Shelved
Hockey
Enquirer admits killing Trump stories
Kenai Central hosts Juneau
Nation/A5
Sports/A6
CLARION
Partly cloudy 17/10 More weather on Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, December 13, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 64
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Kenai Chamber supports Alaska LNG
Warmerthan-normal water mass emerges in Gulf of Alaska JUNEAU (AP) — Another mass of warmer than normal water is slowly re-emerging in the Gulf of Alaska, scientists said. The new “blob” could affect weather and fisheries in southeastern Alaska, but scientists said it doesn’t appear as strong as the first one in 2013, KTOO Public Media in Juneau reported Monday. Washington State Climatologist Nick Bond coined the term “blob” to refer to water mass in the Pacific Northwest. “Without winds to draw heat out of the ocean and to mix up colder water from below, the near-surface waters, again, got quite a bit warmer than normal,” Bond said. The gulf water is about four degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal, but it is not as hot or as deep as the 2013 blob. “This isn’t the new normal,” Bond said. “But still, it’s kind of alarming that we’re talking about this sort of thing again so soon.” The blob-like conditions could lead to milder weather in southeastern Alaska, meaning less freezing and more rain, said Rick Thoman, a climatologist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. Southeastern Alaska is already seeing warmer-thannormal weather. Juneau’s November was five degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. The warmer weather could disrupt fish behavior. The previous warm ocean conditions likely contributed to shifts in pollock spawn timing and extended the range of salmon. Andy Piston, a pink and chum salmon project leader with the state Department of Fish and Game, said a weak pink salmon run of 18 million is projected for next season. The last blob’s effects were not uniform on pink salmon runs, he said. “Some stocks did outstanding, and some stocks right next door did very poorly. A lot did average,” Piston said. “So part of the problem is that we don’t know exactly where in the ocean individual stocks are going for the most part.” — Associated Press
Index Opinion................... A4 Nation..................... A5 Sports......................A6 Arts..........................B1 Classifieds.............. B3 Comics.................... B6
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
STAFF REPORT Peninsula Clarion
Simon Nissen, Kenai Central choir teacher and founder of the Kenai Peninsula Singers, warms up the singers at Kenai Central before a Monday rehearsal for the “Evening of Christmas” show. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Evening of Christmas’ arrives Annual holiday concert expands venues, grows audience By JEFF HELMINIAK Peninsula Clarion
In 2003, the Redoubt Chamber Orchestra held its first “Evening of Christmas” concert at Christ Lutheran Church
in Soldotna in front of an audience of 100 or 150. The show has gotten so big that this year there will be a performance Friday at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium in Kenai before a similar show
is performed Saturday in Anchorage. After starting at Christ Lutheran Church, the show eventually moved to Kenai Christian Church, which can hold about 340.
The next big move came in 2014, when Simon Nissen arrived to teach choir at Kenai Central High School. Nissen started the Kenai Peninsula Singers and they joined the See XMAS, page A3
The Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center has joined several other local organizations and communities in supporting Nikiski as the location for Alaska Gasline Development Corporation’s (AGDC) liquefaction plant and marine terminal. “It is the mission of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center (KCCVC) to promote economic development, stimulate job growth, provide initiatives to promote local businesses and foster positive relations between business and community for the benefit of Kenai,” the center said in a resolution. The resolution, signed by Board Chairman Karl Heinz and Board Secretary Penny Furnish, is one of several recently passed in the Kenai and Soldotna area showing support for AGDC. Last week, Kenai Peninsula Borough and the city of Kenai passed similar resolutions. Soldotna City Council is slated to discuss the topic at their meeting Wednesday.
‘Inspecting Carol’ — a different kind of ‘Christmas Carol’
Juneau diocese forms commission to investigate sexual misconduct allegations
By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
The story is well known. A greedy, desolate man learns to share the joys of Christmas with friends and family after receiving guidance from three ghosts — of Christmas past, present and yet to come. All the heartwarming feels of Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol,” draw audiences to theaters each year throughout the country to relive the tale. Well, this isn’t that story. Chris Pepper (right) leads an “Inspecting Carol” rehearsal Triumvirate North Theater’s Tuesday at the Triumvirate North Theatre in Kenai. (Photo by upcoming holiday season pro- Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion) duction tells the story behind casing a different type of holi- production of “Inspecting the story. See CAROL, page A3 Triumvirate North is show- day feature with this year’s
The Diocese of Juneau has assembled a group of experts to look into any allegations of sexual assault in the diocese dating back to 1951, according to a release Wednesday. The commission, assembled by Bishop Andrew Bellisario, will review personnel files of all clergy who have served the diocese since it was established in 1951. The commission — which is independent from the diocese — includes former Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins, former Ketchikan Superior Court Judge Thomas Schulz, and retired
Juneau Police Department Lt. Kris Sell. The diocese will cooperate fully with the investigation, the release stated. Dominique Johnson, director of communications for the Diocese, said in an interview Wednesday that this investigation was not brought about by any specific allegations of sexual misconduct. “It’s for transparency to make sure there’s nothing in the personnel files,” Johnson said. “A lot of other Diocese across the country are doing the same thing right now.” The commission will begin its work Jan. 7, 2019 and is scheduled to wrap up its See FORMS, page A2
‘I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds’ Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen gets 3 years in prison By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS Associated Press
NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s one-time fixer, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal his boss’ alleged sexual affairs, telling a judge that he agreed time and again to cover up Trump’s “dirty deeds” out of “blind loyalty.” Separately, the legal and political peril surrounding Trump appeared to deepen when prosecutors announced that another major piece of
In this courtroom sketch, Michael Cohen listens as he is sentenced in federal court Wednesday in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
the investigation had fallen pany of the National Enquirer into place: The parent com- acknowledged dispensing
some of the hush money in concert with the Trump campaign to fend off a scandal that could have damaged his bid for the White House. Cohen, 52, shook his head slightly and closed his eyes as a judge pronounced his sentence for evading $1.4 million in taxes, lying about Trump’s business dealings in Russia and violating campaign-finance laws in buying the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal, who claimed they had sex with the candidate. Cohen and federal prosecutors have said the payments were made at Trump’s direction to influ-
ence the election. “Time and time again, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds rather than to listen to my own inner voice and my moral compass,” said a choked-up Cohen, a lawyer who once boasted he would “take a bullet” for Trump. “My weakness can be characterized as a blind loyalty to Donald Trump, and I was weak for not having the strength to question and to refuse his demands.” The twin developments represented a double dose of bad news for the president, who ignored reporters’ questions about Cohen during See DEEDS, page A2