Anchorage Daily News

A JOKE TOO HOT TOO TOUCH AGAIN (Political Ticker, CNN.com): Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm - another governor sometimes labeled "hot" - said she won't apologize for her crack at last weekend's Gridiron Dinner in D.C. that Gov. Sarah Palin "really set back the cause of hot governors" with her vice-presidential campaign.

TALES FROM THE UNALASKA POLICE BLOTTER ... (Unalaska Advertiser): "Theft - Caller reported his teenage son's iTouch had been stolen. ...The investigating officer determined that a teenage girl, who didn't like the teenage boy, had taken the iTouch and thrown it in the ocean." ALSO:

> Police blotter writing brings Unalaskan fame -- and possibly a book deal (KUCB)

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MEETS ITS MOOSE (Sourdough Sentinel, Elmendorf AFB): Where do all the moose at Elmendorf and Fort Richardson come from? Where do they go? What are they doing? Base and state wildlife conservation agents are tagging military moose to try to get those questions answered.

SOUTHEAST TOWN ADVERTISES FOR FAMILIES TO FILL SCHOOL (Juneau Empire): In an effort to save their school, the residents of Tenakee Springs have launched an Internet marketing campaign. The item for sale: Tenakee Springs. "We are looking for a few good families," begins their Craigslist ad.

COAL STOLEN FROM FAIRBANKS FOOD BANK (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner): Thieves took a huge, free helping of fuel - not food - from the Fairbanks Community Food Bank over the weekend. Stealing someone's fuel in Alaska, especially when temperatures remain well below freezing, is perhaps akin to cattle rustling in the old West.

ON PENINSULA, RELIEF FROM HIGH ELECTRICITY RATES MIGHT BE TEMPORARY (Homer Tribune): After several months of jaw-dropping electric bills for Kenai Peninsula residents, rates will be coming down starting next month. Homer Electric Association announced this week that it would be adjusting its rates back to the pre-December state. Why the rollercoaster rates? Check the prices at the gas pump, HEA says. ALSO:

> Another rate hike for HEA members (Peninsula Clarion, December 2008)

A NAST-Y TAKE ON GOV. PALIN AND AGIA (Jim Geraghty, National Review): Joe McGinniss' Conde Nast Portfolio cover story on Gov. Palin, "Pipe Dreams," is almost too well-researched to be dismissed as a hit piece. Over six pages, McGinniss, who covered Alaska's oil boom in 1975, takes us deep into the world of the state's oil-and-gas industry, the challenging terrain, the murky politics and the Byzantine relationship between politics and big business. A reader who comes to the topic with no familiarity with the issue comes away more knowledgeable, and for that McGinniss deserves credit. But the article's argument doesn't always mesh with the details. ALSO:

> Transcript: CNN interviews McGinniss on Portfolio article

> Palin response to McGinniss piece

DRILLING THE ARCTIC: DOES INCREASING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE COME AT OUR PERIL? (Scientific American): Jeff Short, a former Alaskan and Pacific science director for the conservation group Oceana, testified before the U.S. House on the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez spill Tuesday. In an interview, he says the small potential payoff in new Arctic gas and oil finds is not worth the risk of offshore drilling there. ALSO:

> Alaskans speak out on offshore drilling (Alaska Public Radio Network)

FIRST, 2 FEET OF SNOW IN KODIAK; NEXT, FLOODS? (Kodiak Konfidential blog): "We have so much snow that this town was shut down [Tuesday]. I talked to several olde tymers and others born and raised here, and none of them ever saw that much snow in one storm. ... Um, speaking of the thaw, there's now a flood advisory for Kodiak."

Return to Alaska Newsreader through the day for new links.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT NEWSREADERS:

Birthday girl among last to leave Redoubt before eruption (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Redoubt responds to GOP in explosive interview (The Mudflats blog)

Dogs in deer attack loose again (Juneau Empire)

Struggle for power on doomed fishing boat (The Seattle Times)

Russia calls Old Believers home (The New York Times)

Sylvia Plath's son commits suicide in Fairbanks (The Times of London)

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