Anchorage Daily News

COUNTDOWN: 23 days.

FLYING FACTOIDS ... (1) Mayor Palin fired Wasilla Police Chief Irl Stambaugh. He sued her and lost. Gov. Palin fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The Legislative investigator subpoenaed Todd Palin, who refused to show up. If the Legislature chose to, it could order the Senate Sergeant of Arms to take Todd into custody. The current Senate Sergeant of Arms is Gary Stambaugh, Irl Stambaugh's brother.

Of course, if Gary isn't available, the legislators could always dial 911 and ask for Trooper Wooten.

(2) House Speaker John Harris has two staffers who went to high school with national candidates: John Bitney attended Wasilla High with Sarah Heath (Palin) from 1979 to 1981. Christopher Clark attended Hawaii's Punahou High School with Barack "Barry" Obama from 1976-1977.

Alors, darlings, who needs six degrees of separation? Two degrees is plenty in Alaska.

THE OTHER ELECTION ... Speaking of Speaker Harris, the Legislature is deep into its usual election year churn over organization. In the House, it's all about who will be the new Speaker and who gets to control the House Finance Committee. No doubt you've all heard that Rep. Mike Chenault, a Republican from the Kenai (Nikiski), and currently co-chair of House Finance, is a solid bet to succeed Harris (Valdez) as Speaker.

But hedge your bets a little longer, d'Ears.

The real battle is over the Finance co-chairs. Current co-chair Kevin Meyers is going to the Senate. And if Chenault become Speaker, that means two brand new Finance chairs.

Ear hears Republicans Mike Hawker (Anchorage) and Bill Stoltz (Chugiak) both want the jobs, but that opposition bubbled up in some quarters late last week.

Some colleagues are reportedly asking Chenault to please stay on Finance and leave Harris as Speaker for a third term. Ear hasn't heard Chenault's reaction.

If, and it's a big if, any of this comes to pass, who will get the second Finance chair? Really, darlings, Ear knows nothing, but there's talk of Bill Thomas, a Bushy Republican from Haines or, if there's a coalition, Reggie Joule, a Democrat from Kotzebue. Yes, d'Ears, there's House coalition talk. Current events, like Rs against Troopergate suing Rs for Troopergate, have produced an atmosphere conducive to negotiations for bipartisan leadership, say folks on the scene.

It all sounds pretty sketchy to the Luscious Lobe, but it's the buzz. Take it for what it's worth. And remember, it ain't over 'til it's over.

A QUESTION ... What amusing wag stuck a "Republicans for Begich" campaign sign up against Bill Allen's house on West 11th? Surely not Bill himself. That would be adding insult to federal snitching.

MAKE UP YOUR OWN JOKE ... From the Washington Post: "The folks at Ancestry.com pored over the records and say they found that Joe Six-Pack's champion is ... tenth cousin to Princess Diana, via a common set of early 17th-century forebears. Also: She's ninth cousin once removed to that blue-blooded Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

MORE QUESTIONS ... The Los Angeles Times Dish Rag blog is reporting that Madonna has banned Sarah from her new "Sticky & Sweet" concert tour. They've got video to prove it, but it's way too raunchy for an Ear link. Here are Ear's questions: Who cares? Do we think Sarah wants to go to a Madonna concert? Are Madonna's thighs scarier than Sarah's hair? Does Madonna need to get a life? Does she realize Sarah is related to Diana?

READY, AIM, WRITE ... Radio Mouth Rick Rydell has a new book out: "Blood on the Tundra," a collection of stories about hunting in Alaska. There's a nostalgic tone to some of the stories -- a sad farewell to the waning "golden age" of hunting here during the last half of the 20th century. Ear finds Rick more thoughtful about his hunting than his politics, as evidenced by this:

"Few events can bring someone as close to being at one with God as hunting. Close to nature, close to the core of humanity, close to humility and confidence, all at the same time. Of course there aren't many events that can make someone feel as stupid either."

ON THE MOVE ... Word is Chuck Kopp, the former Kenai Police Chief who inherited Walt Monegan's job for five minutes, is on the short list for a patrolman's job in Bristol Bay.

• Kathleen McCoy, an editor at Your Favorite Good Morning Newspaper for more years than she wants mentioned, is off to a new job at UAA.

• T.C. Mitchell, almost as grizzled a veteran at ADN and most recently a reporter at the Valley bureau, has moved over to be assistant managing editor at the Frontiersman.

REST OF THE STORY ... Ear mentioned a few weeks ago that reporter Amanda Coyne originally had the contract for the Sarah book that's now No. 3 on the N.Y. Times best seller list. Blogger Andromeda Romano-Lax asked Amanda why she decided not to do the book.

"She hadn't traveled. She couldn't name her favorite book. She doesn't struggle with any kind of the big issues of the day. She has not experienced anything like adversity. It took her five colleges to get a journalism degree. Her mother didn't know who Sarah's idols were. She also didn't know how she became the kind of born-again Christian she says she is. She couldn't remember Sarah having interest in public policy, or in reformist movements, or in anything, much, except for sports. Both Sarah and her family are obsessed with Trooper Wooten."

OUTSIDE IN ... An earwig who helps program the scoreboard at ECU in Greenville, N. C., where Gov. Palin spoke Tuesday, reported in with the following: Sarah's Secret Service instructed those filming for the scoreboard that under no circumstance were they to shoot her legs or from the chest up. All shots had to be from the waist up.

And, they were ordered not to refer to Sarah as "hot" or "sexy" while on headphones. Anyone who did that would be "taken out."

Ear is pretty sure they didn't mean that literally.

Pretty sure.

VERBATIM ... The Wasilla mayoral candidacy of Councilman Steve Menard crashed Tuesday when he pulled about 14 percent of the vote. Does his response to the usual Daily News candidate questionnaire offer a clue?

"I am going to do something that has never been done before in a campaign race -- tell you the truth. Now I have taken many hits in this campaign, and some have been of my own doing. But I can tell you that no one will work harder for this town as your mayor. This is my home! I have proposed and passed more legislation than anyone else running for mayor. I will claw, scratch, and fight for every last citizen and business. My blood flows Warrior red. And if am elected, I can promise you this -- I will never embarrass you or this city again."

Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Find Ear online at adn.com/ear. Contact Sheila at stoomey@adn.com

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