Alaska

Big Oil, after a 10-year stalemate, has lost its fight, at least for now, for drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska. Environmentalists, making ANWR their driving wedge to block energy legislation they decried as the handiwork of the petroleum, coal and nuclear power industries, resorted to a Senate filibuster to win the day. They had the support of both Maryland senators. Fifty senators, half the membership, wanted to push the measure to passage, but they lacked the 60 votes needed to cut off debate.

A recent column on the wreck of the steamer Clara Nevada, which went to the bottom in 1898 while returning from the Alaska gold fields with the loss of all hands and a cargo of gold dust worth $13.6 million today, brought interesting reader feedback. The story of the Clara Nevada was brought to life by Steven C. Levi, an Anchorage-based freelance and technical writer, in his recent book, "The Clara Nevada: Gold, Greed, Murder and Alaska's Inside Passage. " The lust for riches set off gold fever, as thousands packed suitcases and whatever they could carry on their backs and headed West for Seattle and Portland, gateway to the Klondike.

GLACIER BAY, Alaska -- I am aboard a cruise ship gliding slowly between snow-capped mountains that remind me of the art my parents hung on our living room wall back in Minnesota in the '50s. It was a large, translucent picture of snow-capped mountains, lit by an electric bulb behind it, and when guests came we made sure to turn it on. We were all quite proud of it, and I guess it was considered inspirational, in the sense of, "How can you look at this and say there is no God?" It occupied a place of prominence over the couch.

Zoey Whittington, a multiple-season, All-Metro sprinter at Catonsville, won her third straight state title in the 400-meter dash Saturday. Her best time is believed to be the fifth-fastest by a high school girl in the United States this spring. She also anchored the Comets' gold medal-winning 1,600 relay team. As a guard in basketball, the senior averaged 16 points, five steals and four assists, and earned Most Valuable Player honors for her side at the Baltimore City-County Senior All-Star Game.

State authorities in Alaska, responding to angry complaints from the state's scenic coastal areas, have found that cruise ships are pumping dense amounts of smoke and obscuring views. They have given the cruise lines until the end of 1992 to reduce the smoke emissions sharply.An Alaska law prohibits ships from emitting smoke that blocks or obscures the view of more than 20 percent of background scenery.State inspectors said any ships that failed to meet the new standard by the end of next year would be fined or denied docking.

NORTH POLE, ALASKA / / Holiday banners hang overhead, giant plastic candy canes adorn the utility poles and alongside the roadway, an enormous fiberglass Santa beckons shoppers in out of the threat of snow that hangs palpably in a leaden sky. Christmas must be just around the corner, right? Well, not in North Pole. It's not the North Pole, of course, but the Alaskan interior community of about 1,700, which, at 64.45 degrees north latitude, is generally close enough for most lower 48ers.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Confronted with public outrage, threats of an international tourism boycott and the biggest black eye to its image since the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaska has called a temporary halt on its plans to thin its wolf population by shooting 300 to 400.But opponents of the plan vowed to push ahead to try to bring public pressure on behalf of the wolves.Looking for breathing room in the stormy clash of values over the future of American's remaining wild lands, Gov. Wally Hickel announced Friday that he would organize a three-day "wolf summit" next month and suspend all predator control in the meantime.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Many and varied are the wonders, the splendors and the peculiarities of the Other Great State. The funniest thing said by Alaskans is, "Gonna be another scorcher" (means "could get into the 70s"). In Alaska, God is called Ted Stevens. The senior senator and chairman of the Appropriations Committee is worth an estimated $3 billion a year to the state. One of the oddest things about Alaska is the complete disconnect between its politics and its reality. Alaska is an implacably conservative state, albeit with a lovely libertarian lilt.

What do basketball, ice fishing and dog-sledding have in common?Members of Western's girls basketball team will be doing all three during their stay in Anchorage, Alaska for The Great One Tournament, Jan. 2-5. The team departs for Alaska on Dec. 31."We have a slew of activities planned," Western coach Breezy Bishop said. "There will be plenty of time for basketball, but there will also be time to learn about their culture."The second-ranked Doves were one of four teams in the country invited to join four Alaskan teams for the tournament.

Attention must paid -- and better late than never -- to Harold Sparck, a man who grew up in East Baltimore, moved to Alaska and made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of America's poorest people, along the coast of the Bering Sea. It was Harold Sparck's doing, his drive, his prodding, his spirit that made something good and important happen. Just last week, more than a year after Sparck's death, his spirit reached the Oval Office. Tell you how in a minute. First, some background.

