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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 113
In the news Taxidermists busy repairing trophies damaged by quake ANCHORAGE — Some Alaska taxidermists have been busy repairing animal mounts that were damaged in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the state’s south-central region. Anchorage television station KTUU reports taxidermists also have repaired Alaska Native art and other artifacts that were damaged in the Nov. 30 quake. Russell Knight, who owns Knight’s Taxidermy in Anchorage, is among those being called to repair animal trophies. He says his shop has taken in about 75 mounts. That includes 30 mounts that were brought in immediately after the quake. Knight says damaged trophies included broken sheep necks and deer with horns knocked off. He says the shop was able to repair all but two of the damaged mounts.
Troopers: Teen arrested for taking control of Alaska flight BETHEL — Authorities say a 16-year-old boy was arrested after he briefly gained control of a small aircraft during a short commercial flight over western Alaska. KYUK-AM reports the teen was seated in the front passenger seat of the Piper Cherokee Six on a recent Yute Commuter Service flight from Napakiak to Bethel. Alaska State Troopers say the teen grabbed the aircraft controls shortly after takeoff, causing the “plane to enter a steep climb and then a dive toward the ground.” Authorities say a woman sitting behind the teen pulled him away, and the pilot regained control. The teen ran away after the flight returned to Napakiak, but he was arrested earlier this month in Bethel. Authorities have not released the teen’s name because he is a minor. — Associated Press
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Mayor casts doubt on LNG project IPHC By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce joins an Alaska energy expert in casting doubt on the proposed Nikiski LNG pipeline. At Friday’s Seward Chamber of Commerce meeting, Pierce said he agreed with Larry Persily, former federal official for Alaska gas pipeline projects and chief of staff for former borough mayor Mike Navarre, who said last week that there is “no possible way” that the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation would make a final investment
Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
decision by the end of 2019. “I think Persily is right,” Pierce said. “When
you look at the LNG project coming to the peninsula, standing on its own on an economic basis …
There is no return on investment at this present time.” At a Kenai/Soldotna Chamber Luncheon last week, Persily argued that a lack of customers, investors and capital will keep the Alaska LNG Pipeline from becoming a reality. He also said an increase in competition and decreased demand from China will hinder the project. Competition is heightened by Alaska’s high investment costs. Different markets throughout the world are able to offer incentives or are nearby larger natural gas supSee LNG, page A2
Nikiski incorporation group meets with mayor By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
The group pushing to incorporate Nikiski into a home-rule city met with Mayor Charlie Pierce’s office on Thursday to discuss and finalize their petition’s administrative transitional plan. The meeting involved Citizens for Nikiski Incorporation board members, Borough Assembly president Wayne Ogle, the mayor and the mayor’s chief of staff, James Baisden. During the meeting, the participants discussed how the incorporation would affect the Hospital Service area, the process of collecting taxes for the borough and distributing
Paul Huber, co-chair of the Citizens for Nikiski Incorporation, speaks at a meeting at the Nikiski Fire Station 2 on Jan. 24. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
them to the city and the planning powers of other cities in the borough. Citizens for Nikiski Incorporation Co-chair Paul
Huber said that the meeting was “brief but productive” and has helped his group in its goal to resubmit a petition for incorpo-
ration. Alaska statutes and administrative codes require that any petition for incorporation include a detailed administrative plan that outlines how the transition of public services would be handled during and after incorporation. Under the plan developed by the Citizens for Nikiski Incorporation, hospital and emergency services would be handled in a similar fashion to other cities in the borough, Chairman of the Citizens for Nikiski Incorporation Dan Gregory said during a meeting held on Jan. 24. Other aspects of incorporation, such as the fate of the Road Service Area and See MAYOR, page A2
Stonewall at 50 Golden anniversary of uprising celebrated in Juneau By BEN HOHENSTATT Juneau Empire
The Stonewall Inn is a National Monument, but Lin Davis said what happened there almost 50 years ago isn’t necessarily widely known outside of the LGBTQ community. That’s part of the reason Davis, an out and proud lesbian, read her poem “Stonewall 50 When We Come To It,” at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall held Saturday at McPhetres Hall. “I was handing out flyers (for the event), and it seemed a lot of people didn’t really know about it,” Davis said. “We ran into many people
