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October 6, 2008 11:55:40 AM CDT

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Started by Imperator; Last updated May 6, 08 6:28 AM CDT by P Spain | View history

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Arctic Alaska

"Texas always seems so big. But you know you're in the largest state in the Union. When you're anchored down in Anchorage." - lyrics from Anchorage by Michelle Shocked

It's the biggest, coldest, most natural resource rich state in the country. It may be our last frontier. And its the only place in the country where they have no sales or income taxes. Why aren't there more people headed to Alaska?

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 52

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  • October 2008

    • Judge Refuses to Block Troopergate Probe

      Anchorage Daily News  |  Oct 3, 08 5:40 AM CDT

      Judge Refuses to Block Troopergate Probe

      (Newser) - An Alaska judge has refused to halt the Troopergate probe, declaring it a "legitimate" investigation, despite a Republican lawsuit against it, reports the Anchorage Daily News . The judge upheld subpoenas against Sarah Palin's husband and several aides. Five Republican state legislators had filed a lawsuit claiming that the investigation into the firing of a state commissioner was tainted by partisanship and was being used to damage Palin's election chances. More »

    • Palin Out of Loop on State Defense: Air Force

      New York Daily News  |  Oct 1, 08 4:52 AM CDT

      Palin Out of Loop on State Defense: Air Force

      (Newser) - Sarah Palin doesn't get a phone call when US jets are scrambled to intercept Russian bombers off Alaska—despite her hints to the contrary, a NORAD spokesman told the New York Daily News yesterday. "She doesn't have any role," said the major. "The commander does not call the governor."  Palin told Katie Couric last week that her foreign policy experience includes keeping an eye on the Russians. More »

  • September 2008

    • Palin Grabbed $25K in Gifts

      Washington Post  |  Sep 26, 08 6:08 AM CDT

      Palin Grabbed $25K in Gifts

      (Newser) - Sarah Palin accepted gifts totaling over $25,000 during her 20 months as governor of Alaska, the Washington Post reports. The gifts to Palin, who made a crackdown on gift-giving a central plank of her reform agenda, included expensive artwork and free travel for a family member. Donors included industry execs and a cultural center whose board includes powerful mining industry officials. More »

    • Arctic Ice at 2nd-Smallest Level

      Reuters  |  Sep 17, 08 2:26 PM CDT

      Arctic Ice at 2nd-Smallest Level

      (Newser) - Arctic sea ice shrunk to its second-lowest size this summer, up 10% from last year's record, reports Reuters. The melting may not appear as noteworthy as that of 2007, said one research scientist, but the season's conditions prove otherwise. Last year's mix of warm air and favorable winds shifted the ice, prodding the melt; this year was cooler and lacked winds, "yet we still came pretty close to the record," said Walt Meier. More »

    • Creamery Biz Milked Subsidies Under Palin

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 16, 08 5:02 AM CDT

      Creamery Biz Milked Subsidies Under Palin

      (Newser) - Critics who say Sarah Palin is not as fiscally conservative as she claims are questioning extended subsidies paid to a state-run creamery, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Alaska Creamery Board recommended closing the operation in 2007 after it fell $1.5 million in the red. Palin instead fired the board and replaced it with one headed by a childhood friend. More »

    • Palin's Town Billed Rape Victims for Evidence Kits

      Associated Press  |  Sep 12, 08 3:45 AM CDT

      Palin's Town Billed Rape Victims for Evidence Kits

      (Newser) - Sarah Palin's Alaskan hometown billed rape victims and their insurance companies for the cost of rape evidence kits while she was mayor, AP reports. The state had to pass a law—over the objections of Wasilla's police chief—to stop the practice. It was the only town in Alaska to charge rape victims for the kits, according to a former governor. More »

    • Palin Overstates Progress on Pipeline Project

      New York Times  |  Sep 11, 08 10:50 AM CDT

      Palin Overstates Progress on Pipeline Project

      (Newser) - On the campaign trail, Sarah Palin has been touting her role in brokering a deal for a $40-billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska that, she says will "help lead America to energy independence." But the New York Times, investigating the status of the project, finds that the Alaska governor has overstated "both the progress that has been made and the certainty of success," and that some supporters, on closer inspection, have turned against the deal. More »

    • Palin Was Warned Over Troopergate

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 11, 08 3:31 AM CDT

      Palin Was Warned Over Troopergate

      (Newser) - An attorney who acted as an informal ethics adviser to Sarah Palin urged her to apologize for her role in firing Alaska's safety commissioner before it grew into a scandal, the Wall Street Journa l reports. "The situation is grave," he wrote shortly before Palin was picked for the GOP ticket. The safety commissioner has accused Palin of having him fired because he refused to ax a state trooper who divorced Palin's sister. More »

