"Alaska" news and stories

Sophisticated jeweler Tiffany & Co. and the fishing community of Bristol Bay, Alaska, may seem worlds apart, but the famed retailer is just one of 50 jewelers that have pledged not to source gold from the controversial Pebble mine project being proposed in the region. (Click here for a full list of jewelers.)

According to the Wall Street Journal, the mine holds one of the world's largest undeveloped deposits of copper and gold. Unfortunately for the 30 million or so sockeye salmon that spawn there each summer, those valuable minerals are located in the area's headwaters. For nearly four years, fishermen and environmentalists have been at odds with mining companies Anglo American PLC and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. over the area's natural resources.

"This is the largest, healthiest remaining salmon runs in the world," says commercial fisherman and sustainable seafood consultant Amy Grondin. "Fish from Bristol Bay have been returning here for 9,000 years. They're a sustainable natural resource. Minerals are also a natural resource, but they're not renewable."

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Achieving the premier beer selection in Anchorage, Alaska, is probably harder than it sounds, and is a huge selling point of Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse. "[The bar] was created for beer lovers by beer lovers," chuckles manager Sandoz Maurer, as she recites the mantra that can be found on the pub's Web site. A quick look over the draft selection, however, proves this is no laughing matter: 50 types of brews are displayed including an astounding 18 locals!

Humpy's, a live music venue with a slew of Alaskan artists, is well regarded as a locals' hang but is also a visitor destination, particularly during warmer weather. "Summertime is definitely tourist season," Maurer says.

Tourists and locals alike can check the Web for a draft list updated daily (though it's difficult to find, look under "Daily Specials.") Find the most recent selections after the jump.

Though these suds may reign supreme in Anchorage, how would this bar stack up in your fair city? (No Palin jokes, please!)

Gourmet's Barry Estabrook investigates VP candidate Governor Sarah Palin's dealings with Alaska's salmon industry. The following is an excerpt of his findings published on Gourmet.com.

At the very least, there was something fishy about Alaska Governor (and Vice Presidential hopeful) Sarah Palin's decision to speak out publicly against the state's Clean Water Initiative late last month. There may also be something blatantly illegal about her advocacy for defeating the ballot initiative, which ultimately failed to pass when 57 percent of Alaskans voted against it.

The law in Alaska forbids a governor from officially lobbying for or against a ballot initiative such as Ballot Measure 4. To get around the law, Palin exercised what she called "personal privilege" when she said to reporters, "Let me take my governor's hat off for just a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop 4-I vote no on that."

The story continues at Gourmet.com: Politics of the Plate: Salmongate

When I first read this post over at our sister site Gadling, I was visualizing some over-sized zucchini or maybe tomatoes the size of a grapefruit, but I honestly didn't expect to see anything quite like this.

Apparently, Alaska hosts a Giant Vegetable Contest every year at their state fair. As Neil points out, the sun in Alaska barely sets during the summer, and the result of the vegetables continuously receiving the benefits of around-the-clock sunlight is that they tend to grow considerably larger than in most other places. This is extremely evident judging by the picture above, which is of the 2006 winner of the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off. Brenna Dinkel took the title with her 73.4-pound cabbage - and no, I don't even want to know how much cabbage soup that would make.

Other records set last year include:

23-foot, 3 1/2-inch corn stalk
4.702-pound parsnip
1,019-pound pumpkin
17.195-pound yellow zucchini
67 1/8-inch long gourd
55.15-pound blue hubbard squash
21.530-pound bushel gourd

The next event will be held in Palmer, Alaska, between August 23 and September 3, 2007. If anyone makes it out for this event, send us some pictures!

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A hot dog stand in a Chicago suburb has come up with a meaty way to celebrate Christmas: reindeer redhots. Fred Markoff, the owner of Redhots and Fries in Glenview, is known for serving up exotic meats, including smoked alligator and pork sausage.

Markoff opted not to serve the $8 reindeer wiener Chicago-style with mustard, onion, sweet pickle and sport peppers. The only resemblance the reindeer redhot bears to a Chicago dog is its poppy seed bun. Everything else, including the toppings of mustard and grilled onions and the meat itself, is pure Alaska.

Markoff gets the reindeer dogs from Alaska's Indian Valley Meats. Incidentally, the redhot isn't pure Rudolph. Reindeer meat is far too lean to produce a tasty dog, so the wiener also includes beef and pork. Despite the blend of meats, Markoff is considering putting a grape tomato on one end of the dog in what would amount to a most unusual display of Christmas spirit.

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