Peninsula Clarion, December 19, 2018 by Sound Publishing

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Trump takes action on bump stocks

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P E N I N S U L A

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 49, Issue 69

In the news Man with stab wound dies near mental health services office ANCHORAGE — A man suffering a stab wound died outside an Anchorage building that offers mental health services. Anchorage police say the man was found Tuesday afternoon outside the Alaska Mental Health Consumer Web building on Gambell Street near 12th Avenue. Staff members called the Anchorage Safety Patrol for a man who appeared to be intoxicated. As medics assessed the man, he indicated he had been stabbed. Medics found a stab wound on the man’s upper body. Soon after, the man died. Police say they have no suspect information. Police are asking for witnesses to come forward.

Man found dead outside burning motorhome near Fairbanks FAIRBANKS — The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the death of a man outside a burned motorhome near Fairbanks. Alaska State Troopers say Chena-Goldstream Fire and Rescue on Saturday responded to a call of a home fire on a street west of the city. Firefighters arrived to find a fully engulfed motorhome. As crews extinguished the fire, they found the man dead outside the motorhome. The state medical examiner conducted an autopsy to confirm the man’s identity.

Former manager charged with embezzling from village utility ANCHORAGE — A southwest Alaska woman has been charged with embezzling more than $500,000 from a village utility company. The Anchorage Daily News reports 60-year-old Donna Vukich of Naknek is charged in federal court with embezzling from the Naknek Electric Association and lying about it on tax returns. Vukich is the utility’s former general manager. A civil lawsuit filed by the utility claims Vukich spent $970,358 on company credit cards from 2004 to 2016. The criminal charges cover 2011 to 2015. — Associated Press

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Soldotna wins concert series grant By KAT SORENSEN Peninsula Clarion

Soldotna’s Music in the Park will rock even more in 2019, thanks to a $25,000 matching grant. The city of Soldotna was one of 15 annual winners of the 2019 Levitt AMP Grant. The matching grant is presented to nonprofits in small to mid-sized towns to host the Levitt AMP Music Series, 10 free and diverse concerts. “We’re very excited,” said Executive Director for the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce Shannon Davis. “We really have done a great job of showing the development of Soldotna Creek Park and having Music in the Park grow every year, so we are thrilled to take it to a whole new level in 2019.” The grant was awarded to Vision Soldotna, a 501(c)3 that focuses its efforts to better Soldotna through a visitor’s and community center and by en- Musician Mika Day performs for market attendees at this year’s final Wednesday Market, on See PARK, page A3 Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Dunleavy to examine LNG project before weighing in ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is learning more about the $43 billion liquefied natural gas project before he sets a course, his administration said. Brett Huber, the new Republican governor’s senior policy adviser, told the Anchorage Daily News that Dunleavy “will withhold judgment” on the project until the “administration can fully understand the costs, risks, and potential benefits.” The project includes an 800mile pipeline to move North See LNG, page A3

Industry forum slated for 2019 Stocks waver; plunging By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion

The Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District is hosting the upcoming Industry Outlook Forum next month. The Jan. 9 forum is an allday event that will feature presentations from a wide range of local industries. The event features over 15 speakers, including representatives from the University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska’s tourism industry, South Peninsula Hospital, The Pebble Partnership, Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, local farms and more. The forum has been happening for more than 10 years, Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District Executive Director Tim Dillon said.

Tim Dillon is the executive director of the Kenai Economic Development District.

Dillon said the event will help educate residents about what is happening in local industries, and what they can ex-

pect in the coming year. “It’s a great opportunity to get information,” Dillon said. Three years ago, the forum saw some major changes. It was changed to a one-day event, gained the support of peninsula cities and chambers of commerce and recruited speakers and presenters from a more varied selection of local industries. “We were starting to hear (the forum) wasn’t as diverse as it could have been,” Dillon said. “Now when you look at the agenda you can see almost every industry represented.” For the first time, Tyonek will be represented at the forum, with a presentation from CEO Leo Barlow of the Tyonek Native Corporation. See FORUM, page A3

