Bust
Big deal
Police raid Italian mob in crackdown
Cardinals acquire Goldschmidt
World/A5
Sports/A6
CLARION
Flurries 33/31 More weather on Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, December 6, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 58
In the news Alaska spaceport plans new building as demand increases KODIAK (AP) — The Alaska Aerospace Corporation plans to construct a temporary building to support launch operations at the spaceport on Kodiak Island. Officials solicited bids last month for the manufacture and delivery of materials to construct a 4,000-square-foot building at the Pacific Spaceport Complex, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Tuesday. The new building will provide staff and customer personnel with shelter to “work on rockets and related hardware,” said Mark Lester, the president of the corporation. The building is planned for the complex’s Area 3, where several launch pads are located. The materials requested include a “pre-engineered system of standard metal framing components and membrane enclosure,” according to the bid document. The new construction is needed because the spaceport expects demand to increase, Lester said. “We are experiencing a renaissance in commercial and government interest in affordable access to space,” Lester said. “Multiple rocket developers and integrators are planning on launching small rockets from the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska at Kodiak in the upcoming years. This has prompted Alaska Aerospace Corporation to look at our operational capabilities to ensure we can meet anticipated demand.” The corporation is currently working with about six companies that are at various stages in preparing for launches, Lester said. He declined to name them. Astra Inc. is the only company currently licensed to launch from the Alaska spaceport, but Arizona-based Vector Launch Inc. has announced plans to test a rocket by the spring. “Due to the competitive nature of the commercial space launch market, most commercial companies are not willing to be identified at this time,” Lester said. “This is not an uncommon practice for emerging technology programs. We expect this to change for companies that establish routine operations.” The spaceport is expecting 3 to 6 launches next year, but launch demand is anticipated to reach about 24 commercial launches annually. The spaceport is also expecting to have one to two government launches each year.
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.
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Collapsed Anchorage ramp reopens Mayor gives borough update By DAN JOLING Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A collapsed off-ramp in Alaska’s largest city that became an iconic image of the destructive force of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake was rebuilt and reopened four days after its destruction. The ramp, which leads to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, reopened between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Shannon McCarthy, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The earthquake struck at 8:29 a.m. Friday and was followed by a magnitude 5.7 quake. Aftershocks of 4.0 or larger were regular occurrences afterward. When rocking from the first quake stopped, McCarthy said, highway officials recognized they had multiple breaks in “essential travel.” They identified eight sites of highest priority. One was the off-ramp that carried traffic from south An-
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
In this Friday file photo, workers inspect a road that collapsed during an earthquake in Anchorage. The off-ramp connecting Minnesota Drive and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport reopened Tuesday, with shoulder work completed Wednesday. (AP Photo/Mike Dinneen, File)
chorage and the Kenai Peninsula to the state’s largest airport. A small station wagon on the ramp when it collapsed
dropped down at least 6 feet of earth. No one inside was but came to rest upright on injured. a flat piece of roadway surPresident Donald Trump See RAMP, page A2 rounded by jumbled sections
Dunleavy names public safety team By ALEX MCCARTHY Juneau Empire
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced his public safety team at a press conference Wednesday, selecting a new attorney general and new leaders of corrections and public safety departments. Dunleavy tabbed Anchorage attorney Kevin Clarkson for the role of attorney general. Amanda Price, who was part of Dunleavy’s campaign staff, will be the head of the Department of Public Safety. House District 13 Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom will leave her House seat to become the Department of Corrections director. The announcement came
peated his hope that his administration will repeal Senate Bill 91 — a criminal justice reform bill that promotes alternatives to long prison terms — and said he wants to make sure that public safety will be “the first thing we budget” in the budget process. “Public safety was the No. 1 issue for this campaign,” Dunleavy said, “and I believe it’s the No. 1 issue for Alaskans.” Clarkson replaces Jahna Lindemuth as attorney general. Clarkson is an attorney with Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to the crowd in Noorvik after be- the Anchorage firm Brena, Bell ing sworn in earlier on Dec. 3 in Kotzebue. (Photo/Stanley and Clarkson, P.C. He was in the news earlier this year when Wright/Office of the Governor) he represented the Downtown two days after Dunleavy was governor. During Wednesday’s Hope Center, a shelter in AnSee SAFETY, page A3 sworn in as the state’s 12th press conference, Dunleavy re-
Dodge to appeal results of House race By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — The Democrat who lost a recount by one vote in a contested Alaska House race said Wednesday she will challenge the results. Kathryn Dodge said she disagreed with decisions the
Division of Elections made on some ballots and will file required paperwork with the Alaska Supreme Court. A recount, held Friday in the Fairbanks race, showed Republican Bart LeBon winning by one vote. During the recount, Dodge picked up another vote, while LeBon picked up
two. “This race has gone back and forth, favoring me and my opponent at one time or another during a lengthy process,” Dodge said in a statement. “I believe that it is important to follow the process through so that absolutely no doubt remains about this incredibly
close result.” Republicans have been in the minority in the House the past two years. They rushed to claim control of the chamber days after the election, when LeBon held a larger lead, only to see the margin go back and forth as more ballots were See DODGE, page A2
Wednesday, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce gave an update at a Joint Kenai/ Soldotna Chamber Luncheon, where he spoke about various borough projects his administration plans to tackle in the coming year. “We have a board in the office that we call the whiteboard, and on that whiteboard we have a list of 50-60 different things we’ve worked on in the last year,” Pierce said. “Some are completed, some are still pending.” The mayor listed several projects the borough plans to take on, including working with the planning department on gated communities, revising the borough’s See MAYOR, page A3
Spots open for 2019 borough meeting invocations By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
At Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting, President Wayne Ogle announced there were eight openings to give invocations next calendar year. “We have 12 assigned invocation spots throughout the year and we have eight that remain to be assigned,” Ogle said at Tuesday’s meeting. “Those spots are open.” Ogle said interested residents who sign up for invocations through the borough clerk will be selected on a first-come, firstserved basis, through email. The borough’s invocation was updated since it was passed at the Nov. 20 assembly meeting to include a limitation of four invocations per person per calendar year and a rule mandating the provider must perform their scheduled invocation before signing up for another spot. “I think that was a very wise thing to do, because I think it really did open it up for the maximum amount of people to participate,” Ogle said.
City of Homer The Moose Is Loose brings wastewater operator back holiday confections earns state acclaim By MEGAN PACER Homer News
Homer’s lead water distribution and wastewater collection operator has earned a top honor for his work with the city. Richard Klopp was named Wastewater Operator of the Year by the Alaska Rural Water Association. Members of the Homer City Council and city employees celebrated Klopp’s achievement with a recognition at the Nov. 26 council meeting. Klopp has been a lead op-
erator in Homer for the last five years. Since then, he’s made “major” improvements to the city’s distribution and collections system preventative maintenance program, according to the city website. This includes “smoke testing the collection system to quickly detect and repair structural damages, leaking joints and other problems in sewer pipes,” according to the site. “What stands out to me as a citizen of Homer — and we’re always looking for ways to reduce and save — is that Mr. See WATER, page A3
By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
The holiday season has arrived and so have the spirited confections at The Moose Is Loose bakery in Soldotna. For those looking for a little early Christmas spirit in sweet, sugary form, look no further than to the popular bakery shop in midtown Soldotna. The Moose Is Loose bakery has spent 17 years catering to central peninsula residents. Since opening the shop in A pan of holiday-themed cookies from The Moose Is Loose 2001, owners Bob and Diane is displayed Tuesday afternoon at the popular bakery in SolSee MOOSE, page A3 dotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)