In brief: Alaska closer to developing pipeline

Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Friday that the state has reached a settlement in the long-running dispute over leases to develop the Point Thomson gas fields, clearing the way for progress on a major pipeline project.

Parnell had set a deadline of today for the major players on Alaska’s North Slope to coalesce behind plans for a liquefied natural gas pipeline to get the region’s resources to market.

Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips said they agreed on a plan to focus on a large-scale liquefied natural gas project, capable of overseas exports, as an alternative to a pipeline through Alberta, Canada, that would serve North America. This option could also align more closely with an effort to meet in-state gas needs, they said.

College cancels plans to honor Kennedy

Boston – A Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts said Friday that it has withdrawn an invitation to U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy’s widow to speak and receive an honorary degree at commencement after the local bishop objected.

In a statement, Anna Maria College said that “with deep regret” it told Victoria Kennedy about the decision by its board of trustees on Thursday. The college cited concerns raised by Bishop Robert McManus, head of the Worcester Diocese, but did not specify what his concerns were.

A diocese spokesman, Ray Delisle, said McManus was upholding a 2004 statement by the U.S. Conference of Bishops, in which the bishops said “Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.”

Victoria Kennedy has publicly backed abortion rights and gay marriage, both of which are opposed by the Catholic church.