Maureen Longworth, co-coordinator of the Stonewall 50 Project, speaks at the Stonewall 50 Tea & Dance Event Saturday. (Ben Hohenstatt/Capital City Weekly)
who didn’t know what not being taught.” The Stonewall Inn in Stonewall was. As a lesbian, it just is in my blood to get New York City was a flash this history out because it’s point for a series of some-
times violent demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community in June 1969. The events are often called the Stonewall riots, Stonewall uprising or Stonewall rebellion. The demonstrations followed a police raid on the inn, which was a known gay-friendly bar at the time, and were sparked when a transgender woman of color asking a gathered crowd to do something. In the aftermath of Stonewall, the LGBTQ community coalesced, organized and generally became more visible. By 1970 gay pride marches were held in large See WALL, page A3
raises halibut catch limit By CRISTY FRY Special to the Homer News
The International Pacific Halibut Commission concluded their annual meeting last week by raising 2019 catch limits, a surprise to nearly everyone and disturbing to many. The IPHC did manage to come to agreement between the U.S. and Canadian regulators, something they were unable to do last year when both countries ended up setting their own catch limits. The decision to raise quotas in most areas comes despite some concerning figures from the interim meeting in December where results of the setline survey conducted by the IPHC and information collected from logbooks kept by commercial fishermen saw some significant drops in key data points that help determine the health of the biomass. Those included a coast-wide drop in weight per unit of effort (pounds per hook) of 5 percent in the IPHC survey, and an 11 percent drop in the WPUE according to the commercial logbooks. Another data point that fell was the number per unit of effort (NPUE), or fish per 100 hooks. The coast-wide NPUE fell an average of 7 percent. The NPUE in Southeast Alaska, Canada and the West Coast fell the most, at 15 percent. Justification for the increase came from a rise in fish from the 20112012 year class, which just showed up this year, according to fisherman Malcolm Milne, who is also president of the North Pacific Fisheries Association, based in Homer. “(IPHC quantitative scientist) Ian Stewart said that since this year’s class started showing up on the survey — first time we’ve seen it — but they started seeing some of these small, younger fish, and he plugged it into his model, and it shows that the bioSee IPHC, page A3
Biologists report increased State backlog of sighting of mink in Kodiak Medicaid applications KODIAK (AP) — Sightings of mink are increasing around Kodiak, Alaska wildlife biologists said of the animal — a species not native to the area. The first sighting was several years ago, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported. Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist John Crye said the sightings began after he got a call from an individual who was interested in raising and farming the animals. The mink sightings
started a year later, Crye said at a recent meeting of the Kodiak Fish and Game Advisory Committee. “So, I think that’s where they came from,” Crye said. “They might be here to stay. There’s quite a few.” Nathan Svoboda, another Fish and Game wildlife biologist, said the mink farm idea was rejected. Svoboda said the agency is increasingly getting reports of mink in the area. “We are getting more sightings every year. We’re
also getting more trappers bringing them in every year,” he said. Fish and Game officials say most of the sightings have been around the city of Kodiak, particularly in nearby St. Herman Harbor, which is located on Near Island. But that doesn’t mean the animals aren’t elsewhere, too, according to Svoboda. Invasive species can be detrimental to Kodiak Island’s ecosystem and could even replace native species, he said.
numbers nearly 16K ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska’s backlog of Medicaid applications numbered nearly 16,000 at the end of last month, with about two-thirds of the cases filed last year. The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports the backlog is down from the more than 20,000 cases noted in a state report in May, and it’s down from the 30,000 cases reported the prior year. Clinton Bennett, media relations manager for the
state Department of Health and Social Services, says the average wait time for an application to get approved is 55 days. He says some cases get processed within two days, such as those involving a pregnant woman or a newborn. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, about 210,000 people are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the state.