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P E N I N S U L A
Vol. 49, Issue 110
In the news Anchorage police say double shooting was homicide, suicide ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police say the weekend deaths of two people by gunshot were an apparent homicide and suicide. Police on Wednesday identified the man who died as 61-year-old Danny Smalley. The woman killed was his wife, 46-year-old Brenda Smalley. Police detectives concluded that Danny Smalley shot Brenda Smalley and then himself. Police at about 2 a.m. Sunday responded to a call of shots fired at a home on east Sixth Avenue. Four adult family members were in the home. Police found Danny Smalley and Brenda Smalley inside a bathroom. Both had been shot in the upper body.
Aftershock rattles Anchorage area ANCHORAGE — Aftershocks continue to rattle residents of Alaska’s largest city two months after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake caused damage in and around the Anchorage area. The Alaska Earthquake Center says the latest aftershock occurred just after 11 a.m. Wednesday. The magnitude 4.1 temblor was located about 14 northwest of Anchorage and was recorded at a depth of about 24 miles. It was felt in the greater Anchorage area, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The center confirmed it was an aftershock of the larger quake on Nov. 30.
Police release name of woman found dead in vehicle ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police have released the name of a woman found shot in a vehicle. Police say 30-year-old Salisa Loucks was found shortly after 11 p.m. Monday inside a Jeep sport utility vehicle. She had been shot in the upper body. The SUV was in an alley in the 200 block of East 12th Avenue near Cordova Avenue. Detectives say the shooting was drug-related. Police on Tuesday asked the public for information connected to the case, including surveillance video recorded in the area. — Associated Press
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Thursday, February 7, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
LNG pipeline just a pipe dream? Former borough chief of staff casts doubts on project’s future By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
An Alaska energy expert has bad news for those hoping for an economic boom from the proposed Nikiski LNG pipeline: “There is no LNG project coming in the near future.” At the latest Kenai/Soldotna Joint Chamber Luncheon, speaker Larry Persily — a former federal official for Alaska gas pipline projects and chief of staff for former borough mayor Mike Navarre — expressed doubts that the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) would make a final investment decision regarding this project by the end of 2019. “I don’t speak for them, I’m just telling you: there’s no possible way it could happen,” said Persily
Larry Persily gives a presentation at the Kenai/Soldotna joint chamber luncheon on Wednesday. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
during his presentation at the Joint Chamber Luncheon on Wednesday. Persily laid out the reasons why he is convinced the pipeline is more of a pipe dream than a reality. Persily’s three main arguments revolved around increased competi-
tion from other LNG projects, decreased demand from China and a lack of essential pieces to the puzzle. Without any partners, customers or money, the Alaska LNG project seems to be dead in the water, he said. Regarding competition,
Persily used examples from across the world of other LNG projects already underway or due to be started soon that are much less expensive and/or more worthwhile to investors than the one proposed for Nikiski. Qatar — which until recently was the world’s leader in LNG exports — plans to expand their local production 43 percent by 2024. Australia took the title of top producer from Qatar in November and currently has 10 LNG plants that produce 25 percent of the global capacity. The issue of competition is compounded by the fact that many governments are offering tax incentives to other potential LNG projects. The state of Alaska and the boroughs that would be impacted by the project simply
man said. “What we do as educators on the Kenai Peninsula is nothing short of incredible.” See ED, page A2
See CRIME, page A3
See LNG, page A3
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Assembly member Willy Dunne, speaks in support of education at the Tuesday Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting in Soldotna. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
importance of borough educators. “Educators across this peninsula go into their classrooms and go into the
learning environments of hundreds of students on this peninsula and they provide an excellent education to students every day,” Bjork-
