Alaska Politics Blog : Trig Palin, Steelers fan

Alaska Politics Blog

This is the place to talk about Alaska politics, state, local, national. Public life in the Last Frontier has never been more interesting -- Sarah Palin, a new governor, a new Anchorage mayor, the political corruption investigation, the usual hardball Alaska politics. Come here for news, tidbits and information, and join the discussion. We encourage lively debate, but please keep it civil and stay on point. Don't use profanity, make crude comments or attack other posters. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will lose their ability to post comments.

Contributors

Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

David Hulen

David Hulen, the ADN's state and local news editor, is responsible for political coverage. He has been an editor and reporter at the ADN for more than 20 years. E-mail David at dhulen@adn.com

Features

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Sarah Palin

Follow the former Alaska governor's actions as she embarks on life outside of office.

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Alaska political corruption

The FBI raided state legislature offices in Aug. 2006, and the fallout since has been epic in Alaska's political world.

Trig Palin, Steelers fan

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: November 21, 2009 - 11:50 am

Comments (0) |

From Erika Bolstad in Washington, Pennsylvania --

Sarah Palin says in her new memoir, "Going Rogue," that there are no coincidences. But how about this one?

I drove up to Washington, Pa., last night from Washington D.C. to do a story on Palin's book tour. (See tomorrow's paper.) The event was at a Sam's Club in one of those shopping centers dominated by big box retailers – a massive place that looks like hundreds of similar developments across America. After I'd interviewed a number of people outside the Sam's Club, I walked over to the Starbucks next door to write. (The sign above the drive-thru window: "Sarah, we have moose mugs!")

And right out in front of the coffee shop? Palin's mom, Sally Heath, Palin's aunt, Kate Johnson, and Palin's son, Trig. They didn’t attract as much attention as, say, Palin would have. But plenty of people whipped out camera phones to snag a picture of Trig tucked into his stroller, wearing a knit Pittsburgh Steeler's cap. (Washington, Pa., is just outside of Pittsburgh.)

Heath said that she and her sister are taking care of Trig while Palin is at book signings. The family has been trading off traveling with Palin, Heath said. She just swapped out with Todd and her granddaughters. "It's our week to be here," she said.

Heath, describing the supportive crowds at Palin's book signing events, said that she found it "exciting to be with so many people of like minds. We just really appreciate the support, the love and the patience that people have had."

She added that her daughter "feels terrible when she can't spend a few minutes with everybody, but it’s a tight schedule," a reference to the people who were turned away from an event in Indiana yesterday.

Health also said that she hates that her daughter is stuck inside all day, but noted that Palin did get a run in early Saturday morning "before the world was awake."

As for her involvement in Palin’s book? Not much, Heath said, other than to answer a few questions for her daughter about "what year was it we did this or that?"