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CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 50, Issue 91
In the news
Blizzard warning issued for Turnagain pass area Wind and snow created hazardous weather conditions Wednesday in some areas around the Kenai Peninsula. A blizzard warning was issued Wednesday morning for the Turnagain Pass area, as well as Whittier, Seward, Girdwood and Moose Pass. The warning was in effect from Wednesday afternoon until 4 a.m. Thursday. Gusting winds reaching as fast as 60 miles per hour were expected. Snow is expected to fall all day Wednesday, and the warning said residents could see total snow accumulation of 4 to 10 inches, with higher amounts in some areas. Travel through these areas would be “very difficult,” the warning said, with blowing snow reducing visibilities to one quarter mile or less at times. The worst conditions will be in the eastern Turnagain Arm area, however, low visibilities and blowing snow were expected to affect the entire Seward Highway corridor from eastern Turnagain Arm to Seward. A brisk wind advisory for Cook Inlet north of Kalgin Island was also issued Wednesday by the National Weather Service. The advisory shows winds reaching 30 knots Wednesday, and then calming down between 10 and 20 knots until Sunday.
Alaskan musher wins Beargrease Marathon GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. — Alaskan musher Ryan Redington has won the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in northeastern Minnesota for the second time in three years. Redington and his huskies spent more than 29 hours on the nearly 300-mile trail along Lake Superior before arriving in Grand Portage late Tuesday afternoon. The Star Tribune says Redington comes from a family of dog mushers. He won the Beargrease marathon in 2018 and has competed in numerous races, including Alaska’s famous Iditarod, which his grandfather founded. The seven dogs that finished the race with
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Thursday, January 30, 2020 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Defense: ‘Quid pro quo’ not impeachable By Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker and Zeke Miller ]Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a striking shift from President Donald Trump’s claims of “perfect” dealings with Ukraine, his defense asserted Wednesday at his Senate trial that a trade of U.S. military aid for political favors — even if proven — could not be grounds for his impeachment. Trump’s defenders relied on retired professor Alan Dershowitz, a member of their team, who told senators that every politician conflates his own interest with the public interest. “It cannot be impeachable,” he declared. Democrats are pressing hard to force the Senate to call more witnesses
to testify, but Republicans appear intently focused on bringing the impeachment trial to a vote of acquittal, possibly in a matter of days. Even new revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton are being countered by the president’s lawyers, who used Wednesday’s unusual question-and-answer session to warn off prolonging the proceeding, insisting senators have heard enough. Democrats argued Bolton’s forthcoming book cannot be ignored. It contends he personally heard Trump say he wanted military aid withheld from Ukraine until it agreed to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden — the abuse of power charge that is the first article of impeachment. The vote on calling witnesses is
expected by Friday. As Chief Justice John Roberts fielded queries, Texas Republican Ted Cruz asked if it mattered whether there was a quid pro quo? Simply, no, declared Dershowitz, who said many politicians equate their reelection with the public good. “That’s why it’s so dangerous to try to psychoanalyze a president,” he said. Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democrat leading the House prosecutors, appeared stunned. “All quid pro quos are not the same,” he retorted. Some might be acceptable, some not. “And you don’t need to be a mind reader to figure out which is which. For one thing, you can ask John Bolton.” With voting on witnesses later this
Day to reach out, connect Project Homeless Connect provides support, services for those experiencing homelessness
week, Democrats, amid the backdrop of protesters swarming the Capitol, are making a last-ditch push to sway Republicans to call Bolton and others to appear for testimony and ensure a “fair trial.” Trump faces charges from the House that he abused his power like no other president, jeopardizing Ukraine and U.S.-Ukraine relations by using the military aid as leverage while the vulnerable ally battled Russia. The second article of impeachment says Trump then obstructed the House probe in a way that threatened the nation’s three-branch system of checks and balances. Over two days, senators are See impeach, Page A2
Event to Solarize the Kenai kicks off By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
the People to govern themselves,” the resolution said. “When freedom of speech is equated with freedom to spend money, the free speech of the majority of the People may be overwhelmed by the messages of the few who are able to spend millions of dollars to influence the political process,” the resolution said. Brought to the assembly by members Tyson Cox and Brent
