Palin’s choice of next Lt. Gov. raises succession questions in Alaska

Succession questions for Alaska’s new No. 2

West Desk editing plan for Tuesday, July 7. The desk files for New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California and Hawaii 24/7. Anna Jo Bratton is the supervisor, followed by Katie Oyan at 4 p.m. The desk can be reached at 1-602-417-2400. Note this planner will be updated periodically throughout the day and saved in workbench under WERday. These lines are not for publication.

ALASKA:

(AK, DSA)

PALIN RESIGNATION

KOTZEBUE, Alaska — Four days after her bombshell resignation announcement, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she doesn’t know her next move. But she gives a series of interviews in which she says she has no choice but to step down at the end of the month because ethics complaints and other controversy surrounding her administration would have paralyzed her last 18 months in office. She returns to work Tuesday in a remote village near the Artic Circle, where she may give more details on her future plans. Developing from 3 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. local time event. By Dan Joling. AP Photos (seeking stringer)

Editor: Hoffner.

(AK)

ALASKA GOVERNOR

JUNEAU — With Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s stunning announcement she’s leaving office, the list of contenders for the job is growing. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in July 26, already has announced he’s running for next year. So has state Rep. John Harris, state Sen. Hollis French and others. By Mary Pemberton.

Editor: Pollock

(AK)

PALIN-LT. GOVENOR

ARIZONA:

(AZ)

BUDGET CRISIS-ARIZONA

PHOENIX — Even after restoring school funding and keeping the state eligible for stimulus money, Arizona lawmakers’ work on the state budget isn’t done. The budget remains in the red after Gov. Jan Brewer’s vetoes erased borowing and other maneuvers that lawmakers included to help close the state’s big revenue shortfall. By Paul Davenport.

Editor: Vadarevu.

(AZ, NM, UT)

NAVAJO ELECTIONS

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo election officials are challenging a tribal judge’s ruling that two ballot initiatives can go forward despite one not having enough signatures. The ballot proposals would reduce the size of the tribal council and give the tribal president line-item veto power. By Felicia Fonseca.

Editor: Hudetz.

CALIFORNIA:

MICHAEL JACKSON

LOS ANGELES — The stage was set for Michael Jackson’s final act as the world capital of make-believe braced for what could be the biggest, most spectacular celebrity send-off of all time.

Editor:

CALIFORNIA BUDGET (ca, dsa on merits)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers work to cut their way through a $26 billion budget deficit as they struggle to avoid decimating a wide array of social programs. Lawmakers’ wildly different philosophies suggest another prolonged stalemate over balancing the budget, meaning those owed money by the state will continue receiving IOUs. By Judy Lin. AP Photos on merits.

Editor: Pollock.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS (ca, dsa on merits)

SAN FRANCISCO — Facing a $600 million state budget cut, the California State University Board of Trustees unveils a plan to furlough its 47,000 employees two days a month. Next week, the University of California Regents are expected to discuss a similar furlough plan. These plans mirror the state employee furlough. By Terry Chea.

Editor: Pollock.

(Also awaiting a jury verdict in the Jesse James Hollywood case and a judge’s decision in an economic espionage case.)

COLORADO:

(co, dsf, dsa on merits)

COLO FARM CRISIS

GREELEY, Colo. — A panel created by Congress to oversees the bank bailout will meet in Colorado’s agricultural heartland on Tuesday to hear from farmers and others who are struggling to get credit amid the economic downturn. The hearing comes three months after Greeley’s New Frontier Bank collapsed, leaving many farmers unable to find lenders willing to give them vital operating loans. By Steven K. Paulson. Hearing starts 10 a.m. AP Photos pursuing.

Editor: Vadarevu.

(CO)

PUEBLO DEAD BABY

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Investigators say an infant found dead in a Pueblo trash can died from a brain injury. Pueblo County Coroner James Kramer said Monday that 9-month-old Iyana (ee-YAH’-nuh) Perez died from a closed head injury that resulted in hemorrhaging in her brain.

Editor: Hoffner

HAWAII:

IDAHO:

MONTANA:

MONTANA POWER LAWSUIT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Lawyers will continue settlement talks this month in a lawsuit by shareholders seeking $3 billion and punitive damages from the former Montana Power Co. Lawyers for the estimated 100,000 shareholders and several defendants in the class-action lawsuit will meet July 20-21 in Missoula.

Editor: Vadarevu.

NEVADA:

(NV)

WATER FRAUD

RENO, Nev. — Critical of an indictment they say is overly broad and ambiguous, lawyers for two Nevada irrigation district employees accused of defrauding the U.S. government want a judge to order prosecutors to better explain how the suspects allegedly pulled off the scheme to secure more water than area farmers deserved from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. By Scott Sonner.