    • 'Troopergate' Cop Regrets Bad Blood With Palins

      Washington Post  |  Sep 6, 08 4:36 PM CDT

      'Troopergate' Cop Regrets Bad Blood With Palins

      (Newser) - The Alaska state trooper at the heart of the "Troopergate" scandal dogging Sarah Palin wants to put the whole thing behind him, the Washington Post reports. Mike Wooten said he regrets his mistakes, and is proud to have been part of the Palin family. Palin is under investigation for her role in the firing of a government official who refused to ax Wooten while the trooper was divorcing her sister. More »

    • Bible Underpins Palin's Politics

      New York Times  |  Sep 6, 08 8:31 AM CDT

      Bible Underpins Palin's Politics

      (Newser) - Sarah Palin's pastors say an abiding faith in the Bible is at the core of her personal and political life, the N ew York Times reports. She attends the nondenominational Wasilla Bible Church. Its links to groups which seek to convert Jews and "cure" gays have caused concern—but townspeople say the unassuming, conservative church is a true reflection of Alaska. More »

    • Palin Projects Hit Mac's Pork List

      Los Angeles Times  |  Sep 3, 08 7:57 AM CDT

      Palin Projects Hit Mac's Pork List

      (Newser) - Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto John McCain's "pork list" of objectionable spending three times while Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the Los Angeles Times reports. McCain's lists came as part of his long campaign against the earmarking system in which members of Congress can chuck cash at pet projects with little or no scrutiny. More »

    • Palin's Alaskan Secessionist Sympathies Come to Light

      ABC News  |  Sep 2, 08 10:16 AM CDT

      Palin's Alaskan Secessionist Sympathies Come to Light

      (Newser) - The latest surprise from Sarah Palin's past is her membership in the fringe Alaskan Independence Party, ABC News reports. A party leader says the governor and her husband were members in the 1990s. Though not strictly secessionist, the AIP is a "states' right party" that wants a vote on leaving the US. Its motto is "Alaska First, Alaska Always"—a far cry from the McCain slogan "Country First." More »

  • August 2008

    • Palin All for Drilling— and Has Been Tough on Big Oil

      Salon  |  Aug 29, 08 4:50 PM CDT

      Palin All for Drilling— and Has Been Tough on Big Oil

      (Newser) - Gov. Sarah Palin wants the US to drill for oil, offshore or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in her home state. Not only does recent drilling convert John McCain get backup, Andrew Leonard writes in Salon, but Dems will have a hard time branding Palin a pawn of Big Oil: She’s had a history of taxing oil companies and badmouthing lobbyists. More »

    • GOP Leaves Alaska Drilling Off Platform

      Associated Press  |  Aug 27, 08 1:37 PM CDT

      GOP Leaves Alaska Drilling Off Platform

      (Newser) - The committee assembling the Republican Party’s election platform has officially taken drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off the table, in an effort to help John McCain’s presidential campaign, the AP reports. McCain doesn’t support tapping the protected lands, and committee members say they’d rather convert McCain on the issue after he’s elected. More »

    • US Ship Joins Race for Arctic Resources

      Reuters  |  Aug 12, 08 1:50 PM CDT

      US Ship Joins Race for Arctic Resources

      (Newser) - A Coast Guard cutter will this week begin mapping Alaska’s continental shelf, Reuters reports, in a first step toward mining data that could be used to establish rights to oil exploration in the Arctic. Melting ice caps, which one scientist calls "bad for the Arctic, but very very good for mapping," are believed to hold the next big energy bonanza. More »

  • July 2008

    • Arctic Holds 3 Years of Oil

      Reuters  |  Jul 24, 08 7:24 AM CDT

      Arctic Holds 3 Years of Oil

      (Newser) - Enough oil is believed to lie under the rapidly thawing Arctic to last the world 3 years, Reuters reports. The USGS released a forecast yesterday estimating the region has 90 billion recoverable barrels of oil and vast natural gas reserves. The agency's director said the information was vital in order to weigh the potential destruction caused by drilling versus the benefits. More »

    • Oil-Rich Alaska Pays Most for Gas

      Reuters  |  Jul 18, 08 12:18 PM CDT

      Oil-Rich Alaska Pays Most for Gas

      (Newser) - Think you’re paying a lot for gas? Try telling that to the people in Lime Village, Alaska, an isolated outpost where prices have hit $8.55 a gallon. Alaska is a major crude supplier, but its residents, paradoxically, face the highest average gas prices in the nation, Reuters reports, because the economies of scale don’t work in the sparsely populated state.