Anchorage Daily News

Fairbanks chamber executive resigns over gas pipeline support. Jewelz Nutter, CEO of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, resigned Monday after that group sent the governor and Legislature a letter favoring the ConocoPhillips and BP gas pipeline over the TransCanada proposal, according to the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

Nutter cited a conflict of interest between the chamber board president, Rick Solie, who is also director of the northern region office for ConocoPhillips, and support of the BP and ConocoPhillips proposal, called Denali.

"My decision to step down is based on what I believe will be an inability to ‘pass the red face test' regarding the appearance of conflict," Nutter wrote.

Read Nutter's resignation letter here and the chamber's detailed letter here. Commentary posted to the story is hot and opinionated.

Also, the paper features a community commentary by Dr. Doug Reynolds, an associate professor of oil and energy economics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that suggests TransCanada is using the state of Alaska.

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Obama, get thee to Alaska. That's the cry from columnist Chris Weigant on Huffington Post. Weigant cites a Howard Dean strategy of ignoring no state, not so much because the state will flip from red to blue but because appearances by presidential Democrats will help "lower-ticket" Democratic candidates succeed.

Then he makes a notable exception: Alaska's strategic importance. He calls our state "redder than red" but says an Obama visit would not only help local Democrats but would also "conveniently back John McCain into an impossible corner."

If Obama appeared with Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Begich, Weigant writes, McCain would be hard-pressed to appear with incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens, representative of the "bridge to nowhere" moniker as well as ethics issues as FBI investigations continue in the state.

"Alaska, to the surprise of many pundits, is going to be very close this year."

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Slow-arriving salmon continue to put a chill on fishing. Reports of low returns for king salmon in Southeast's gillnet and troll fisheries comes from KFSK in Petersburg, as Stikine kings fail to return in the numbers expected and boats start to move elsewhere.

KIYU in Galena also reports that fishery managers on the Yukon River expect a weaker than normal run for kings this year, prompting a conservative approach. Managers want more fish to show up before allowing commercial fishermen low on the river to chase their take.

Canadian news organizations report similar experiences for British Columbia wild salmon returns. The Vancouver Sun and CTV.ca both cite a study by the David Suzuki Foundation that cautions returns for British Columbia may be the lowest in 50 years. The foundation has listed Pacific salmon as a "yellow" food, meaning consumers are advised to eat it sparingly.

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Susan Butcher's name attached to leadership institute at UAF. UAF Chancellor Steven Jones and UA President Mark Hamilton joined at a press conference Monday to announce the new institute and name her husband, David Monson, as the first executive director, the Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports.

"We have an obligation to extend engagement far beyond the campus," Jones said.

Funded with $150,000 from university funds, the institute's efforts are aimed especially at youth to better their communities. First offerings will be in 2009. Listen to Dave Monson talk about his dream for the institute here.

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Alaskans are smoking less. The Associated Press and APRN both reported on a mostly good-news report card from state health officials, 27,000 fewer adults are smoking in the state.

Youth smokers in the state dropped from a rate of 62 percent in 1995 to 32 percent today. Alaska Native males were the only group that did not show a decline. Jay Butler, the chief medical officer for Alaska, said the difference between then and now is a "paradigm shift." Smoking is no longer cool.

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Chicago chefs are headed to Kodiak. Last week, we told you about the Chowderhouse chefs visiting the Stikine River to get a firsthand look at the king salmon they serve in their restaurants. This week, Kodiak Island 2008, a blog set up for the trip, reports that Carrie Nahabedian, Sarah Stegner, Rohit Nambiar and Linda Calafiore join Chicago's premier seafood wholesaler, The Plitt Co., on an once-in-a-lifetime journey to Kodiak Island to check out crab and assorted seafood.

Stopping en route in Anchorage, they raved over halibut chunks and Alaskan Amber. Who wouldn't?

Speaking of crab, KSTK reports on the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in southeast Sunday, where the Stikine flats are one of the biggest producers of the crab, and all prospects for this year are for the same.

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Fairbanks Catholic Diocese starts massive outreach for abuse victims. KUAC in Fairbanks reports that the diocese, which has declared bankruptcy, wants the word out on a deadline for victims of sexual abuse to bring forward their case. That date is Dec. 2. To that end, it has placed notices in newspapers and electronic media across the state and into the Pacific Northwest.

The diocese is trying to assess its financial standing for payouts to victims. At issue is whether an insurance company, CNA, which insured the diocese during periods when abuse may have taken place, will contribute to retributions. The diocese has taken the insurance company to court.

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Exxon Mobil loses human rights case before Supreme Court. A major player in the Alaska oil industry, Exxon failed in an attempt to stop a human rights lawsuit against it when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the case to continue in a lower court, MarketWatch.com reports.

The suit stemmed from allegations of violence by Indonesian soldiers Exxon Mobil hired for security at a natural gas plant in Aceh province. The suit now proceeds in Washington, D.C.-based federal courts.

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Linda Menard's next challenger steps up. The Frontiersman reports that Democrat Erick Cordero Giorgana, a 33-year-old Palmer resident who became a U.S. citizen in January, will challenge Menard in the general election.

Originally from Mexico, Cordero Giorgana is married to a Palmer native and has two children. He works in Anchorage for the Alaska Legal Services Corp.

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Juneau mayor launches "lessons learned" commission. The ouch factor was long and deep for Juneau residents when they suddenly faced a 447 percent rate increase for energy after April avalanches temporarily wiped out cheaper hydroelectric sources, reports the Juneau Empire.

Mayor Bruce Botelho says he got the message and now wants to study economic emergencies that can affect Juneau, not just disasters that result in loss of life and property. Prime on his list: Juneau's reliance on barges for most of its food and gasoline, and what the city can do to prepare for disruptions.

The Juneau Empire had a good first lesson for the mayor in its story about the steep climb in shipping fees, tied to fuel prices. Fuel surcharges to and from Southeast Alaska have doubled in a year.

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Alaska mom's bail set at $1 million. That word came down for 22-year-old Morgan Hite of Wasilla in a Colorado courtroom, where she is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her newborn son.

The Associated Press reports that authorities allege she wrapped the baby in a garbage bag and placed him a plastic tote in the closet of her Grand Junction family's home. Her parents discovered the body April 29.

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Unalaska's mayor in hot water with APOC. KIAL reports that the Alaska Public Offices Commission on Monday ruled that Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt did indeed break the law when she sent an e-mail about local union organizing activities and when she conducted campaign activities from her office at Samson Tug & Barge Co.

The commission met for five hours.

"Sanctioning this activity opens the door to future violations," APOC investigator Jeff Berliner said at the hearing. "If this is allowed, public officials will feel free to use publicly funded communications with impunity to express political views on candidates. This is a very slippery slope."

You can read Marquardt's thoughts on the decision here. She is considering an appeal.

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Paying by credit card will cost you now. The Associated Press reports that Chugach Electric will now charge customers $3.50 per transaction to pay their utility bill by phone or on the company's Web site. The fee starts Sept. 1. About a third of Chugach constomers, or 25,000, will be affected.

The fee was prompted by the rising cost of processing credit-card transactions, spokeswoman Patti Bogan said. Chugach pays more than $800,000 per year to process credit-card payments, according to a letter sent by Chugach to its members. A member survey indicated that only members using that service should pay for it.

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In other headlines of interest to Alaskans:

< Welton sues "Dateline NBC" over interviews (The Frontiersman)

< Juneau woman related to ancient hunter (Associated Press)

< Homer Electric moves to restart Healy coal plant (KBBI)

< Glen Alps parking lot paving to affect hikers (KTVA)

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