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Grounded Boeing halts production of troubled 737 jet
Brees sets new mark for touchdown passes
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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 61
In the news Moderate earthquake felt in Anchorage ANCHORAGE — Residents of Anchorage and the Matsu Valley felt a light earthquake that hit the Cook Inlet region Sunday night, the Alaska Earthquake Center said. The magnitude 4.1 earthquake hit at 6:30 p.m. and had an epicenter that was 22 miles northwest of Anchorage. The earthquake had a depth of 40 miles, according to the center. On Dec. 7, people in Anchorage and Eagle River reporting feeling a small earthquake that struck the Cook Inlet region. The magnitude 3.1 earthquake hit at 3:23 p,.m. and had an epicenter that was 17 miles northeast of Tyonek, a village of about 170 people, and 29 miles west of Anchorage. The earthquake had a depth of about 32 miles.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Anchorage police investigate fatal shooting ANCHORAGE — A man was shot and killed Monday morning at a gas See news, Page A13
Dunleavy budget comes under fire By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
State lawmakers and economists are criticizing Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s approach to the budget this year, saying it doesn’t balance the budget or provide much guidance. The governor is backing off of cuts, but he’s also drawing state savings down to what some are calling dangerously low levels. “I don’t think it’s fiscally prudent,” said Sen. Natasha Von
Imhof, R-Anchorage, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “I’ve been saying all along, we should have a balance with all of our spending.” Dunleavy said half of the budget is out of his hands to change, due to formuladriven programs like education spending which can only be changed by the Legislature. The governor said Wednesday when he unveiled the fiscal year 2021 budget that he wanted to have frank
discussions with legislators about which formulas need to be changed. Rep. Jennifer Johnston, R-Anchorage, said she too wanted to have serious discussions about spending, but wasn’t sure it could be done within a single legislative session. “The last time the education formula was changed, they worked throughout the summer, they had two years and a legislative session,”
Inside ■■ The governor talks about his fiscal plan for Alaska at a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. Page A2 Johnston said. “I don’t think the Legislature has the bandwidth to do it within 90 days, and it’d probably be irresponsible.” Johnston is co-chair of the House Finance Committee. She said she’s cautiously optimistic about working with
the governor but has some reservations. “The first thing that came to my mind — it wasn’t a balanced budget,” Johnston said. “It went into savings, it’s taking a huge chunk.” The governor’s budget relies on a roughly $1.5 billion draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve, the state’s savings fund. That’s partly because Dunleavy is intent on paying a full-statutory Permanent Fund See Budget, Page A2
Snow, rain fail to ease peninsula drought The U.S. Drought Monitor says the snow pack remains below normal, among other factors. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Andrew Harnik / associated press
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leaves after speaking at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Monday.
Democrats present their case for Trump impeachment vote By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press
WASHINGTON— House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week’s landmark votes. What Democrats once hoped would be a bipartisan act — only the third time in U.S. history the House will be voting to impeach a president — is now on track to be a starkly partisan roll call Wednesday. No Republicans are breaking with the president, and almost all Democrats are expected to approve the
charges against him. A raucous town hall Monday in the Detroit suburbs put on display the nation’s wrenching debate over the unconventional president and the prospect of removing him from office. Freshman Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin was both heckled and celebrated as she announced her support for impeachment. “There’s certainly a lot of controversy about this,” Slotkin acknowledged to the crowd of 400. “But there just has to be a moment where you use the letter of the law for what it’s intended.” Trump faces two articles of impeachment brought by Democrats. They say he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election and obstructed Congress
by aggressively trying to block the House investigation from its oversight duties as part of the nation’s system of checks and balances. The president “betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections,” says the 650-page report from the House Judiciary Committee. He withheld military aid from the ally as leverage, the report says, and “Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.” The report says the president then engaged in an unprecedented attempt to block the investigation and “cover up” his misconduct. See impeach, Page A13
Community meets Kassik’s Brewery new owners
Index
By Victoria Petersen
Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation . . . . . . . . . A5 World . . . . . . . . . A6 Police . . . . . . . . . A7 Sports . . . . . . . . . A8 Classifieds . . . . . . A10 Comics . . . . . . . . A12 Pets . . . . . . . . . . A14
Rick McGlasson’s 25-yearold dream of running a brewery in Nikiski finally came true. McGlasson and his wife, Michelle, are the new owners of Kassik’s Brewery, where they plan to continue serving brewery patrons the beer they know and love. Frank and Debra Kassik started serving their craft beers in 2004. Since the brewery opened, they’ve added a bottling line, multiple new tanks and kegs to keep up with growth and the brewery has tripled in size.
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No criminal charges for officer who shot man JUNEAU — A Juneau police officer was legally justified when he shot a man in August, a review by the state Office of Special Prosecutions has determined. In a letter to the Juneau police chief summarizing the analysis, Jack McKenna, chief assistant attorney general in the Office of Special Prosecutions, said the state will not bring criminal charges against Officer Thomas McGrann. McKenna said the conclusion was based on findings of an investigation that involved the Juneau Police Department, state Department of Public Safety and the Seattle Police Department. The suspect, Christopher Netling, was taken to Seattle for treatment after the shooting. McGrann’s action “was reasonably necessary under the circumstances to respond to the threat of death or serious physical injury posed by Mr. Netling,” the summary states. Netling faces assault charges. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney.
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Peninsula Clarion
Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
Rick McGlasson bought Kassik’s Brewery in Nikiski with his wife, Michelle.
Now, 15 years after they started their brewery, the Kassiks are set to retire to be
closer to family. Longtime friends of the Kassik family, the McGlasson’s of Nikiski,
are taking over the business. McGlasson says he’s been brewing since the 1990s, and even attended a brewing school in California. He said he looked at starting his own microbrewery in 1998, but the project never got off the ground. Since then, he’s befriended the Kassiks and has had opportunities to work on a few beer projects with the brewery. “I’ve been involved with them for years,” McGlasson said. “Of course they’re close, so I come here and visit.” There won’t be many See kassik’s, Page A13
Despite the heavy snowfall and rain the peninsula has received over the last few weeks, the northern half of the Kenai Peninsula is still being considered “abnormally dry” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The U.S. Drought monitor map and summary, updated Dec. 12, says that while precipitation was above normal for the Kenai Peninsula, longer deficits are still present and snow pack remains below normal. The Kenai Peninsula was first categorized by the U.S. Drought Monitor as abnormally dry on July 9. By July 16, the entire peninsula was placed in a level one drought. By the Aug. 13 monitor map, the eastern peninsula was placed into a level two drought, known as a severe drought. On Aug. 20, the area around the Swan Lake Fire, just north of Sterling, was placed into a level three drought, known as an extreme drought. The extreme drought wasn’t downgraded until Sept. 24. The U.S. Drought Monitor provides a stateby-state list of potential impacts for each level of drought. All states and Puerto Rico are included, except for Alaska, where droughts are unprecedented. The U.S. Drought Monitor — produced in partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — measures droughts using five levels — level zero being abnormally dry conditions with no drought, and the fourth level being an exceptional drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor Map is updated every Thursday.