Arctic Alaska

(Newser) - A sour economy and tumbling oil prices might sink Sarah Palin’s oft-touted Alaskan natural-gas pipeline, the Wall Street Journal reports. Low prices and increased natural-gas production in the lower 48 are causing energy companies to reconsider the $30 billion project. Without the revenue-generating pipeline, Alaskans who depend on the state’s dividend checks might soon actually be paying taxes themselves. More »

(Newser) - The beluga whales living in Alaska’s Cook Inlet were declared an endangered species yesterday over Sarah Palin’s vehement objections, the New York Times reports. The beluga population was cut almost in half during the late '90s, and hasn’t recovered despite a wave of new protections. But Palin campaigned hard against declaring them endangered, because it might restrict coastal oil and gas development. More »

(Newser) - Todd Palin and other aides were warned by state police officials that their push to have a state trooper fired could come back to haunt them, CNN reports. Deputy commissioner of public safety John Glass told a persistent Palin that the trooper had already been disciplined and "discomfort and embarrassment for the governor" could ensue if he  refused to cease and desist. More »

(Newser) - Sarah Palin, her husband and officials from the governor's office made dozens of phone calls to Palin's public safety commissioner and his aides denouncing state trooper Mike Wooten, the New York Times reports. Walt Monegan, whose firing Palin claims was unrelated to the matter, says the governor and her husband appeared obsessed with bouncing Palin's former brother-in-law off the force. More »

(Newser) - Todd Palin tried to convince several Alaska officials to support firing a trooper who was divorcing his sister-in-law, reports the Anchorage Daily News . But in a sworn statement, he denies interfering with his wife's job as governor and says he played no role in the firing of a safety commissioner who refused to ax the trooper. The governor and commissioner had a history of bad blood, including an erroneous complaint from the official that his wife failed to place their infant in a safety seat, said Palin. More »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »