Alaska: Washington

From Erika Bolstad in Washington and Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Sarah Palin's book is out this morning and available at booksellers throughout Anchorage and nationwide. Friends and foes are busy scrutinizing every word of the 413-page HarperCollins book, a compilation af anecdotes, political prescriptions and score settling.

We're going through the book and will be posting excerpts of it throughout the day on the blog.

Are you reading it? Join in. But keep it on-point and keep it civil.

Our Alaska Newsreader has a roundup of Palin-related news today.

Page 18

Palin describes her diet: “I love meat. I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak.

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. –

Former Gov. Tony Knowles was one of nearly a dozen Alaskans in Washington D.C. today to talk alternative energy at an Interior Department conference.

Knowles, a Democrat who was Alaska governor from 1994 to 2002, was invited to the event in his capacity as the head of the Tulsa, Okla.-based National Energy Policy Institute. The institute is working with the Washington D.C.-based think tank Resources for the Future to develop a ranking system for various energy alternatives. When they’re finished with their work next year, Knowles said they hope to have a standard for assessing the cost-effectiveness for various types of energy – as well as their potential for reducing imported oil and greenhouse gas emissions.

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. --

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is in the midst of his first trip to that nation's capital as a governor. So far, his focus has been on energy, in particular urging the Obama administration to open up more of the outer continental shelf to drilling and the natural gas pipeline.

Yesterday, he met with a number of business and energy industry officials: the American Gas Association, the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He also had a meeting with Pete Rouse, who has deep ties to Alaska and serves as a senior adviser to President Obama.

Today, Parnell meets with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. He'll also be in the Capitol meeting with all three members of Alaska's congressional delegation.

read more

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton says Palin will indeed be speaking in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong-based brokerage firm CLSA said this week that Palin will be the keynote speaker at their annual investor's conference this month.

But, given recent history, it seemed prudent to make sure Palin was actually on board.

Stapleton also confirmed reports that Palin has signed with the Washington Speakers Bureau to handle her paid speaking engagements.