Editor: Bratton.

(NV, dsa on merits)

CASINO SHOOTING

LAS VEGAS — Jury selection begins for Steven Francis Zegrean, an unemployed house painter accused of opening fire in at the New York-New York casino on the Las Vegas Strip in July 2007. Four people were wounded and a fifth person was hurt in a stampede for the door before several off-duty military reservists and vacationing state police agents tackled him when he stopped to reload. By Ken Ritter. Developing after jury selection begins at 1 p.m. EDT, 10 a.m. local

Editor: Pollock.

(NV, dsa on merits)

CASINO-NOROVIRUS

RENO, Nev. (AP) — County health officials say they’ve been unable to determine the source of an outbreak of norovirus that sickened dozens of members of a wedding party and others at a Reno casino last week. About 40 members of the wedding party from California reported gastrointestinal distress and symptoms of norovirus at the Peppermill Resort, Spa and Casino beginning on June 28, Washoe County Health Department spokeswoman Judy Davis said.

Editor: Vadarevu

(NV)

INCLINE LAKE DRAINED

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A small lake overlooking Lake Tahoe that the U.S. Forest Service bought as part of a $46 million land deal last summer has been drained because of concerns about the safety of a dam.

Editor: Pollock

NEW MEXICO:

(nm, dsa on merits)

ODD-CHILE BURGER CHALLANGE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Guinness Book of World Records already has a largest hamburger designation on the books, but a Las Cruces cafe is going for a spicier title: world’s largest green chile cheeseburger. The burger, crafted in the heart of the state’s chile growing region, features a 10-inch, 1-pound burger, a half-pound of cheese and three whole green chiles. By Melanie Dabovich. AP photo planned.

Editor: Pollock.

OREGON:

(OR)

FORESTS-GLOBAL WARMING

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Scientists conclude that forests in the Pacific Northwest have a huge potential to store more carbon to combat global warming, but not if they are heavily thinned to prevent wildfire. hat poses a dilemma to the U.S. Forest Service, which has historically focused on balancing timber production against maintaining fish and wildlife habitat, but is increasingly trying to use thinning to control the growing threat of wildfires as global warming makes summers hotter and longer. By Jeff Barnard.

Editor: Hudetz

UTAH:

(UT)

POLYGAMY TRUST

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A court-appointed fiduciary has asked a judge to order Utah’s attorney general to release $192,600 in housing fees from residents of homes held in a polygamous church land trust.

Editor: Vadarevu

WASHINGTON:

(wa)

SALMON RESTORATION

CLE ELUM, Wash. — The Yakama Nation is reintroducing sockeye salmon to Cle Elum Lake, where the fish were eradicated 100 years ago. The move is just one of several by Northwest Indian tribes to restore fish and wildlife to areas where they’ve long been depleted. By Shannon Dininny. AP Photos planned.

Editor: Hudetz

(WA)

HANFORD-MERCURY

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — The Hanford nuclear reservation is one of seven sites the Energy Department is considering as a national, long-term storage site for mercury. The Tri-City Herald reports the Environmental Protection Agency says the nation could have as much as 11,000 tons of mercury from private sources eligible for storage over 40 years.

Editor: Bratton.

(WA)

BOEING-VOUGHT-WASH

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington officials worry that Boeing’s $580 million purchase of the Vought Aircraft Industries plant in South Carolina means the company may open a second 787 production line on the other side of the country.

Editor: Vadarevu

WYOMING:

WYOMING GAS

CHEYENNE — Look at natural gas production and well numbers so far this year to gauge how industry is faring in Wyoming during the recession. Drilling for coal-bed methane wells had stopped as of the end of June, according to a state report. The natural gas industry has been the main economic driver in the state over the last decade. By Bob Moen.

Editor: Hudetz.

FILM INCENTIVE

CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Tourism Board has approved incentive funding for five film projects totaling about $365,000. They’re the first incentives approved under Wyoming’s two-year-old incentive program. The incentive rewards are contingent on the film producers verifying their spending in the state. By Matt Joyce.

Editor: Vadarevu.

HORSE ROUNDUP

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. (AP) — Federal land managers plan to round up as many as 495 wild horses this fall in the Lander area, offering some up for adoption and injecting others with fertility-control drugs before returning them to the range. The Bureau of Land Management released an environmental assessment last week saying it plans to use a helicopter and ground wranglers for the roundup starting in October.

Editor: Bratton.