Anchorage Daily News

Coast Guard suspends search for missing plane. The Associated Press reports that 56-year-old Brian Andrews, the deputy commissioner of the state Department of Revenue, and his son Brian, 24, were aboard the missing plane.

The search included state and federal personnel and civilians and covered more than 4,800 miles of land, water and shoreline, but the plane was never found, and its locator beacon had not activated.

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More smoked salmon recalled in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says tests by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation found listeria monocytogenes in a batch of salmon at Alaska Fish Processors in Fairbanks. The contamination can cause infections in children, the elderly and anyone with a compromised immune system.

The company recalled 150 pounds of Santa's Smokehouse smoked keta salmon. It had already recalled 163 pounds of smoked silver salmon in June. Products were sold through the company's Fairbanks store and online from December 2007 through July 2008.

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Republican mayor from Alaska to address Democratic Convention. The Associated Press reports that North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker will say yes to an invitation to address the Denver convention. He recently endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Breaking ranks with fellow Republicans in a state like Alaska can carry penalties, he acknowledges. "The decision to support Sen. Obama was not one that I took lightly. Nor was it one that was going to be halfhearted, so when the call came and the request was made I said I would do it."

The mayor said he spent several months sorting out the candidates' qualifications. "By comparing the two candidates, my conclusion was the policies Obama will enact, will be the result of a considered and intelligent process."

In other Obama news, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports on an Obama rally among Alaska Natives in Fairbanks Tuesday, and the Kodiak Daily Mirror reports on low turnout for last Saturday's "Walk for Change" in support of Obama. Ten people showed, and no one knocked on any doors, the report said.

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PFD online applications filtered for geographic inconsistency. Canada.net reports that Canadian firm Quova Inc. processes the 71 percent of PFD applications filed online, searching for discrepancies between the IP address used to file the application and claims the applicant makes being in Alaska when the form was filed.

Since the filtering began, Alaska has saved $1 million in fraudulent applications and succeeded in eight criminal indictments, a PFD spokesman said.

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Worldwide hops shortage hurts Alaska breweries. It's all about the hops and a 2007 crash, reports the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

A drought in Australia, hailstorms in Germany and Slovenia, and a decline in U.S. hops production means beer makers are having a hard time getting the ingredient that makes their hoppiest brews like IPA taste so good. Hear from Alaska Brewing Co. and the Silver Gulch microbrewery in Fox.

Some makers say they just won't make some of the more expensive brews, and others say they're trying other flavor additives, like coffee. The Silver Fox brewers say their Imperial Coffee Stout is popular.

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Troopers warn against another phone scam. The Associated Press reports on a new phone scam hitting Southeast Alaska. An elderly Angoon woman took a call saying that to get her winnings she needed to send money to a Jamaica address. She sent $2,000 before family members intervened.

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Kenai names new police chief, and it's not Chuck Kopp. KTUU says Kenai City Manager Rich Koch has named Gus Sandahl to the role vacated by Kopp, who left for a job as state commissioner of public safety but lasted only two weeks.

APRN and the ADN both offer a view of the legislative investigation surrounding the Palin administration's firing of Walt Monegan, the man who held the job before Kopp stepped up, briefly. The investigation turns on whether a trooper's confidential personnel information was shared among administrative staff members.

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Sen. Ted Stevens campaign gets intense scrutiny. From bloggers to mainstream media, they've got the senator and also U.S. Rep. Don Young in their sites. Here's a rundown of stories and commentaries:

> Two longtime Alaska politicians face ouster (Los Angeles Times)

> Uncle Ted's favorite Democrat (Sen. Inouye) (Seattle P-I)

> Sen. Stevens wants trial by day, campaign by night (Associated Press)

> Alaska's moving past the pork pitch (Washington Post)

> Sen. Stevens faces tough Republican primary (APRN)

> Is Vickers a plant for Begich? (Alaskan Abroad)

> Begich signs escape bullet holes in Valley (Mudflats)

If you haven't had enough fun yet, you can listen to Talk of Alaska's hour-long call-in show with Sen. Stevens now posted at APRN. Also KAKM's Running series features U.S. House and Senate candidates 7-9 tonight. The video is posted on the site afterward for easy navigation to the state legislative candidates who've already appeared. The U.S. House and Senate candidates will be posted after the show airs tonight.

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More news sites seek to explain the ballot propositions. It's time to do your homework so you know how to vote August 26. Here are stories and commentaries aimed at informing and/or persuading you.

Ballot Measure 1: the gambling initiative

> Don't gamble with gambling (editorial) (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> Crawford: It's a legislative end run (APRN)

Ballot Measure 2: aerial predator control

> Charges of "willful attempt to mislead the public (Associated Press)

Ballot Measure 4: clean water initiative

> Dermot Cole: state finds room for differing legal interpretation (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> State releases information on Measure 4 (dnr.state.ak.us)

> KOTZ airs Prop. 4 debate at 10 a.m. Wednesday (kotz.org, thanks to Kodiak Konfidential)

> Cynthia Toohey and Jim Whitaker on Prop. 4 (Anchorage Daily News)

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Other headlines of interest to Alaskans:

> Warming climate threatens Alaska's vast forests (Reuters, UK

> Alaska's best dishes featured in new cookbook series (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> Juneau home to southeast Alaska Native research center (Indian Country Today)

> Paddling Alaska's glacial lagoons (inc. video) (Wall Street Journal)

> Alaska's 36 Crazyfists to film live DVD in Anchorage (blabbermouth.net)

> Shell shares data on Cook Inlet Catcher's Mitt prospect (businesswire.com)

> U.S. gets more oil from Iraq than from Alaska (cattlenetwork.com)

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