Anchorage Daily News

Stevens talks of failings as a father. KTVA Channel 11 has a story stemming from a lengthy, remarkably candid and personal interview with Alaska Sen. Ted. Stevens. Billed as attempting to “show a side of the senator we never get to see,” the story shuns any effort to ask about federal investigations involving the senator or his son Ben but leans toward personal and family issues.

Among the items discussed: food, flying, fatherhood and the last time he cried. At one point, asked directly if he was a good father, Stevens said, “No, really wasn’t. I think I spent a lot of time trying to do the things I ought to do as a senator, and I didn’t go to enough baseball games and football games with my boys, the soccer games with the girls. I tried. … As they were growing up, I was just away too long.”

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Not a favorite with the brass. A story in The Hill from Washington, D.C., lists Rep. Don Young among a group of incumbent lawmakers who have received little support from the leadership and colleagues of their party. The story says Young has received $5,000 or less from the leadership — this coming at a time when Young is considered by some to be vulnerable.

Young “is the subject of a federal investigation into his ties to the Veco Corp. and is a risky person with whom to appear. Young is also known as the author of the widely criticized ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ earmark,” the story notes.

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Fantasies veto won’t stand. Anchorage Assemblyman Allan Tesche, in his Assembly report from last night’s meeting, concludes that the panel has “voted itself a new red light district” in overriding Mayor Mark Begich’s Fantasies on 5th veto. The veto override — reported here late last night on ADN’s political blog — allows the club to convert itself into a 21-and-over, liquor-serving business.

Tesche, who was on the losing end of the 8-3 override vote, wrote that the Assembly vote ignored police warnings that adding “a new hard-liquor bar to Anchorage’s newest hot spot and APD will be called to the building to handle an increasing number of crimes and calls for service.”

Tesche’s blog entry also reviews the contents of a recorded conversation between Assembly members Dan Coffey and Bill Starr that surfaced on Anchorage radio station KUDO 1080 on Tuesday. The two discuss campaign cash in what is apparently an accidentally recorded conversation. An ADN story today reports that Alaska Public Offices Commission staff plans to investigate whether campaign finance laws were violated.

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Begich in running? The New York Times political blog figures it knows what Mark Begich plans to announce at a press conference this morning: that he’ll be in the running for Ted Stevens’ Senate seat. The blog entry notes that Begich is expected to announce formation of an exploratory committee when he meets with reporters.

Check adn.com later this morning to find out if the Times’ figuring is correct.

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Spill lingers in Alaska. A Los Angeles Times story today looks into some of the lingering effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, particularly as they affect Cordova in Prince William Sound. “Cordova, the Sound’s biggest fishing village, has been called the prettiest dying town most Americans will never see,” the story says. “Glacier-carved peaks loom over what looks by comparison a toy-sized main street, and beyond, a harbor of crayon-colored boats. Only there aren’t many boats left.”

The story goes on to note what the spill has meant for herring, salmon and the people of the Sound. The story also looks at the civil suit stemming from the spill, which has persisted for years and which was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court this morning. (Check adn.com for the latest news from the hearing.)

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“Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm.” Such is the name of the video game due out in April for the Xbox 360, according to a CNN story. “The game was inspired by Sig, Edgar and Norman Hansen — three brothers who have made their living crab fishing on the Bering Sea aboard their family's fishing vessel, the Northwestern,” the story says.

The Hansens have for several years now been featured on the Discovery Channel’s series “Deadliest Catch,” which chronicles the dangers of Bering Sea crab fishing. A short video of Sig Hansen announcing release of the video game is on the Discovery Channel’s web site.

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Juneau access road years away. State planners have extended to a dozen years the anticipated construction time of a road helping to link Juneau to the outside world, according to a Juneau Empire story today. Such an approach would mean the state would have to come up with only about $20 million a year for the project, according to officials quoted in the story.

Jeff Ottesen, Planning Division director for the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the road — which would run to the Katzehin River, where it would link to a ferry — will pay for itself by cutting ferry system costs and is in one of the few places where a highway can replace a ferry run, according to the story.

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Homicide info stirs dispute. Members of the Kodiak City Council have scheduled a discussion with the community’s police chief about the release of public information from his department, according to a Kodiak Daily Mirror story. The discussion apparently stems from the unease of some over what they see as the lack of information getting out to the public on a recent homicide.

“What I heard a lot (from people) was, ‘The only information I’ve heard is we don’t have to worry,’ ” said Councilman Terry Haines. “For a lot of people, they wanted to hear at least some idea of why we didn’t have to worry.”

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Who wants what. Stories from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and APRN say that Sen. Ted Stevens plans a feature on his web site that will list all the requests for earmarks that come in to his office from Alaskans. “People have got to understand we’re here to get those requests,” Stevens said. “And the problem is how many of them there are and how difficult it is when some people at home criticize us for trying at all and others criticize us for not getting more.”

Federal earmarks have become immensely controversial, with specific projects linked to Alaska’s delegation — including bridge proposals and a Florida road funding item pushed by Rep. Don Young — drawing some of the hottest criticism.

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Bad place for job hunting. CNN has put together a list of the 10 worst states to find work based on unemployment rate. And Alaska holds down the No. 4 spot. The state’s unemployment rate came in at 6.5 percent in the listing. (Michigan was No. 1 at 7.6 percent.)

Other stats of note attributed to Alaska: a mean annual wage of $43,920 (topped only by the District of Columbia in the listing) and a top industry of government, with 25.9 percent of the workforce. (The District of Columbia and Mississippi were the only others of the 10 on the list with government as a top industry).

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More Alaska headlines:

> Former governors celebrate Alaska (KTUU Channel 2)

> Police identify deceased teen (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> DOT workers back on track after wet weather, avalanches (Peninsula Clarion)

> FAA still reviewing 737 wing flaps (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

> Arctic meltdown: The economic and security implications of global warming (Foreign Affairs)

> Iditarod display now at Newport Public Library (Newport News-Times -- Oregon)

> Alaska fiscal woes give oil firms the upper hand (Reuters)

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