THE
Shooting More dead after attack on yoga studio Nation/A5
Sunday
Champs Welch, Jacoby excel at state swim meet Sports/B1
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Sunday, November 4, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 30
Kenai Candidate man charged with murder KENAI (AP) — A 34-yearold Kenai man has been charged with first- and seconddegree murder in the death of his infant daughter. Kenai radio station KSRM reports Franklin Schrader is also charged with felony assault. Personnel at Central Peninsula Hospital on Oct. 19 told Kenai police that they were treating an injured 4-month-old girl. A medical flight transported her to Providence Hospital in Anchorage. She was declared brain dead and removed from life support on Oct. 23. Kenai Police Chief Dave Ross says an autopsy revealed injuries including abusive head trauma or “shaken baby syndrome.” Police say additional investigation including recovery of an in-home video surveillance system led to the arrest of Schrader. He’s jailed at Wildwood Pretrial Facility in Kenai. Online court records do not list an attorney for Schrader.
Today’s Clarion Sunny 37/11 More weather on page A10
Alaska............................ A2 Opinion.......................... A4 Nation............................ A5 World............................. A6 Weather........................A10 Sports............................ B1 Community.................... C1 Dear Abby...................... C2 Crossword...................... C2 Horoscope..................... C2 Classifieds.................... C3 Mini Page....................... C6 TV.................................. C5 Homes & Health............ D1
Inside .‘ ..We have all this work going on on the North Slope. We have a boom in construction in the Interior and other Interior build-out projects...’
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Clarion is publishing interviews with candidates vying to represent Alaskan communities. In our final set of interviews, we talked to Republican Rep. Don Young and Independent challenger Alyse Galvin, who are competing for Alaska’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat has been held by Young for 45 years. Interviews were conducted by Clarion reporter Victoria Petersen.
$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Spotlight: US House
Congressman Don Young
Independent Alyse Galvin
Question: What would be your first priority as Congressman, should you be reelected? Answer: First priority is the same priority I’ve always had, which is listening to Alaskans and trying to solve their problems. That’s one of my main priorities. One of my other priorities is federal access to government land, and to have the ability for Alaskans to participate on federal land. Alaska Rep. Don Young. (JuSee YOUNG, page A7 neau Empire file photo)
Question: What would be your first priority as congresswoman, should you be elected? Answer: Health care. I would like to put out the fires in health care that I think we can do right away. Then, I would also like to work toward a bigger plan, so that every Alaskan and American is covered and can afford coverage for primary care and mental health care, at the very least. Alyse Galvin. (Photo by Victoria See GALVIN, page A7 Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Begich, Dunleavy face off in final debate By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
The Alaska Permanent Fund wasn’t physically present, but it shared the stage with Alaska’s two leading candidates for governor in their final debate for the general election. Mark Begich and Mike Dunleavy used the hourlong event hosted by KTVA-TV to share their opinions on crime and on the fund. The candidates’ plans for the fund differ sharply and are some of the biggest differences between the two. “Alaska is at a turning point, a crossroads,” Dunleavy said. In the debate, he said he would seek to restore the traditional formula for distributing the Permanent Fund Dividend and would retroactively compensate Alaskans for prior cuts. Incumbent Gov. Bill Walker vetoed half the 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend, and the Alaska Legislature cut it in 2017 and 2018. Dunleavy said Thursday night that he will pay Alaskans that money using approximately $6 billion from
Gubernatorial canddiates Republican Mike Dunleavy, left, and Democrat Mark Begich, right, are pictured in this composite image. The two faced off in a final debate on Thursday, Nov. 1 (Juneau Empire composite photo)
the Permanent Fund’s earnings reserve. While most of the $64 billion fund is constitutionally protected and cannot be spent without a vote of the people, $17 billion of its
total is in the earnings reserve account, an unprotected portion that can be spent with a majority vote in the Legislature. Dunleavy proposes taking
