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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, January 17, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 92
In the news Dunleavy to give first State of State address Gov. Mike Dunleavy is ready for his close-up. The new governor will likely deliver his State of the State address at 7 p.m. Jan. 22, it was announced on the Alaska Senate floor Wednesday. The House of Representatives has to make a formal request as well, House Majority Press Secretary Mike Mason said Wednesday. With the House in disarray without a majority at the moment, that request has not come yet. Mason said the 7 p.m. Jan. 22 time and date will likely stand, though, as these formal requests are more of a formality than anything else. Dunleavy’s address will take place at the Alaska Capitol, and will be in front of a joint session of the House and Senate. For those looking to plan their evenings around the speech: Last year’s address from Gov. Bill Walker lasted 49 minutes and his address the previous year lasted 46 minutes. — Juneau Empire
Son suspected in mother’s death found hiding in woman’s home ANCHORAGE (AP) — A man suspected of killing his mother and hiding in her home has been arrested in Alaska’s second-largest city. Fairbanks police announced Thursday that 34-year-old George Rosa is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of 70-year-old Molly Rosa. He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon. Online court documents do not list his attorney.
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Gov. unveils plan for PFD back payments By ALEX MCCARTHY and MOLLIE BARNES Juneau Empire
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan for paying back recent years’ Permanent Fund Dividend will happen over a three-year span, according to legislation filed Wednesday. The legislation would also cement the PFD payments using the original formula through 2023. Senate Bill 23, filed Wednesday, outlines Dunleavy’s plan to fulfill one of his key campaign promises — returning people the portions of their PFDs that were used to help balance the state’s budget under former Gov. Bill Walker. According to the bill, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announces two bills to pay back residents’ cut PFD funds during a press See PFD, page A2 conference at the Capitol on Wednesday. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)
Soldotna council members may now phone in 6 times a year By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna City Council members can now teleconference in to six meetings a year, versus the three previously allowed. The city council passed a resolution at their meeting last Wednesday night that doubles the number of times a council member can remote dial-in. The count for remote dialins runs from Nov. 1 to Nov. 1, a full calendar year. The resolution, was sponsored by Council member TySee PHONE, page A3
‘It’s part of the legacy of my class’
UAA’s teaching Former student artists reflect on 1977 airport mural project programs accreditation A mural discovered Tuesrevoked day by construction crews at By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
the Kenai Municipal Airport is bringing back memories for the former high school students who helped create it four decades ago. The mural, which depicts peninsula icons, like a Russian Orthodox Church, a dog musher and a fishing net with crab, was designed and painted by an advanced art class taught by Renae Larson at Kenai Central High School in the spring of 1977, according to Clarion archives. Babbi Goodwin was a senior at Kenai Central when she helped create the mural as part of her advanced art class with Larson. She said she took all of Larson’s classes when she was in high school. “I had Larson four hours a day my senior year,” Goodwin
More panels of the hidden mural were revealed Wednesday, as construction crews work on the remodel at the Kenai Municipal Airport. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Goodwin said she helped “I thought ‘I can’t paint a said. “I was kind of her pet student. (Larson) was really an in- paint the Russian Orthodox bird,’” Goodwin said. Church and a ptarmigan. spiration to me.” See MURAL, page A3
Lawmaker opposes drilling permit work during government shutdown By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — The oil and gas industry should not be spared the pain of the partial government shutdown, according to the chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Raul Grijalva on Tuesday sent a letter to Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt objecting to the department changing plans to allow employees to work on upcoming offshore lease sales, seismic permits and a five-year off-
shore oil and gas leasing plan in Alaska and elsewhere. “One of the most striking features of the current government shutdown, brought about entirely by the President’s insistence on building an entirely unnecessary border wall, is the way the administration has bent over backwards to ensure that the pain of the shutdown falls only on ordinary Americans and the environment, and not on the oil and gas industry,” the Arizona Democrat wrote. Rep. Betty McCollum, DMinnesota, and Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-California, also
signed the letter. McCollum chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee for the Interior Department. Grijalva called on Bernhardt to reverse course, and if he refuses, to provide a briefing on the legal justification for what appeared to be a violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in advance of an appropriation. Interior spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort in an email response said department officials would be happy to meet See DRILL, page A3
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A national oversight organization has revoked the accreditation of teaching degree programs at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation notified the university Friday, throwing the viability of teaching into jeopardy for about 250 students enrolled in the programs, the Anchorage Daily News reported this week. The university is not allowed to recommend students to the state for licensure without accreditation. Teachers must be licensed by the state to teach in public schools. “To put so much work into it and for it to be like this might not matter anymore — I mean, I just See UAA, page A3
Jackson sworn in, against state statutes By KEVIN BAIRD Juneau Empire
With no leadership appointed or caucus in place, the Alaska House of Representatives is not allowed to conduct any business. It did anyway. A video posted to Rep. Josh Revak’s Facebook page Wednesday shows Republican Sharon Jackson being sworn in as a new representative by a court clerk, which goes against Alaska statutes. The ceremony was conducted
without notice to the public, and also involved Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla. “Lets end the partisan gridlock and put Juneau to work,” Revak, R-Anchorage, wrote in his Facebook post, adding that the Legislature does “not have a single day to waste” in getting to work. The swearing-in wouldn’t be an issue, except that Jackson is an appointee to the House, not an elected official. Gov. Mike Dunleavy had appointed Jackson to See SWORN, page A2
Nominate your favorite teacher. Now accepting nominations for the statewide BP Teachers of Excellence program. You can also nominate a principal, school nurse, teaching assistant or other school staff member for the Educational Allies Award, recognizing the unsung heroes in our schools. Nominate at bpteachers.com by February 1.
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