Anchorage Daily News

Fairbanks wants to fast-track a coal and biomass power plant. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported on an energy summit this week in Fairbanks aimed at fast solutions to high fuel prices in the Interior.

North Slope Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker and Sen. Ted Stevens are hosting the summit to get support for an interior energy plan that has been three years in the planning. An energy and environment secretary for the Air Force will also attend. Proponents hope the plant could be based at Eielson Air Force Base and that the military will commit to buying fuel.

Stevens, speaking in Haines last week, said base closures linked to high energy costs are a real threat, reported the Chilkat Valley News.

But no military installation is immune from changing, he said, noting that since 1968 more than 150 military bases in Alaska have been closed and that the cost of energy will figure into the next round of base closure decisions.

Alaska's five remaining bases are particularly vulnerable because they're some of the nation's most expensive to operate due to fuel and freight costs.

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Juneau is slipping back to its high-energy habits. The Juneau Empire reports that trend lines for energy usage in Juneau are back up now that cheap hydropower is back.

"Energy use in 2008 is trending upward at a relatively constant slope," wrote Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. spokesman Scott Willis in an e-mail.

Bill Leighty, an energy analyst, said the city could do more to curb its appetite.

That would have required, for example, seeing a shockingly high bill very early in the crisis, conducting home energy audits on a mass scale to find and fix where energy is wasted and installing smart meters in houses to show people directly the effects of turning on appliances.

"If you're training a dog, you need to give the dog rapid, immediate feedback to reinforce or discourage behavior. We're just smart dogs in this case," Leighty said.

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One Homer legislator thinks 20,000 bicycles will help. The Homer Tribune took a broad look at energy issues in its neighborhood, noting that Homer Electric Association rates are going up 1.1 cents per kilowatt hour for a local energy rate of 14.6 cents. HEA says it buys power from Chugach Electric, which raised its rates after natural gas rates climbed.

Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, thinks the state should buy 20,000 bikes and paint them so it's clear they belong to the community. The bikes would be outfitted with baskets for grocery shopping.

"If there are people in local communities who want to take charge of a free bicycle program, then that is what we would like to work with," Seaton said.

Meanwhile, Homer saw its first fuel-efficient Smart Car, reports the Homer News, calling the tiny vehicle "small enough to hug."

In Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says the University of Alaska Fairbanks and city transit officials are considering allowing anyone with a school ID card to ride buses free anytime. A similar plan is already in existence in Anchorage with UAA and the People Mover.

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Gas and heating fuel thefts climb in Kodiak. Kodiak's police chief says gas thievery is nothing new, but it's increasing, reports the Kodiak Daily Mirror.

"It has definitely been on the rise," Kodiak Police Chief T.C. Kamai said. "In the last couple of years, we had maybe a couple cases, but in the last six months, we've investigated a dozen or so, and some may be going unreported."

City Manager Linda Freed says she's hearing more complaints including thefts of fuel from boats in the harbor. Both officials recommended locking gas caps.

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Alaskans need to worry more about steady food supplies. A Homer teacher newly appointed by Gov. Sarah Palin to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation says the role of farming and feeding Alaskans needs much more attention, reports the Homer Tribune.

Al Poindexter grew up among hundreds of cows and goats on a farm in the Caribou Hills.

The high cost of fuel and Alaska's isolation make the state's food supply vulnerable to interruption, he said.

"It makes sense to focus on what we can produce instate by supporting farms through loans," Poindexter said. "It's always good to have a source of food security."

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Denali tourism dips, leads to travel perks. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner notes that visits to Denali National Park have dipped 13 percent, leading businesses to lure travelers with deals.

Among the offerings are half-price room rates and gas cards

"The incentive is gas," said Bob Concienne of Aramark, owner of Denali Park Resorts. "If we can incentivize folks to come visit our properties if we pay for their gas, all the better."

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F-22 Raptors get high marks at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Aviation & Aerospace, reporting on an air show in Farnborough, England, included details on the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors deployed in Alaska. The F-22 made its European debut at the show.

The fighter jets are on active service at six U.S. Air Force bases. In Alaska, they were used in Northern Edge training.

The 3rd Fighter Wing at Elmendorf AFB took delivery of 32 F-22s with another eight aircraft scheduled to be accepted before the year's end. Cold-weather trials were successful at Elmendorf this year with no significant aircraft deficiencies.

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World Eskimo Indian Olympics kicks off in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner welcomes back the WEIO to Fairbanks this July, and a feature story introduces readers to the six Miss WEIO candidates.

The first candidate, Kelsi Ivanoff, 20, spoke in her native language and gave a Power Point presentation showing her hunting geese, salmon fishing and skinning a whale.

"I finally learned to butcher a beluga," she said.

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Juneau reporter takes stand in cocaine case. Juneau Empire report Greg Skinner was called to testify in the trial of Aaron Washington because a prosecutor and the judge thought Washington may have confessed to the reporter during a jailhouse interview.

Skinner took the stand in a T-shirt that bore the free speech clause and the words "Bad Prosecutor, No Donut" on the front and a big image of a donut on the back.

Newspaper lawyers argued that Skinner was protected by the state's shield law, but Judge Philip Pallenberg said the shield law only protects a reporter from naming confidential sources.

Skinner testified that Washington had not confessed to him. The jury was not present.

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In other headlines of interest to Alaskans:

>Ray Metcalfe has a three-hour corruption tour (Metcalfe4Senate.com)

> Scott Watts is named best professional driver in Alaska (Earth Times)

> Palin's $1,200 energy rebate should follow PFD rules (Dermot Cole, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> In-flight e-mail, Internet tested on Alaska Airlines this summer (Flightglobal.com)

> Visit the Saturday Market in Bethel (Tundra Dreams)

> Chinook subsistence fishing closed in Shaktoolik, Unalakleet (Nome Nugget)

> Booze purchases for teens lead to three arrests in Homer (Homer News)

> State won't offer Yup'ik ballots (The Arctic Sounder)

> Youth service group tackles invasive weeds in Cordova (The Cordova Times)

> Professor studies collapsing banks from melting permafrost (News-Record.com)

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