Spend it if you've got it

Nothing up his sleeve: Some might be puzzled as to why County Executive Aaron Reardon is spending so much on his campaign for re-election when his opponent, Jack Turk "The Magic Genie," has raised no money at all.

The $90,000 that Reardon has spent on TV advertising makes a little more sense when you learn that the incumbent bought a new suit this summer and didn't want it to go to waste.

Blame Al Gore: You might soon be paying more for a pint of your local microbrew, warn Everett-area brewers. It seems demand for corn for biofuels has meant less acreage for the barley and hops used in beer making, driving up their prices.

The shortage isn't expected to affect national brands such as Budweiser or Miller, as those are brewed from petroleum byproducts.

On second thought, don't blame Al: Alaska's governor is fighting a proposal to declare the polar bear a threatened species because of the dwindling polar ice cap.

Then again, if the bears start leaving the ice and looking for a home in Anchorage, the governor might want to declare herself a threatened species.