Anchorage Daily News

Got gas? Not at this station. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that "operational issues" at the Flint Hills Resources' North Pole refinery have stalled unleaded gas deliveries in the state. A spokesman wouldn't elaborate on the difficulties.

This is of interest to Alaskans because we pay high prices at the pump despite refining our gasoline right here at home. State legislators are asking for an investigation into the local pricing structure, and Attorney General Talis Colberg says he's asked the state's Consumer Protection Unit to pursue the issue.

The refinery's slowdown left an independent station in Fairbanks with bagged (closed) pumps Wednesday. Large state suppliers say they are diverting gas from Anchorage to meet demands elsewhere, which could further raise gas prices statewide.

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Increased traffic to Asia adds costly flight simulator to Anchorage UPS. Ajc.com

reports that UPS has opened a $6.7 million, 27,000-square-foot center in Anchorage housing flight simulators for its trans-Pacific "workhorses": 747-400s and MD-11s. These long-range planes make the U.S.-Asia circuit.

Four hundred of UPS' 2,932 pilots start their flights in Anchorage, and that number is expected to grow. The Anchorage simulator is only the second in the nation.

"Anchorage is ideally positioned to be our gateway to Asia," said UPS Airline President Bob Lekites in a statement. Spokesman Norman Black said that UPS has nearly 200 flights a week through Anchorage.

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U.S. House race: "The boor" meets "the wallflower." KSKA/KAKM's "Running" featured candidates for this race on its program Wednesday night. ADN's Sean Cockerham blogged it here, and you can listen to recordings here. The Anchorage Press this morning features the Moore Report, in which local pollster Ivan Moore clears his throat on the Young/Parnell battlefield. Some excerpts:

Don Young is a boor ... crude, arrogant and unbelievably out of touch with what's required of public officials with respect to their dealings with the press and the public.

But Don Young is also good at what he does. Being one out of 435 and still being effective requires two things: seniority and a certain judiciously used amount of Don Young swagger. No matter what you think about him, whether you like him or not, I don't think too many people out there would seriously question his ability to be effective.

But Sean Parnell is also shockingly dull. He's a wallflower, a shrinking violet, painfully shy and reticent, and not very exciting or charismatic.

Sean's task is more difficult because you can't spin dull.

Alaska Dispatch pursued details on Club for Growth donations to Parnell and discovered that those donors who picked up their phone to talk don't really know who Parnell is or who Don Young is or even that Young is running for office under an FBI-investigation cloud. An excerpt:

Roger Crouch, of Lathrop, Mo., made a $1,000 contribution to Parnell in mid-July through the Club for Growth. In an interview Tuesday, Crouch said he gave to Parnell to help him beat that "friggin' liberal ... that flaming liberal." When asked who the flaming liberal was, Crouch said, "You should know. It's that RINO." (RINO stands for "Republican In Name Only.")

That liberal would be ... Rep. Don Young.

And another: Norma Ellis, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, gave $1,000 to Parnell last month. "I just sent the checks. They [Club for Growth] decide how to spend the money."

She recognized U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' name but when asked about Young, Ellis said, "I don't know anything about Don Young. Is he in trouble too?"

The Young campaign and Alaska Democrats could hardly be happier.

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"Ted, I'm going to give you a prayer." That's what Alaskans are saying to Sen. Ted Stevens, according to statements he made on "Running" Wednesday night. Catch the ADN blog coverage here, and listen to it here.

But Stevens wants more than prayers; he wants money for his legal defense fund. He allowed as much during his hourlong APRN "Talk of Alaska" appearance. TPM Muckraker listened in and characterized the senator's charisma this way: "Stevens cusses, threatens and belittles his way into the hearts of Alaskan voters."

The blog also calls Stevens' belief that he could surmount even a corruption conviction in September to win his seat in November:

Stevens: I don't think about that. I have faith that that is not going to happen. As a matter of fact, approaching this whole issue is a matter of faith. And I am convinced I am innocent, so I, I must maintain my position that I have faith I will not be reaching that position that you just indicated. If that happens, we'll have to make some decisions, but I don't expect it.

Muckraker called his answer "delusional."

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State wolf-pup killing resurfaces; biologists never sought an alternative. The original story surfaced in July when Fish and Game biologists acknowledged they had killed 14 wolf pups on the Alaska Peninsula as part of a predator control program to help a struggling caribou herd there. In their original June press release on predator control, they hadn't mentioned pups were involved.

In the July story, Fish and Game says it explored options to prevent killing the pups, according to area biologist Lem Butler. "We looked into potentially getting them adopted by a zoo but there were no available options," he said.

Now the Juneau Empire reports that the Alaska Zoo and the Haines Animal Center, two likely in-state candidates, were never called.

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Sandhill cranes and Creamer's Field combine to signal winter. For wildlife enthusiasts, the Homer News reports on a local talk by sandhill crane researchers based on their summer work. Sandhill cranes mate for life, sometimes divorce, are often killed by bald eagles and entertain observers with leaping, wing flapping and dancing. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner features an image of a sandhill crane at Creamer's Field, announcing weekend events to celebrate their presence.

In other headlines of interest to Alaskans:

> Crowded Kodiak High holds classes even in old bathrooms (Kodiak Daily Mirror)

> 5 accused of beating man outside Midnite Mine (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> Settlement talks under way in alleged child molester Kay E. Attie's case (Tundra Drums)

> Research on Alaska's ground squirrels could lead to new cardiac arrest and stroke therapies (accessibility.com)

> Alaska Airlines among 10 with staying power (USA Today)

> Tiffany jewelers continue to oppose Pebble (nationaljewelernetwork.com)

> The Obama volunteer schedule to the Bush (Kodiak Konfidential)

> Alaska Air Guard picks up more Interior rescues as Army deploys (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

> Niche farms might make it in the Valley (Christian Science Monitor)

> Metlakatla withdraws appeal to gambling issue that could have devastated Oklahoma (Tulsa World)

> A look at the Gara/Constant race for District 23 (Anchorage Press)

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