Alaska fights to keep wolf program
January 30, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is supporting state legislation to end lawsuits by groups opposed to the shooting wolves from planes.Supporters said the bill would simplify the language in Alaska’s predator control laws, aimed at boosting moose and caribou populations for hunters. Critics such as the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife said the legislation would allow predator-control expansion across the state, the Anchorage Daily News said Wednesday.
“It gives carte blanche for the Board of Game to move ahead based on a hunch,” Tom Banks of Defenders of Wildlife told the newspaper. “Based on a belief, really, that killing wolves in a particular area would be helpful.”
The aerial predator control program has resulted in the death of more than 700 wolves in the program’s five years. While it is mostly aimed at wolves, it has also included bears, the newspaper said.
Source: United Press International
Port Authority appeal rejected
January 30, 2008
The state on Wednesday turned down the Alaska Gasline Port Authority’s request to reconsider its gas pipeline proposal. But it will not rule out the prospects of an all-Alaska gas line and liquefied natural gas (LNG) option, which is what the authority sought in a proposal deemed incomplete by the state. Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin and Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin, both members of the governor’s gas line team, announced their decision during a news conference in Juneau.
The two then briefed both the Senate Resources Committee and House Republicans on pipeline progress. The port authority is a coalition of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the city of Valdez and the North Slope Borough. It proposed an 806-mile pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. From there, the gas would be liquefied for transport on tankers. Gov. Sarah Palin rejected the authority’s plan among four others while touting a proposal by TransCanada as the only conforming application under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.
Read the full story at the ADN
Hacked.
January 30, 2008
Yep, Palintology was hacked, evidently by “Turkish & Muslim” hackers. I’m not sure how long the altered site was up, though it wasn’t more than a day and a half. It was a busy week and I had not been able to work on the site for anything other than, ironically enough, a security update. I failed to delete a crucial file and sure enough, the breach was quickly discovered and exploited.
Nicely enough, the Alaska Politics Blog saw it before I did, posted it, but didn’t bother to email me. You know, just to be nice? I guess not. And I guess I’m not that surprised. I’ve noticed something about Kyle, he loves to fan flames and lean towards the more gossipy end of the spectrum. I think he could do a great job with TMZ if they ever get into Politics.
I doubt he remembers, but years ago he interviewed me for a story he was doing about some people I worked with. Every question he asked was angled to the negative and when I wouldn’t follow along with the juicy gossip he was looking for, he flat out asked for it. I didn’t give it and the phone call quickly ended.
Evidently his style hasn’t changed and of course there’s no fun in reporting a hacked site that might quickly be fixed.
Stay classy, Kyle. 
Palin not quite ready to back candidate
January 30, 2008
“Gov. Sarah Palin said Tuesday she wasn’t ready to back any candidate for president but had narrowed it down to two — fellow Republicans Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Palin said she was trying to find time off the state clock to study where the two candidates stood on national security, resource development, and a natural gas pipeline, and had calls in to both campaigns. “I would ideally love to speak with them personally on their positions on resources and national security,” she said.”
Read the full story at Fairbanks News Miner
Lawmaker warns against altering education funding
January 30, 2008
The head of a legislative task force charged with fixing the state’s school funding warned lawmakers Tuesday that tinkering with any proposed changes could cause a “long-fought, well-discussed compromise” to collapse.Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, told the House Finance Committee that it was premature to consider the $200 increase proposed by Gov. Sarah Palin to the base student allowance, or BSA. That allowance is the starting amount in a formula the state uses to determine how much a school district receives from the state per student.
Read the full story at Juneau Empire
