants more out of Palin. You would think that God would ask of her to live her life as an example to others of a compassionate loving, caring person. One of the most powerful examples of God's love in the Bible is that of forgiveness. Turning the other cheek. But Palin's book is a screed against everyone who ever done her wrong. (More after the jump)

Fairbanks woman wins 'Survivor Philippines'

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Amanda Coolley, a 25-year-old construction worker from Fairbanks, has outlasted 15 other contestants to claim victory in "Survivor Philippines," a franchise of the popular U.S. reality show. Coolley won 3 million pesos - the equivalent of about $64,000.

Fairbanks ravens seem to mourn electrocuted birds

Link: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Minutes after two ravens were electrocuted on a Fairbanks transformer on Tuesday, hundreds of their comrades arrived at the scene in what seemed to some witnesses to be a sort of mourning ritual. The ravens hung around for just a few minutes before dispersing. “I’ve never heard of ravens holding funerals,” said a Fish and Game biologist. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the birds that got zapped were still alive and were acting erratically. That would attract the attention of other ravens.” The News-Miner includes three photos from the scene with the story.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Food fight: 'Rogue' ticks off vegetarians

"If any vegans came over for dinner," Palin writes in her memoir, "I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?" The L.A. Times likes Fark.com's response: "In other news, Sarah Palin endorses cannibalism."

Palin thinks she inspired Obama's 'change' theme

Palin implies in "Going Rogue" that Pete Rouse, a former Juneau resident who is a longtime Obama adviser, was inspired by her successful run for Alaska governor and applied her campaign tricks to the Obama presidential campaign. She also blames Rouse connections for her Troopergate woes.

Are you in 'Rogue'? Guide to an index-less memoir

Politico has created a reader’s guide to Sarah Palin's “Going Rogue,” grouping the many characters into three categories -- friends, foes and "in between" -- to help answer the question insiders are already whispering to those who managed to snag a copy: How did I come out?

Sarah Palin: American Evita

"No force on Earth can stop Sarah Palin from becoming our very own 'lite' version of Eva Perón -- a glamorous and tragic legend, minus the tragedy," writes Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post. "Eventually, some clever composer will write a blockbuster musical about her life and times."

Palin on Limbaugh show: 'Snake oil science' on global warming

Sarah Palin was a guest on Rush Limbaugh's radio show today as part of her "Going Rogue" media blitz. She declared that Democrats are sheep, people aren't responsible for climate change, and that the GOP civil war in the NY-23 congressional election was good for the Republican Party, reports Talking Points Memo.

Newsweek defends provocative Palin cover

Responding to criticism from Sarah Palin that her depiction on the cover of the current Newsweek is "sexist and oh-so-expected," editor Jon Meacham insists that there is nothing derogatory nor nefarious about the image. "We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover," Meacham said in a statement.

Truth-o-meter: Palin on Obama and ACORN

In "Going Rogue," Sarah Palin says she wishes the campaign had talked more about "Obama's close relationship with ACORN. ... But we did not elaborate on any of that during the campaign." But PolitiFact reporters recall a lot of "elaborating" on ACORN from the McCain campaign.

Playgirl releases Levi Johnston promo photo

More photos from the Levi Johnston shoot that Sarah Palin is calling pornography are due to be released next week.

Reporters dispute Palin version of Piper incident

In "Going Rogue," Palin accuses two national reporters of trying to corner her young daughter Piper on the street in Juneau for an interview several months after the presidential campaign ended -- a charge both the journalists and a former Palin campaign aide reject, reports CNN.

McCain: Palin legal bill was related to Troopergate

Sen. John McCain has denied Sarah Palin's allegation that his campaign stuck her with a $50,000 legal bill to pay for the cost of vetting her as a potential vice presidential candidate. He said the bill was related to the Troopergate allegations against her.

Op-ed: Don't blame Alaskans for Palin fame

"As the country continues to be fascinated with Sarah Palin," writes Anchorage journalist Michael Carey in the New York Times, "here is what continues to fascinate Alaskans: how a woman who takes pride in calling herself a homemaker from Wasilla brought celebrity culture to the Last Frontier."

Letterman: Top 10 surprises in 'Going Rogue'

ABC video: Barbara Walters interviews Palin

Palin tells Walters that a talk show is not in the "best interests" of her family. "I'd probably rather write than talk. ... There have been lots and lots of offers, in these last couple of months especially, coming our way, some bizarre things. I would not ever want to put my kids through such a thing. Our life has become kind of a reality show."

'Oprah' review: Palin tongue-tied, off-message

"For all her aplomb and telegenic charm, Palin [on 'Oprah'] still had the hunted look and defensive crouch she wore in television interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson last year," writes a New York Times critic.

Palin says McCain staff ruined her image in Alaska

In "Going Rogue," Palin reveals how she was admonished by McCain campaign strategists after trying to maintain the same easy relationship with Alaska radio hosts that she had enjoyed as governor, writes the L.A. Times.

Speed-reading 'Rogue': God, Todd and more

Washington Post reporters 'speed-read' Palin's new memoir and zero in on anecdotes and emotions both serious and lighthearted.

NY Times: Book review: Memoir is Palin payback to McCain campaign

Politico: McCain camp: Palin account 'all fiction'

NY Times Palin finds bond with Hillary Clinton

AP: Researchers plan paper on Palin's speech inflections

AP: Palin goes rogue on facts in memoir

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Hunter regrets decision to shoot bear on roadside

Link: Redoubt Reporter Soldotna resident Joseph Wicker said he now regrets shooting a brown bear in front of Sterling Highway wildlife viewers last month. He says he decided to shoot the bear himself because he thought troopers would shoot it for public safety reasons. "It wasn't at all my intention to offend a bunch of people, and I definitely know now, looking back, that wasn't the greatest idea," he said. Wicker has been cited by the state for not having a proper hunting tag and by the federal government for discharging a firearm in a restricted zone.

Elephant treadmill goes to the dogs

Link: Alaska Dispatch Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser has taken delivery of the massive treadmill built in 2006 for Maggie, the Alaska Zoo's out-of-shape elephant who was eventually moved to a refuge in California where she has room to roam year-round. Maggie could never be coaxed to use the 22-foot treadmill, but Buser hopes to use it for training and researching sled dogs at his Big Lake kennel.

Haines man on ship attacked by pirates off Kenya

Link: Chilkat Valley News A Haines sailor aboard a U.S. merchant vessel attacked off the coast of Africa said pirates were not cowed by the appearance of a gun on deck and made several failed attempts to attach a hooked ladder to the ship's gunwales.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6

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.

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.

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.

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.