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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 86
In the news
HEA seats up for grabs Homer Electric Association is accepting nominations from members for their board of directors. There are several seats vacant representing the central and southern peninsula. Nine directors sit on the board, with three members representing each of the three Kenai Peninsula service area districts. A seat in District 1, which represents Nikiski, Kenai and parts of Soldotna, and which is currently held by Director Kelly Bookey, is on the ballot. Bookey cannot run again as his nine-year term limit has ended. A seat held by Homer Electric’s Board Deputy Secretary Dan Furlong in District 2 — representing Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof — is also up for grabs. Finally, the District 3 seat currently held by Director Jim Levine — representing Kasilof, Homer and Seldovia — is open. The board of directors are elected by district, and members vote only for directors within their district. Homer Electric Association members interested in getting their name on the ballot must fill out a candidacy packet requiring them to gather at least 15 signatures from current Homer Electric Association members who live in the same district as the candidate. Members can find the candidacy packet at the Homer Electric offices in Kenai and Homer and online at homerelectric.com. The deadline to submit those candidacy packets to either the Kenai or Homer office is 5 p.m., Friday, March 6. Ballots for the board of directors election will be mailed to all Homer Electric Association members April 6 and the results will be announced at the annual meeting May 7 at Soldotna High School.
People who had contact with man with virus to be monitored SHORELINE, Wash.— Health officials said Wednesday they are actively monitoring 16 people who came into close contact with the traveler to China who became the first U.S. resident with See news, Page A3
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Thursday, January 23, 2020 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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$1.5 billion deficit built into budget State can’t keep spending like it is, analysts say By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
The House Finance Committee got a detailed walk-through of the governor’s proposed budget Wednesday morning, and the message was quite clear: the state cannot continue to
spend like it is. “The governor has built in a $1.5 billion deficit,” said Rob Carpenter, analyst for the Legislative Finance Office. When Gov. Mike Dunleavy released his budget in December, he said he intended to pay a full statutory Alaska Permanent Fund dividend of $3,170. That would require drawing the state’s Constitutional Budget Reserve savings account down to $540 million.
But if the governor’s budget were to go through as planned, Carpenter said, this would be the last year the state would be able to draw from the CBR. “The CBR is gone by (Fiscal Year 2022), Carpenter said. “In this scenario, the (Earnings Reserve Account) would be gone by FY30.” Carpenter said these were just projections and it was highly unlikely for such a scenario to actually occur,
but his office was tasked with creating projections with the information available. “If we do this and we end up with $500 million in the CBR, this will be the last time it will be sufficient to solve our budget issues,” Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks, asked. Carpenter told him that was a correct statement. The largest part of the state’s See budget, Page A3
Dems: Help needed to convict ‘corrupt’ Trump By Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker and Zeke Miller Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House Democrats launched into marathon arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday, appealing to skeptical Republican senators to join them in voting to oust Trump from office to “protect our democracy.” Trump’s lawyers sat by, waiting their turn, as the president blasted the proceedings from afar, threatening jokingly to face off with the Democrats by coming to “sit right in the front row and stare at their corrupt faces.” The challenge before the House managers is clear. Democrats have 24 hours over three days to prosecute the charges against Trump, trying to win over not just fidgety senators sitting silently in the chamber but an American public, deeply divided over the president and his impeachment in an election year. Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, outlined what the Democrats contend was the president’s “corrupt scheme” to abuse his presidential power and then obstruct Congress’ investigation. He then called on senators not to be “cynical” about politics, but to draw on the intent of the nation’s Founding Fathers who provided the remedy of impeachment. “Over the coming days, we will present to you — and to the American people — the extensive evidence collected during the House’s impeachment inquiry into the president’s abuse of power,” said Schiff standing before the Senate. “You will hear their testimony at the
Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accompanied by the impeachment managers House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. speaks to reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill. The U.S. Senate heard opening arguments Wednesday in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, as Democratic House managers made their case that Trump abused power and should be removed from office.
same time as the American people. That is, if you will allow it.” After a dinner break, Schiff returned to the well of the Senate to detail the administration’s hold on military aid to Ukraine. He played several clips of testimony from Ambassador William Taylor, who said the assistance was held back as Trump pushed the country to announce investigations of Democrats.
Most senators sat at their desks throughout, as the rules stipulate, though some stretched their legs, standing behind the desks or against the back wall of the chamber, passing the time. Visitors watched from the galleries, one briefly interrupting in protest. The Democrats wrapped up the first day of their presentation shortly before 10 a.m. ET.
Erin go bragh: Sounds of Ireland come to the peninsula By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
This Friday marks the return of the annual Irish Music Concert hosted by Kenai Peninsula College. The Winter Concert of Traditional Irish Music will feature the work of three Irish musicians, John Walsh, Pat Broaders and John Skelton, with Skelton making his debut at the college. Walsh is a tenor banjo player originally from Ireland and has been a part of the annual concert since its inception. Walsh and Diane Sawyer, director of the Learning Center at Kenai Peninsula College, got to know each other when Walsh gave a presentation on the history of the Irish banjo to the Alaska Humanities Forum. Since then, Sawyer has invited Walsh to perform a free concert at the college every winter, and Walsh brings with him a rotating roster of fellow musicians. Walsh worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska for more than 30 years and returns to the state regularly to perform. Broaders also makes a regular appearance at the annual concert,
The proceedings are unfolding at the start of an election year, and there are few signs that Republicans are interested in calling more witnesses or going beyond a fast-track assessment that is likely to bring a quick vote on charges related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. Several GOP senators said Wednesday they’d seen See impeach, Page A2
Borough: How can we be more efficient? By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion file
From left, musicians John Walsh, Rose Flanagan and Pat Broaders perform at the annual Winter Concert of Traditional Irish Music at Kenai Peninsula College in Kenai on Feb. 1, 2019.
and this year will be his fourth year performing with Walsh at the college. Like Walsh, Broaders hails from Ireland, but his instrument of choice is the bouzouki, which he has been playing for 40 years. Bouzoukis are stringed instruments that were traditionally associated with Greek music, but musicians have been incorporating them into Irish tunes since the 1960s. Broaders is a member of the group Open
the Door for Three, along with Kieran O’Hare and Liz Knowles. Skelton, a newcomer to the annual Irish Music Concert, is a London-born flute player who currently lives in Kentucky. Skelton has been involved in several different projects throughout the years, including as a founding member of the band Shegui and a member See budget, Page A3
The Kenai Peninsula Borough is allocating money to hire consultants to find ways to make borough facilities management for efficient. At their Tuesday night meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly appropriated $220,000 from the general fund to cover the costs for facility management strategic planning. Funds for the multi-year project will not lapse, according to the ordinance. The goal of the project is to improve efficiency in facility management borough wide. Since its establishment in 1964, the borough has accumulated more than 148 facilities that have a total value of more than $1 billion, the ordinance said. There is currently no centralized facility management of the borough’s assets and facilities. Management of the borough’s facilities are on an “as-needed basis” by the department See borough, Page A3