Anchorage Daily News

MONDAY

Infighting among Exxon plaintiffs cause of even further delays

It took better than 19 years for commercial fishermen and other plaintiffs to win sizeable punitive damages from Exxon Mobil Corp. for the disastrous 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound. Now that some money is in hand -- about $383 million -- it still could be months away from distribution. Why? Because of new legal squabbling among the plaintiffs about how to slice the pie. It's the kind of situation Anchorage federal Judge H. Russel Holland warned about last year, when he told lawyers in the epic case it would be "an embarrassment" to allow infighting to delay a payout.

Feral cats are a nuisance, even as far north as Anchorage

They do their best to be invisible, sticking to shadows and the darkness of night. But they're there, feral cats, eking out an existence in nooks and crannies around the city, from trailer parks to sheds to crawl spaces beneath buildings. These are not hapless strays. Feral cats are born wild, live without human contact, and are about as cuddly as chain saws. Alley Cat Allies, a national organization devoted to the humane treatment of feral cats, estimates there are tens of millions in this country. Anchorage numbers are unknown. But last year, Animal Care and Control put down 160 ferals, cats trapped and brought in by members of the public fed up with their wild and sometimes destructive ways.

TUESDAY

Alaskans are getting shortchanged on Medicare

Alaskans who've paid a lifetime of payroll taxes toward Medicare on a promise they'll receive no-cost health insurance in their retirement years are "frustrated," "resentful" and "really angry" that local family doctors increasingly refuse to accept them as patients. That's the message senior citizen advocates delivered to legislators this month at a forum on local Medicare problems. "We tell people, 'You know, you're probably not going to find a physician, and you should look for a nurse practitioner instead,' '' AARP Alaska director Patrick Luby told the Anchorage hearing attended by legislators, doctors and hospital representatives.

WEDNESDAY

Now NOAA must figure out what is threatening belugas

Declaring Cook Inlet beluga whales an endangered species -- as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did Friday -- was only the first step toward protecting them. Now federal biologists are trying to figure out exactly what's endangering them. The newly released "Conservation Plan for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale" -- a 128-page report compiled by the National Marine Fisheries Service -- takes a preliminary stab at the question, listing 18 possible threats to the local whale population.

THURSDAY

Coast Guard rescues fishermen from stormy Alaska seas

Four crew members of a fishing boat were plucked alive from a life raft in frigid, stormy seas in a remote Alaska island chain hours after their vessel was reported in distress, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Five crew members died, and two remained missing Friday night.

Wardrobe funded by GOP nothing but press for Palin

Sarah Palin's wardrobe joined the ranks of symbolic political excess, alongside John McCain's multiple houses and John Edwards' $400 haircut, as Republicans expressed fear that weeks of tailoring Palin as an average "hockey mom" would fray amid revelations that the Republican Party outfitted her with expensive clothing from high-end stores. Cable television, talk radio and shows like "Access Hollywood" seemed gripped with sartorial fever after campaign finance reports confirmed that the Republican National Committee spent $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue in September for Palin and her family.

FRIDAY

Alaska gasoline producers may face tougher regulation

Alaska gasoline producers face the specter of tougher regulation if the price of gasoline remains higher here than in the Lower 48, some state legislators warned. Limiting what refiners and other wholesalers can charge for gas was one idea that came out of a long legislative hearing Thursday in Anchorage.

SATURDAY

Unforeseen event may delay Stevens jury deliberation

WASHINGTON -- Eleven jurors went home early Friday without deliberating the fate of Sen. Ted Stevens after the judge located the 12th in California, where she had flown on short notice to attend her father's funeral. The unplanned day off may be followed by another on Monday and possibly again Tuesday, depending on how U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan decides to proceed.

Palin testifies for two hours in abuse-of-power investigation

ST. LOUIS -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin testified for two hours Friday in an abuse-of-power investigation that has been a distraction to her Republican vice-presidential campaign. Palin's leadership was questioned this month in a stinging legislative report that found she violated state ethics laws by letting a family dispute influence her decision-making.

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