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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 121
In the news Seafood giant to spend up to $23 million to fix pollution SEATTLE — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says one of the nation’s biggest seafood companies has agreed to spend up to $23 million to fix serious air pollution issues with its vessels and land-based facilities. Seattle-based Trident Seafoods will also pay a $900,000 fine for Clean Air Act violations under a settlement agreement filed Tuesday in federal court in Alaska. The company uses ozone-depleting coolants in its refrigerators. While the law requires any leaks to be fixed within 30 days, the government said Trident allowed some leaks to persist for years. The EPA said more than 200,000 pounds of harmful gases were released into the atmosphere. Trident agreed to retrofit or retire 23 refrigeration appliances, install leak detectors and promptly repair leaks. The settlement is subject to public comment and court approval. Trident did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Suspect says fatal Anchorage shooting followed argument ANCHORAGE — Charging documents in a fatal Anchorage hotel shooting say the event occurred after a confrontation over a debt. Anchorage television station KTVA reports 20-year-old Theandrea Luster is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death Saturday of 40-year-old Javon Diggs, an employee of Barratt Inn. Police reviewed hotel surveillance video and arrested Luster on Sunday. Online court documents do not list his attorney. Luster told police he went to the hotel with his mother, sister and girlfriend to possibly stay there and his mother wanted to see Diggs because he owed her something. Luster said an argument broke out. Luster told police Diggs shoved his mother and Diggs aggressively reached into his “belt line,” so Luster pulled out his 9mm pistol and shot Diggs repeatedly.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Murkowski addresses Legislature Kenai to Senator critical of Trump’s emergency declaration, questions budget cuts By MOLLIE BARNES Juneau Empire
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wants legislators to stand up for their role as the appropriators — both in Alaska and Washington, D.C. She said President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration on immigration at the border was worrisome in a press conference after her annual speech to Alaska’s Legislature on Tuesday. “I don’t like this,” Murkowski said. “I think it takes us down a road, with a precedent that if it’s allowed that we may come to regret. I’ll just remind my colleagues that in the previous administration we raised a lot of commotion over areas and initiatives that we felt the executive had overreached. Whether
On Tuesday, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District began their efforts to educate the public about their upcoming budget through a series of forums. The forums are a way for the public to understand the district’s budget in light of recently pro-
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to appropriate money, and this order would circumvent that process and take
The Kenai City Council will consider mandatory court appearances for repeated violations of animal control ordinances, rather than just paying a fine. At Wednesday night’s meeting, the council will vote on an ordinance amending code to require that animal owners who violate control and treatment of animals ordinances three times within a 12-month period will have a mandatory arraignment before a judge. Currently, owners are just required to pay a fine. The ordinance states that requiring an animal owner to go to court and “address the owner’s control and
See TALK, page A2
See DOGS, page A3
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, gives her annual speech to a Joint Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)
it’s a Democratic president or a Republican president, I think we need to respect these separation of pow-
School district to host public budget forums By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
talk dogs, Amazon By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
posed cuts to public education from Gov. Dunleavy, a press release from district spokesperson, Pegge Erkeneff, said. “Participate online, or in person, to ask questions about revenue, expenses, funding, and cuts that potentially impact the classroom, teachers and support staff, sports and programs, See FORUM, page A2
ers.” Her main objection with his emergency declaration is that Congress is supposed
Soldotna woman finds obscene imagery, graffiti spray-painted on car By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
When Soldotna resident Deirdre Coval walked out of her house Monday morning, she expected, like with any other day, to shovel some snow off her car before heading to work. Unfortunately, underneath the snow she discovered
obscene images spraypainted on the back of her car as well as the phrase “repubicans rule” painted on the side. Coval believes that this was not a random act of vandalism, but that she was possibly targeted for ideological reasons. Coval actively voices her opinions on the issues facing
the state and the nation via Facebook, and she speculated that her latest criticisms of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget on the social media site were potentially what motivated the vandal to act. “When people allow their ego to take hold, attacks on ideas can be taken personally,” said Coval. See PAINT, page A3
University president makes case against budget cuts University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen made a case against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget cuts to the university, Tuesday, as the Senate Finance Committee continued to work its way through departmental budget presentations. The committee met twice actually, once with Office of Management and Budget staff in the morning, and Johnsen made his presentation later in the afternoon. “People vote with their feet,” Johnsen said on numerous occasions during his hourlong presentation, referring to people leaving Alaska, which they have done in recent years. John-
University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen gives a presentation about the impact proposed budget cuts would have on university funding Tuesday. (Kevin Baird | Juneau Empire)
sen believes Dunleavy’s cuts would exacerbate the problem. He said history has shown that when staff
at the university are cut, “enrollment follows.” Johnsen said this would be bad for Alaska.
“I’m not here to negotiate,” Johnsen said. Johnsen said he was there to advocate for the Board of Regents’ budget requests. Dunleavy’s budget proposal would cut $134 million from its the UA system’s current budget and eliminate upward of 1,300 jobs. Johnsen said the University of Alaska Fairbanks is the world’s No. 1 Arctic research university and every dollar put into research at UAF provides a $6 return to the economy. He said there is no question Alaska would lose top researchers if these cuts are made because states such as Oregon and Washington are invest-
ing in research. To illustrate the magnitude of proposed cuts to the UA system, Johnsen explained some options for meeting demands of Dunleavy’s budget proposal: • Shuttering University of Alaska Southeast would save $25 million. • Closing every community campus would save $38 million. • Closing University of Alaska Anchorage would save $$120 million. UA could double its tuition to make up for the cut, though, Johnsen said. In the morning, OMB Policy Director Mike Barnhill told the committee that state appropriations to UA See OMB, page A2
Maine man arrested in cold Study: Steep tariff case contests extradition hikes needed for Port of Alaska repairs
— Associated Press
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By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press
LEWISTON, Maine — A Maine man charged with killing a woman 26 years ago in Alaska signaled his intention to contest extradition on Tuesday and said through a lawyer that he is innocent of the charges. Steven Downs, of Auburn, Maine, made his intentions known in the first court appearance since his Friday arrest. A judge ordered him held without bail pending another hearing scheduled for March 18. Alaska authorities charged Downs in the 1993 sexual assault and kill-
Steven Downs, 44, of Auburn, Maine, right, stands for his initial appearance in 8th District Court in Lewiston, Maine, on Tuesday. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal via AP)
ing of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie, whose body was found in a dorm bathtub at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. Downs, now 44, was a student at the time, and Sergie was a former
See CASE, page A3
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Steep tariff hikes could be on the way at the Port of Alaska if the Municipality of Anchorage has to pay for repairs to the dock, a recent study says. An analysis, prepared by economic consulting firm Parrish, Blessing and Associates Inc., considers how much tariffs on refined petroleum products and cement would have to be raised to cover the cost of borrowing $200 million to pay for replacing the port’s petroleum and cement terminal, the Alaska Journal of Commerce re-
ported on Monday. The municipality will have to sell $200 million in revenue bonds in less than a year to stay on the construction schedule for the petroleum cement terminal, Municipal Manager Bill Falsey said. “I think we have to have some credible way to borrow approximately this amount of money by the year’s end or we can’t procure construction for 2020 so then we would be in a situation where we would have half constructed the petroleum cement terminal,” Falsey See PORT, page A3