Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA STUDY: AS ALCOHOL TAXES RISE, DEATHS GO DOWN (CNN)

Each time the state of Alaska raised its alcoholic beverage tax, fewer deaths were caused or related to alcohol, according to a study that examined 28 years of data. When Alaska raised its alcohol tax in 1983, deaths caused by or related to alcohol dropped 29 percent. A 2002 tax increase was followed by an 11 percent reduction, according to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study abstract is here.

MSNBC DUPED, RETRACTS PALIN STORY (The Associated Press)

MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said Wednesday.

DEAL FOR FREE FUEL FROM VENEZUELA ON HORIZON (The Arctic Sounder)

A Venezuelan oil company has once again said it will provide 100 gallons of free heating fuel to thousands of rural Alaskans, according to an official with the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council. But Steve Osborne, executive director for the tribal organization, cautioned that the gift wasn't guaranteed. A Citgo official rang up Osborne Tuesday and said the fuel help was coming. But the two groups must a sign a contract, he said.

The program, which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has used to thumb his nose at the Bush administration, has operated the past two winters.

DIG THE BLACK ROCKS, NOT THE CLAMS: With higher energy prices, coal stoves are back in vogue in Homer, reports The Homer Tribune. Locals have gathered chunks of coal on Kachemak Bay beaches for more than a century, and there's renewed interest these days. But before you rush down there to grab your own coal, know this: You can't burn it in a wood stove.

"The coal layers are in outcrops under the water. When you get these big storms in the Gulf of Alaska, they produce long waves," said ecologist Edward Berg. "The waves scour the bottom to a deeper depth and break off coal from the coal ledges. ... We tend to get the biggest storms in the autumn. They generate terrific coaling tides."

PALIN AT GOP GOVERNORS CONFERENCE IN MIAMI: The New York Daily News described the reception of Gov. Palin by her peers as chilly, saying none of them were "putting up Palin lawn signs."

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said, "'Drill, baby, drill!' by itself is not an energy policy" - referring to the chant that became a staple of Palin's rallies - the target of his tweak was clear. Still, Pawlenty also praised Palin as "an extremely talented person" who is "going to be one of the key voices for the party and for Republicans for a long time to come."

Video of Palin at the press conference: MSNBC.com

Also:

Awkward press conference for Palin (CNN)

At governors meeting, Palin looks ahead (New York Times)

A WEEK OF SARAH SURFING: The Washington Post wraps up Palin's week of fighting-back-against-the-jerks interviews and the pundits' reaction in a long piece today.

"She wants to rehabilitate her image and get everyone to love her again," says Larry Persily, a former Palin aide. "If I were advising her, say it once and then stop. You protest too much. You start to look a little foolish." But Dan Schnur, who runs the University of Southern California's Institute of Politics, says the challenge is simple: "Feed the media beast or it's going to feed on you."

PALIN INTERVIEWS THIS WEEK:

CNN "Larry King Live" Wednesday: 20-minute video, transcript

NBC's "Today" show Tuesday-Wednesday with Matt Lauer: Story, video and slide shows.

Fox News "On the Record" Monday with Greta van Susteren: Transcript, video, photos.

Palin reflects on her run (ADN): Article, video, photos

SINGING PALIN'S PRAISES: Homer-bred pop and country singer Jewel tells the New York Daily News that she admires Gov. Palin's "You betcha!" attitude.

"Alaskan women are very can-do women. We're the pioneer state!" says the singer, who's touting the anti-domestic violence campaign A Kiss for Country. "The women who settled Alaska had a large role in shaping it. The way I was raised, I never thought I was any different than boys. You can really see that in Sarah Palin."

PALIN AND THE ‘EVANGELICAL INTRUSION': As Gov. Palin repeatedly calls on God (and maybe Alaska voters) to guide her political future, historian, author and conservative pundit Garry Wills argues in The Daily Beast that "evangelical intrusion into politics has had a sinking hold on the electorate over the long term."

The best thing for the Democrats will be for the Palin cultists to keep her hopes alive, beating a dead moose. Her stands - anti-evolution, anti-stem cell research, no abortion for rape or incest, humans palling around with dinosaurs - will drive the religious extremists back to the margins they came from.

BEYOND TINA FEY: THE BEST OF PALIN ON YOU TUBE: Time magazine looks back on the 2-month national campaign with links to the top-10 Palin spoofs on YouTube, including the faux movie trailer "Head of Skate"; the get-out-and-vote video from a "scared" P. Diddy; "Hockey Moms Against Palin"; "Song for Sarah" by a pair of Russian crooners; and "Sarah Palin Action Doll."

SECRET SERVICE CODE NAMES NOT SO SECRET: President-elect Obama is "Renegade," and his wife is "Rennaissance." Gov. Palin's code name comes straight from Alaska, reports The Associated Press.

BEARFOOT SIGNS RECORD DEAL: Mike Mickelson of Anchorage-based bluegrassy band Bearfoot tells McKinneyNews.net in Texas - where the band has a gig Friday - that they've signed a deal with Nashville's Compass Records. Recording begins this month. Bearfoot's home page is here.

CHECKING IN WITH HOMER'S ‘EAGLE LADY': Jean Keene, who's been feeding hundreds of eagles on the Homer Spit since the late '70s, is now 85 and can't toss boxes of fish out of her truck bed the way she used to. "I plan on doing my best," she told The Homer Tribune. "I'll plan on having a friend help me. I'm not as young as I once was, but I'll keep my dancing shoes on." The Homer City Council has ruled that Keene's eagle-feeding days must end in spring 2010.

ATHABASCAN FIDDLERS FESTIVAL SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

No one has to coax dancers onto the dance floor at the Athabascan Fiddlers Festival. Shortly after the opening strains of fiddle and guitar music started bouncing off the pole ceiling of the Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks on Wednesday night, dancers took to the floor two-stepping in time to Western ballads and blues.

ATTEMPTED KAYAK ESCAPEE GETS 2 YEARS IN PRISON (Juneau Empire)

A convicted sex offender who tried to skip town in a kayak has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating his probation and failing to register as a sex offender. According to court records, Erik Jacobsen spent three days kayaking south to Ketchikan last May before he was picked up by troopers.

Return to Alaska Newsreader through the day for new links.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:

Alaska Territorial Guardsmen still don't get veterans benefits (KTVA)

What Sarah Palin didn't say in this week's interviews (Tina Brown's The Daily Beast)

The future of the poles: Northwest Passage (Scientific American)

Targeting ‘scofflaw' drivers (KSKA)

UAF unmanned-aircraft program soars (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Proposed Izembek refuge road raises drilling fears (Washington Post)

36 Crazyfists plans Anchorage concert DVD (Roadrunner Records)

Homer saloon braves winter for a change (Homer Tribune)

Find previous Newsreader columns here.

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