With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill threatening to stain Maryland beaches with tar balls, talk of offshore drilling is seeping into state politics. Gov. Martin O'Malley, who had offered only mild opposition initially to President Barack Obama's plans earlier this year to open the waters off Virginia to exploration, held a public briefing last week on the state's oil cleanup capacity, and then pressed the administration to take a harder line against drilling here. Republicans, meanwhile, blasted the governor for raiding an oil cleanup fund to balance the state budget.

Pfc. Christopher Pfeiffer, 20, a Westminster soldier accused of deserting his Army unit, is slowly making his way home after paperwork problems threatened to strand him in Kuwait a second time. Pfeiffer's superiors notified him last week that he might be discharged from the Army. They said he failed to return to his unit after coming home over the summer on authorized leave to take care of his sick wife and newborn daughter. Pfeiffer's family said he did everything he could to contact his chain of command and either further extend his leave or make travel arrangements back to Afghanistan.

Sarah Palin chose a slow news day before a holiday to shake up the political world, saying she will step down as governor of Alaska but leaving open the question of her political future. "We've got to put first things first. I love my job, and I love Alaska. I am doing what's best for Alaska," Palin said Friday at a televised news conference in her hometown of Wasilla. Palin said she hoped people would not be disappointed by the decision, which she said she had contemplated for some time.

In June 2006, my family and I went on a cruise to Alaska. When we were in Anchorage, we bought several pieces of artwork at a local gallery. One of the pieces needed some work, and it was supposed to be shipped to me in six months. After six months, I called the gallery and was told that it was not ready. It's been three years, and I'm still waiting for the artwork. I don't want to sue. I just want my money back or some artwork worth $6,500, which is how much I paid for it. This is one of those stories that makes your heart sink progressively deeper as you try to unravel it. The usual protections just aren't there, even though you think they are. To wit: * You paid by credit card.

WASHINGTON -In a stunning reversal, the Justice Department on Wednesday moved to drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, saying his jury conviction for lying on financial disclosure forms to conceal gifts and home renovations was so riddled with impropriety that it should be dismissed "in the interest of justice." Prosecutors had been adamantly fighting efforts by the Alaska Republican's defense team to have his conviction thrown out. But Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed Wednesday in a statement that he had personally decided to reverse course and, in effect, wipe away not only Stevens' conviction but the underlying federal charges.

People always ask me how I decide where to go. I read, I see movies, I stare at maps, I dream. In doing so, I arrived at these 10 places that are tops on my list for 2009. Some are old favorites that are newly affordable. Others have a particular reason to shine this year or suddenly are being talked about by well-traveled people I know. A few are raw, off-the-beaten-track destinations that I doubt can long remain untransformed by globalization. Money's tight, so I know I won't get to them all. But tough times have forced travel providers to reduce prices, meaning that now might be the time to take the grand tour.

Most of us are just starting to work out the kinks after a winter of being one with the couch. I, for example, made a deep impression on the family room love seat. But Rich Polt never took the winter months off. Polt, a Pikesville native, is prepping for a 510-mile ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage in August. The six-day event is the Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride, one of 13 fund-raisers produced by the Los Angeles-based company Pallotta TeamWorks. The 1,600 riders signed up for the Alaska adventure are collecting donations to help researchers develop an AIDS vaccine.

Obama names transition teams for 3 agencies WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama has named a team heavy on experience in the Clinton administration to help guide transition efforts in the State, Defense and Treasury departments. In a statement yesterday, Obama revealed the agency review team leaders who will be responsible for reviewing budgets, personnel and policy in the three departments. All six served in some capacity under President Bill Clinton. The Treasury team leads are Josh Gotbaum, an investment fund adviser who has experience in multiple federal agencies; and Michael Warren, chief operating officer of advisory firm Stonebridge International who was executive director of the President's National Economic Council.

WASHINGTON - Despite his conviction last month on corruption charges, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator, clung tenuously to his seat yesterday as congressional Democrats exulted in their election gains elsewhere around the country. While the Democrats expanded their majorities in the House and the Senate, the outcome of a number of races could remain in doubt for several more weeks. Georgia's Senate race appeared headed for a runoff in December, and the Senate race in Oregon was too close to call.