By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Alaska will soon be switching to a new data recording system to better track crime in the state, although some lawmakers are worried about the price tag involved. Starting in 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will only be using data collected through a data system called the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). During a presentation to an informal gathering of state representatives Tuesday, DPS Division of Statewide Services Bureau Chief Kathryn Monfreda said NIBRS would result in a wider array of crime and demographic statistics. “It will allow you representatives to have a much more robust understanding and information available to you for making decisions,” Monfreda said. The current system in place, called the Summary Reporting System (SRS), is out of date, Monfreda said. The SRS only records 10 types of crimes, as opposed to NIBRS recording 24. In instances where there are multiple offenses, SRS only records the most serious offense. This results in lesser crimes not being included in year-end statistics and thus gives decision-makers an incomplete view of which crimes are being committed. Monfreda’s presentation gave an example of a crime where someone is beaten, robbed, their car is stolen and their credit card is used. The state’s current crime-report-
Education dominates assembly meeting Talk of education dominated public comment at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. Employees of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District have been negotiating a contract with the district for more than a year and educators across the district are getting more vocal about the issue. Across the peninsula, teachers and employees are uniting by wearing the color red and marching to and from their home and schools to show solidarity. At Tuesday’s assembly meeting, Nikiski High School teacher, Jesse Bjorkman, used his public comment time to address the
State changing system for recording crimes
Ethics restrictions too broad, some lawmakers say By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
For years, Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, has heard from her constituents that health care costs have risen too high in Alaska. This session, she was planning on doing something about it. She introduced Senate Bill 27, which would require insurance providers to have an incentive program to help patients pursue health care for a lower price. Then, less than three weeks into session, she had to withdraw her bill because of new ethics rules instituted for this session. The new rules, instituted as part of House Bill 44 and
having private conversations about a bill. Hughes’ husband works in the health care field, she explained on the Senate floor this past Friday. She explained in an interview that the bill actually would have hurt her husband financially, but she wanted to get the bill passed for the constituents she’s been hearing from for years. Health care in Alaska is the highest in the nation by a wide margin, Hughes said, and health care Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Shelley provider Premera posted a Hughes, R-Wasilla, listens to Attorney General Kevin study in 2017 that health care Clarkson speak about Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s four crime in Alaska is more than twice bills at the Capitol on Wednesday. (Michael Penn | Ju- as high as the national averneau Empire) age. The weekend after withsigned into law last year, ily member can benefit finandictate that a legislator can’t cially from that bill. The law drawing the bill, she heard vote on a bill if they or a fam- also forbids legislators from from her constituents again.
Activists air grievances about ANWR drilling FAIRBANKS (AP) — Activists pushing against oil development in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge dominated a Bureau of Land Management public meeting in Fairbanks. The open house format meeting on plans for lease sales on the refuge’s coastal plain was quickly interrupted by protesters Monday, the
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The meeting was planned to provide information about the project to the public to inform their comments, said Joe Balash, the assistant secretary for land and minerals management. But protesters used it to aired grievances about the meeting style, its short notice
and the lack of consultation with Alaska Natives during the drafting process for the environmental impact statement. Jody Potts, head of the Village Public Officer Program for the Tanana Chiefs Conference, spoke out against the meeting’s organization, noting that testimony needs to be
See ANWR, page A3
She held an informal public meeting where around 40 people showed up to ask her questions and get an update on how session was going. They were also there to provide feedback. “They were infuriated to hear that I had to pull that bill,” Hughes said. Even talking in an interview in her office Tuesday, Hughes was cautious about how specific she was about health care. She said she believes HB 44 has good intentions, but it’s just too broad and prevents legislators from delving into some of Alaska’s biggest issues. HB 44 requires legislators to declare if they or a family See ETHICS, page A2
Chief Justice set to deliver first State of Judiciary Staff report Juneau Empire
The State of the Judiciary will feature new Chief Justice Joel H. Bolger, and will happen between visits from Alaska’s U.S. senators. Bolger will deliver the annual speech at 11 a.m. Feb. 20, according to an announcement in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. This is Bolger’s first
year giving the address, which outlines changes and goals in the state’s court system. Bolger will address a joint session of the House and the Senate. The address is in the middle of a three-day span of high-profile speakers. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will address a joint session of the House and Senate at 11 a.m. Feb. 19. U.S. Sen. Dan SulSee CHIEF page A3