PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Mark Tapscott reports that the Alaska “Bridge to Nowhere” is a family matter for Alaskan Republican Rep. Don Young:

Whatever the policy grounds underlying Young’s determined advocacy of the projects, evidence has emerged that the issue is also a family matter, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The Alaska paper reports that Young’s son-in-law, Art Nelson, is a minority participant in a partnership that owns a prime 60-acre tract of land near the Knik Arm project. Nelson, who is also Chairman of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, owns a 10 percent share of Point Bluff LLC, which has four other members.

I’m shocked, shocked to hear this.

UPDATE: Reader Steve Wells emails:

The benefits of Young’s family are not disputed, but a quick correction: that’s not the bridge to nowhere. The bridge to nowhere would link Ketchikan, a city in the extreme southeast of Alaska, with Gravina Island, which has a population of 50 people. It also is where the Ketchikan airport is. The bridge that would benefit Don Young’s family, though, is across the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet. It would be a bridge across a tidal inlet right next to Anchorage and would open up a great deal of acreage in close proximity to Anchorage as well as cut substantial commute time from some outlying communities. It really is not a bridge to nowhere and would be beneficial.

However, having said that, I want to say that 1) I’m not at all surprised that Don Young’s family will benefit; and 2) Alaska has more than enough money to pay for the bridge itself and we should not rely upon Congress to pay for it. I would make this modest proposal: Alaska, whether through the State or through private enterprise (which would be much preferable to my libertarian/anarchist politics), builds both bridges and Congress lets us drill in ANWR.

Yes, that’s clear if you follow the link to read the story, but I guess not really from the excerpt.