A group of local organizers are banding together this week to make installing solar panels on local homes and businesses affordable. On Thursday, the Solarize the Kenai project kicks off by inviting residents who are interested in installing solar power on their property to speak with people who have already gone solar, and to learn more about Solarize — a project that gathers a group of solar power customers to ensure discounts on installment. The Solarize the Kenai project, which is a citizen-led project working with Kenai Change, is based on other collective solar-buying projects that started a decade ago in Portland, Oregon. The model of the project is to pool the collective buying power of business and homeowners. Solar installers then bid for the job serving the large group of customers. For the installer, filling out their schedule with a known group of customers lowers their logistics and marketing costs, letting them offer services for less, Ben Boettger, an organizer for the Solarize the Kenai event, said via email. “Because the installers are competing against one another for the pool of customers, they’re incentivized to offer even more of a discount,” Boettger said. The idea to Solarize the Kenai came out of discussions from the Drawdown: Book to Action Climate Series, a community group focused on finding local projects to combat climate change. The series wrapped up this fall and the group voted to move forward with a community composting project, but Solarize the Kenai was a project the group still felt passionate about pursuing, Boettger said. Hosting the Solarize the Kenai event this year was also strategic. Boettger said the group wanted to take advantage of the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, which is sunsetting for homeowners. Last year, the credit was worth 30% of installation costs. This year, it’s 26%. Next year it will be 21% and in 2022 it will be 10% and only available to businesses. “We didn’t want to pass up the opportunity for a greater discount,” Boettger said. The Solarize project model has been used in cities and neighborhoods across the Lower 48 and Alaska. Solarize Anchorage began in 2018, with a campaign that installed solar in 33 homes in the Airport Heights neighborhood, according to the project’s website. In 2019, a second Solarize Anchorage project installed solar in 163 homes in four neighborhoods.
See speech, Page A3
See solar, Page A3
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion
Henry Smith checks out his fresh haircut courtesy of Gail Kennedy during the 2020 Project Homeless Connect event Tuesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Dozens of volunteers spent time Wednesday with members of the homeless and near-homeless community to connect, share a meal and help get their neighbors back on their feet. Project Homeless Connect, which was hosted in the central peninsula at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, is an annual nationwide event that consolidates into one central location all the local resources that someone experiencing homelessness might need. The project started in San Francisco in 2004, but has since made its way across Alaska, with Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Anchorage, Wasilla and Fairbanks all hosting events this year. Many of the peninsula residents
who attended this year said they had struggled with homelessness for years, sometimes decades. Regardless of the situation that put them there — whether it was escaping domestic violence, struggling with substance abuse or losing a job — each attendee had a story to tell and a plan for the future. Scott Morris is a former landscaper and oil field worker who plans to head home to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after living in Alaska for the past 19 years. Morris said that he was shot in the chest in 1998, and while recovering from the incident he began abusing alcohol. “Before then I was just a common weekend warrior,” Morris said. “I worked all week long cutting grass in Tulsa, and then when I was shot I became a drunk. Ronald the Drunk.” Ronald is Morris’ first name, but
he said he has gone by Scott ever since he sobered up almost five years ago. “Scott is who I really am. Ronald the Drunk hasn’t been around in about five years,” Morris said. Morris, 51, said he became homeless after losing his job in the oil fields on the North Slope. Morris currently has a place to stay, but recently decided to head back home to help care for his mother, who he said is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Morris said that the biggest hurdles for him and others experiencing homelessness on the peninsula were the lack of public transportation and the absence of well-paying jobs. “Where’s the day labor? Where’s the temporary services?” Morris See connect, Page A3
See speech, Page A3
Index
Colder
Assembly takes on political speech By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly joined more than 800 other municipalities and local governments in supporting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that addresses how corporations spend money on elections. At its Jan. 21 meeting, the assembly passed a resolution supporting and calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would address
recent judicial decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Those recent court decisions have held that corporations and other artificial entities are “persons” under the United States Constitution with a constitutional right to “spend as much money as they wish on political speech, thereby greatly expanding the power of corporations and other artificial entities to influence elections and otherwise undermine the power of