Juneau schools continue drug testing of student athletes JUNEAU (AP) — The Juneau School District has been conducting random drug tests on student athletes for nearly a decade, but officials said there is little evidence to show the program’s effectiveness. The district started random drug testing in 2009, checking students for substances ranging from tobacco and alcohol to cocaine and marijuana, KTOO

Public Media in Juneau reported this week. The district has spent anywhere from $11,000 to $46,000 each year on testing. The program began as a way to address growing drug use among high school students, and the policy stayed in place despite budget cuts in 2013. As much as 15 percent of each sport’s athletes are ran-

domly tested once a week during the season, depending on budget constraints. If a student tests positive for a substance, consequences include suspension from sports and completing an online course on substance abuse. The district does not maintain yearly records of the number of positive results the tests See TEST, page A3

oil prices pull energy stocks even lower By MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK — After two days of huge losses, U.S. stocks ended the day back where they started on Tuesday. Energy companies sank as crude oil plunged 7 percent, but technology and consumerfocused companies climbed. U.S. crude oil fell to its lowest price since August 2017, and it has now fallen almost 40 percent since early October. Investors are worried that supplies continue to increase and that demand is slowing as the global economy weakens. The plunge in oil prices has crushed energy company stocks in recent weeks. Energy stocks including Exxon Mobil fell again on Tuesday, but some of those losses were offset by gains in Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing. Boeing raised its quarterly dividend and said it will buy back another $20 billion of its own stock. Boeing has tumbled on worries that the global trade war will hit its profits particularly hard. The Federal Reserve started its last meeting of the year. Investors expect it to raise interest rates on Wednesday when the meeting concludes. That

would be its fourth increase this year, and its ninth in three years. Investors are hoping the Fed will say the increases are going to slow down in 2019 in light of recent signs that economic growth is slowing. Trading was turbulent. Two days of widespread market declines had knocked 1,004 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and on Tuesday, investors couldn’t find a convincing reason for stock prices to go higher. On the other hand they didn’t see cause for another big decline, either. There haven’t been any big developments in U.S.-China trade talks, a major focus for markets, since the beginning of this month. JJ Kinahan, chief markets strategist for TD Ameritrade, said that’s left investors confused about the state of the trade dispute and reluctant to commit to stocks, while businesses aren’t spending. “We don’t know the rules of the game,” he said. “People can’t plan. When you can’t plan, you’re not anxious to buy stocks.” The S&P 500 index inched up 0.22 points to 2,546.16, but is still trading at its lowest levels in 14 months. The Dow industrials added 82.66 points, See OIL, page A5

Judge delays Flynn sentencing, ‘not hiding disgust’ By ERIC TUCKER and CHAD DAY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge Tuesday abruptly postponed the sentencing of President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, declaring himself disgusted and disdainful of Flynn’s crime of lying to the FBI and raising the unexpected prospect of sending the retired Army lieutenant general to prison. Lawyers for Flynn, who admitted lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts, requested the delay during the stunning hearing in which U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told the former Trump aide in a blistering rebuke that “arguably you sold your country out.”

This courtroom sketch depicts former President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, standing center, flanked by his lawyers, inside the federal court in Washington, Tuesday. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

“I can’t make any guarantees, my disdain for this criminal ofbut I’m not hiding my disgust, fense,” Sullivan said.

The postponement gives Flynn a chance to continue cooperating with the government in hopes of staving off prison and proving his value as a witness, including in a foreign lobbying prosecution brought this week. The possibility of prison had seemed remote for Flynn, who was smiling and upbeat as he entered the courtroom, since prosecutors had praised his extensive cooperation and didn’t recommend any time behind bars. But the judge’s upbraiding suggested otherwise and made clear that even defendants like Flynn who have cooperated in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation may nonetheless be shadowed by the crimes that brought them into court in the first place. The

hearing upset what had been a carefully crafted agreement and pushed months into the future a resolution of one of Mueller’s signature prosecutions. “This is a very serious offense. A high-ranking senior official of the government making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while on the physical premises of the White House,” Sullivan said. He later softened his tone, apologizing for suggesting that Flynn had worked as a foreign agent, “undermining everything this flag over here stands for” while in the White House when that other work had actually already ended. He also backpedaled on an earlier question on whether Flynn’s transgressions See FLYNN, page A5