...was a wonderful event, complete with a rousing and informative speech by Senator Ted Stevens and the "Oil Patch Has Talent" entertainment segment.   (...more report to come.  -dh)   Alaska Dispatch. In a new opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, and reposted on Alaska Dispatch, Gov. Sean Parnell makes a formal appeal to expand oil and gas exploration on Alaska's outer continental shelf. The U.S. Department of Interior is currently considering the issue. Parnell says that the amount of oil and gas in Alaska's OCS is estimated to contain twice the oil [...]