Grandma
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Memories of garden veggies, pie and aprons
SoHi celebrates senior night by topping Kards
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CLARION
26/8 More weather, Page A2
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res
P E N I N S U L A
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 50, Issue 90
A few flakes
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$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Dunleavy seeks action on fiscal plan 2019
By Becky Bohrer
-Part 2-
Associated Press
See the B section for part 2 of memorials of peninsula residents who died in 2019 Our 2019 In Memoriam will be published on 3 separate dates. January 26 part one, January 29 part two, and January 31 part three.
A supplement to the
Passengers from Wuhan to stop in Anchorage By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
A plane containing approximately 200 passengers from Wuhan, China, was scheduled to land for refueling Tuesday night at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. The plane was chartered by the U.S. government in order to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, the Associated Press reported. Wuhan has been the epicenter of an outbreak of the coronavirus. The plane, which was expected to go on to California after refueling in Anchorage, was scheduled to arrive in a section of the North Terminal that is not currently accessible to the public and is isolated from the South Terminal, according to a Tuesday press release from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The arrival was not expected to have any impact on regularly scheduled flights. “The safety of all Alaskans, those assisting them and the passengers on the plane remain our top priority,” DHSS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said in the release. “We have been working diligently with federal, state and local partners to assure that this effort goes smoothly. Bringing these people home to the United States is an important mission and we are fortunate to have strong health partners in Alaska with the capacity to assist these U.S. citizens in their effort to return home.” See wuhan, Page A10
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JUNEAU — Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, facing a recall threat fueled during his stormy first year in office, said the state is running out of time to fix its long-running budget deficit. In a speech to lawmakers Monday, he called for creation of a statewide lottery and doubled-down on proposed constitutional changes that got little traction last year amid angry outcry over budget cuts he’d proposed. Dunleavy said in his second State of the State speech that a focus on cuts last year “took all of the oxygen out of the room.” He said he shied away from deep cuts in his spending
proposal for the upcoming budget year to allow more room for discussion of a long-term plan, including the future of the checks paid to residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. He has insisted on paying a dividend check in line with a longstanding formula last followed in 2015 and that many lawmakers say is unsustainable. He argued for constitutional changes that would address a spending cap and give Alaskans a say on changes to the Permanent Fund dividend and taxes, ideas he pitched last year. “We must give the people an opportunity to weigh in on items that impact their lives directly,” Dunleavy said. See address, Page A2
Michael Penn / Associated Press
State Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole (right) and Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai (left) escort Gov. Mike Dunleavy to the House chambers Monday to deliver his State of the State speech to a Joint Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau.
A community connected Project Homeless Connect about serving the needs of others
Man who nailed sign to mansion pleads no contest By Michael S. Lockett Juneau Empire
goal of 3,900 to 6,600 large fish, but well below the 1986-2019 average of 9,196 large fish. Optimum escapement is defined by the Board of Fisheries as the number of fish allowed to escape the fisheries and spawn that ensures sustainable runs and
A Soldotna man who nailed a sign to the door of the governor’s mansion in Juneau last week pleaded no contest to misdemeanor property damage on Monday. David A. Powell, 54, was fined and sentenced to three days of prison by Juneau District Court Judge Kirsten Swanson. Both the fine and jail sentence were suspended, contingent on Powell following probation conditions. Prosecutors said nailing the sign to the historic house David A. on Calhoun Avenue Powell caused enough damage where it could have been charged as a felony. Powell changed his plea to the misdemeanor at the city-level, before the case could be elevated to a felony and transferred to state prosecutors. In court, Powell said he chose the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday last Monday to post the sign to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s door. “Some 400 years ago, a man nailed a piece of paper to a door,” Powell said in a statement read aloud in the courtroom. “The day I nailed that to the door was the day celebrating that man’s life. Soon that note will be looked at in the same way with Martin Luther’s note.” The event Powell references is when Martin Luther, a 16th century monk and scholar, nailed his “95 Theses” — a list of issues he took with the Catholic Church and practices Luther perceived to be corrupt — to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. It’s widely recognized as a foundational
See salmon, Page A2
See plea, Page A10
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion
Peninsula residents browse the services available during the 2019 Project Homeless Connect at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Jan. 23, 2019.
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Those experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless will have an opportunity today to attend a one-stop shop for any of the services they might need. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, Project Homeless Connect will host a number of
vendors and service providers that deal with issues surrounding homelessness. The services offered range from medical care, housing and financial assistance to haircuts and massages. All services are provided free of charge. Two other Project Homeless Connect events will take place simultaneously on the Kenai Peninsula, in Homer and Seward. Upon arrival at Soldotna’s event, visitors will be asked to go through
a quick intake process that is done confidentially and on an individual basis by trained professionals. Data collected at the event is used as a way to garner funding for local programs from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The survey also helps Project Homeless Connect better See connect, Page A3
King salmon forecast: Below average By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game forecasts a historically belowaverage year for king salmon runs in the Kenai River. For the early run, which occurs from mid-May to early June, the
ADF&G has forecast 4,794 large fish, according to a Jan. 27 news release from the department. Large fish, as defined by the department, are greater than or equal to 75 cm from mideye to tail fork or approximately 34 inches in total length. The 2020 forecast for the early run is within the optimum escapement
GOP lacks votes to block witnesses, McConnell concedes By Eric Tucker, Zeke Miller and Lisa Mascaro Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republicans lack the votes to block witnesses at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded late Tuesday, a potentially major hurdle for Trump’s hopes to end the trial with a quick acquittal. Earlier, Trump’s lawyers concluded his defense with a plea to move on. Even after sitting through days
and late nights of argument, several Republicans apparently are ready to join Democrats in considering in-person testimony from former National Security Adviser John Bolton and perhaps others. Trump’s lawyers made their closing case for a speedy acquittal Tuesday, but to no avail. McConnell told colleagues in a private meeting that he did not yet have the votes to block Democrats from summoning witnesses. That outcome would prolong an electionyear trial that Trump and his legal
team had hoped was on track, as one lawyer said, to “end now, as soon as possible.” McConnnell’s statement, in a closed-door meeting of senators, was an acknowledgment of the extent to which revelations from Bolton have scrambled the trial’s schedule and the desire for testimony. Bolton writes in a forthcoming book that Trump told him he wanted to withhold military aid from Ukraine until it helped with investigations into Democratic rival Joe Biden. That assertion, if true, would undercut a key defense
argument and go to the heart of one major article of impeachment against the president. Trump complained anew at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, focusing on Democrats rather than Republican senators. “While we are creating jobs and killing terrorists, the congressional Democrats are obsessed with demented hoaxes, crazy witch hunts and deranged partisan crusades,” he said. See impeach, Page A10