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News for Tuesday, Aug. 28

“Judge links Ben Stevens to FBI probe.” The lead story in the Juneau Empire today quotes a federal judge saying in court papers that the evidence will show that “Senator A” — who has turned up under that label in other court documents and news accounts involving the corruption investigation of Alaska politicians — “is, in fact, Ben Stevens.”

Other news stories have asserted that circumstances make it clear court papers related to the ongoing inquiry into ties between Alaska lawmakers and the oil industry are referring to Stevens when describing parts of a plan to influence oil tax legislation. But the Empire story says the judge’s statement is the first public linking of Stevens and the corruption investigation.

Stevens has not been charged with a crime. Two other former state lawmakers — Pete Kott and Bruce Weyhrauch — are scheduled to go on trial next week on corruption charges. Today’s ADN story on the latest pre-trial maneuvering is here.

***

Tom Anderson on tape. KTUU has posted on its web site three minutes of the video tapes that were evidence in the corruption trial of former state Rep. Tom Anderson. The tapes include discussions between Anderson and Frank Prewitt, who had become a government informant.

A federal court jury in July convicted Anderson of conspiracy, bribery and other charges related to political corruption.

***

“The cult of Chris McCandless.” “Has the truth been lost?” a long piece in Men’s Journal asks as the hype builds for “Into the Wild,” the movie version of Jon Krakauer’s book about a young man who walked into Alaska’s wilderness and died.

The article gets into the hero-or-fool argument that has long accompanied the McCandless story and frames the disagreement this way: “From almost the moment (his body) was found, the meaning of Chris McCandless's life and lonely death has been fiercely argued. The debate falls into two camps: Krakauer's visionary seeker, the tragic hero who dared to live the unmediated life he had dreamed of and died trying; or, as many Alaskans see it, the unprepared fool, a greenhorn who had fundamentally misjudged the wilderness he'd wanted so desperately to commune with.”

The writer, Matthew Power, trekked to the site where McCandless died — the bus is still there — and concluded the truth of exactly how McCandless died may never be known. But he did find those who think they understand some of it, including a Cantwell man: “We grew up here. You learn how to make a campfire when you're a kid. This, I didn't think much of it at the time. That kid’s mistakes started a long time before he got here.”

***

“My family … Look what I’ve done to my family.” The survivor of a plane crash near Ketchikan has told the harrowing story of the wreck and its immediate aftermath to The Oregonian. Mindy Mayer, who lost her husband, a son, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter in the Aug. 16 crash that killed five in all, told the story from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Immediately after the crash, she told the newspaper, she and her son Eric Smith were the only two speaking. “ ‘He was delirious and so was I,’ Mayer said. ‘My son said, “Oh, Mom, look what's happened. My family, my family, look what I've done to my family.” ’ ”

She said the last she saw of her son was him climbing to the rear of the plane in an attempt to rescue his wife and child.

***

No deal. An Alaska Star story notes that the “on-again, off-again development of a town center” in Eagle River is off, for now. The owners of the Valley River Center canceled a lease with the city of Anchorage, a move that knocks down the chances for a center.

City officials haven’t given up. “We've made it this far,” said Assemblywoman Debbie Ossiander. “This has been like a long hurdle race, with a new obstacle springing up all the time. There is no reason to throw in the towel just yet.”

***

Oosik fetches cool $8,000. A 4 1/2-foot fossilized penis bone from an extinct walrus elicited that price from the company that runs Ripley’s Believe It or Not museums, according to an Associated Press story in the San Diego Union-Tribune. The auction was in Beverly Hills. There were only three bidders for the item, and the bidding lasted only minutes.

Unusual fossils can draw heavy bidding, according to the story. Josh Chait, director of operations for the gallery involved, said the oosik might have been too specialized. “I appreciate its ... historical significance,” he said, “but I wouldn't have it over my mantel.”

***

Cold feet. A Juneau Empire story describes a police pursuit of a fleeing drunken driving suspect who jumped into the Mendenhall River in an effort to get away. The man, who fought with police twice — once before the river plunge, once after — was ultimately caught.

He was charged with drunken driving, assault and other offenses.

***

Long road back. The Peninsula Clarion has a story on an extremely rare disease that hit a Nikiski man and how he has turned to handcycling as part of his struggle to deal with it. The disease is transverse myelitis, and it hit Rick Gilliland out of nowhere, paralyzing him from the chest down.

That was 10 years ago.

This summer he participated in the Sadler’s Ultra Challenge, which runs from Fairbanks to Anchorage. His run “was exhilarating if nothing else. In his division, he finished fifth among nine competitors. He's been told he's the first from the Kenai Peninsula to complete the race,” the story says.

***

Fair crowd witnesses parachute mishap. A KTUU story includes video of a parachutist who got tangled in a flag he was carrying and fell into trees behind the grandstand during an Alaska State Fair event. The fall alarmed the crowd, according to the story, but the parachutist, whose reserve parachute opened, was unhurt.

***

State population to continue climbing. A story in The Tundra Drums cites state Department of Labor and Workforce Development numbers in reporting that Alaska will gain 170,000 new residents by 2030. That would put the population at about 838,000, the story says.

Some specific projections: In rural Alaska, growth is expected in the North Slope and Northwest Arctic (30 percent) and Bethel (25 percent); Cordova, Valdez and the Aleutians will remain the same or lose population, according to the story.

***

Selections from the Skagway News police blotter:

> “Officers responded to a report of someone screaming in the Long Bay area. A group of women were contacted. They had decided to take a swim and discovered that water was extremely cold, which made them scream.”

> “Two teens were reported missing. They were supposed to be on a cruise ship with their parents. The ship was ready to depart. The parents were given an option of leaving the ship or departing without them, when the teens were located getting off the ferry from Haines.”

> “Officers assisted a man who had two dogs that needed porcupine quills removed.”

> “A porcupine was found inside a bar. He was 86’d by patrons. This is the same porcupine that left quills in two dogs (earlier). He was identified by his lack of quills when confronted.”

Other headlines:
> Alaska Air jets damaged in LAX collision (Seattle Post-Intelligencer/AP)
> Theft at four Anchorage schools (KTVA)
> Pavlof Volcano continues rumbling after 18,000-foot ash explosion last week (APRN)
> City gets $4.6 million harbor matching grant from state (KMXT in Kodiak)