$6 billion from that unprotected earnings reserve and giving it to Alaskans. “I believe with $19 billion in the earnings reserve, we can pay out a full dividend,”
Dunleavy said, slightly misstating the amount of the earnings reserve. “What I hear here is a gimmick and a slogan,” Begich said. “It’s not a gimmick,” Dunleavy responded. The Dunleavy approach to the dividend has some side effects, Begich said. “Under Mike’s plan, he has no inflation proofing which means long-term problems for the sustainability of the plan,” the Democratic candidate said. The Permanent Fund’s board of trustees members have repeatedly emphasized the need for stability and a “rules-based approach” when it comes to spending from the Permanent Fund. The Alaska Legislature approved such an approach earlier this year, after Dunleavy’s resignation from the Alaska Senate. Begich has emphasized his support for a constitutional amendment that would require the state to pay a dividend, but at a lower amount than proposed by Dunleavy. Begich’s plan envisions splitting the Permanent Fund’s See GOV, page A2
Anchorage judge tosses youth climate lawsuit By KEVIN GULLUFSEN Juneau Empire
An Anchorage judge this week dismissed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska brought by youth alleging that the state’s contributions to climate change put their futures at risk. The lawsuit, Sinnok vs. State of Alaska, alleges that the state’s energy policy contributed to climate change, violating
fundamental rights to a stable climate system. The litigation is part of a landmark global attempt to force governments to implement climate recovery plans through the courts. The plaintiffs have 30 days to file an appeal, which would go to the Alaska Supreme Court. Superior Court Judge Gregory Miller granted the state’s motion to dismiss on Tuesday. Miller found that attorneys for
the plaintiffs, 16 Alaskans ages 5-20, failed to show what state policy directly contributed to climate change. “Plaintiffs’ general claims allege that the state has permitted oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and fossil fuel use, but Plaintiffs do not allege how this is evidence of the state breaching any legal duty,” Miller wrote. Plaintiff Tasha Elizarde, a See JUDGE, page A2
The Mendenhall Glacier. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Tongass sees busy 2018 wildfire State proposes fix season; rest of Alaska doesn’t for rape kit backlog
KETCHIKAN (AP) — The country’s largest national forest saw an increase in wildfires in 2018. The U.S. Forest Service re... See Alaska A2 sponded to 32 wildfires this year in Alaska’s Tongass National ForCheck us out online at est, the Ketchikan Daily News rewww.peninsulaclarion.com ported. The forest averages 15 to To subscribe, call 283-3584. 20 fires per year. Wildfires in southeast Alaska are not the hazard they are elsewhere in the state. The Tongass is the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. Ketchikan, near the southern end of the forest,
bills itself as the Rain Capital of Alaska and receives upward of 150 inches of rain a year. Tristan Fluharty, forest fire management officer for the Tongass, said warm, dry weather was behind the increase in 2018. “We really did spend a lot more time actually putting the fires out,” Fluharty said. The 32 fires together burned 63 acres. The largest fire, which occurred in fire in May and June near Berners Bay north of Juneau, burned more than 50 acres. A fire at Moser Bay near Ket-
chikan burned for several days and cost the Forest Service about $126,000 to fight. Most wildfires in the region are caused by humans, Fluharty said. Most of the 2018 fires were near the road system in Juneau, the region’s biggest population center. The Tongass’ annual budget for fire preparedness is about $1 million, which pays for salaries, equipment, inventory, travel and training. The 2018 fire suppression costs were not available. See FIRE, page A3
By JAMES BROOKS Juneau Empire
The Alaska Department of Public Safety has a plan and money to test thousands of shelved evidence kits from sexual assaults, and it’s now proposing a way to make sure none are ever shelved again. On Friday, the department released its annual report on the number of untested sexual assault evidence kits, colloquially known as rape kits. Statewide, the report lists 2,568 untested and shelved kits, with 7 percent
coming from the Juneau Police Department. That’s down from 3,484 shelved kits last year. While the state has enough money to test those shelved kits, it is worried about the problem recurring: The crime lab doesn’t have enough manpower to test every new kit that comes in its doors. To fix the issue, this year’s report recommends the state “create a dedicated sexual assault analysis team.” Doing so will cost an estimated $700,500 per year. That money will hire four See KITS, page A3