An Alaska talk show host and frequent critic of Gov. Sarah Palin claims in a column in the Anchorage Daily News that an apprenticeship Palin said her daughter's boyfriend is serving in Alaska's North Slope violates federal regulations.
Dan Fagan, who also publishes a Web site, thealaskastandard.com, said Levi Johnston's reported service as an electrical apprentice on Alaska's North Slope while he is enrolled in correspondence courses to complete high school violates federal regulations, which require a high school diploma.
Fagan wrote that the director of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. apprenticeship program confirmed that Johnston was enrolled in the program, but that he didn't know if federal regulations prohibited those without a high school diploma from participating.
Palin on Wednesday cited Johnston's apprenticeship in a series of communications with news organizations in an effort to refute descriptions of Johnston, who is the father of the governor's week-old grandson, as a high school drop out. Johnston came to public attention in September when the governor and her husband, Todd, announced that their then 17-year-old daughter was pregnant. The Palins have said that Bristol and Levi intend to marry.
Fagan also raised questions about how Johnston got into the apprenticeship program, noting that similar programs have long waiting lists.
Read the full column at adn.com.