Cohen
Benched
NY subpoenas past Trump lawyer
Meyer handed 3-game suspension
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CLARION
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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, August 23, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 279
Primary results set stage for 3-way governor showdown By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — The race for Alaska governor looks to be a three-man contest, though some are still seeking to pressure the Democratic challenger to bow out. That Democrat, Mark Begich, said he’s not going anywhere: “I’m in the race,” he said. During Tuesday’s primary, Republican former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy advanced to the general election, where he is expected to face Begich, who was unopposed in the Democratic race, and Gov. Bill Walker, an independent who skipped a head-to-head primary fight with Begich and instead gathered signatures to appear on the November ballot. Walker’s move was intended to ensure that he could run as a team with his Democratic lieutenant governor, Byron Mallott. Walker in 2014 changed his party affiliation from Republican to undeclared in forming a so-called unity ticket with Mallott that was backed by Democrats. Some Democrats and independents worry that Begich and Walker will split the vote and hand the race to Republicans. But Begich has said he wouldn’t have gotten into the race if he didn’t think he could win, and he and Walker have each been full-steam ahead with their campaigns. A former chairman of the state Democratic party, Don
In the news Investigators look for source of oil found at old spill site ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska regulators are investigating after an operator discovered crude oil along the trans-Alaska pipeline north of Fairbanks. The Anchorage Daily News reports Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has recovered 10 gallons (39 liters) of crude oil discovered Sunday following an excavation south of Atigun Pass. Ashley Adamczak, environmental program specialist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, says the oil could have been overlooked from the 2013 oil release, which occurred at the same site. Adamczak says inspection crews had expected to find some trace of oil left from the release, but the amount found was more than expected.
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Election tallies in District O, District 29 too close to call By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion
Former U.S. Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Mark Begich greets supporters at the Alaska Democratic Party coordinated campaign office Tuesday in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes /Anchorage Daily News via AP)
Gray, has circulated a petition, asking Begich to withdraw. Those who have signed include members of Walker’s administration and others who support Walker. Jay Parmley, executive director of the Democratic party, called the petition a campaign stunt. He said Begich was willing to get in a three-way race “because he knew where this was going.” “I still spend a fair amount of time telling people, take a deep breath. This is doable,” Parmley said, adding later: “I don’t
know where anyone thinks this is easy. I don’t think it’s easy if it were a two-way race. I think we’re going to have to fight for every vote we get but we know what we’re doing.” Libertarian William “Billy” Toien is also running. Dunleavy on Tuesday topped a crowded field in the GOP gubernatorial primary that included former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who had fashioned himself as the more experienced candidate. Dunleavy in January left the state Senate after five years to
focus on his campaign. While a senator, he clashed with GOP leaders over cuts to the annual check Alaskans receive from the state’s oil-wealth fund and over what he saw as insufficient cuts to the state budget. Dunleavy said he likes his chances against Walker and Begich. “I feel we’re on the right side of the issues,” Dunleavy said Tuesday night. “I feel that Alaskans want to send somebody down to Juneau that they feel is going to fight for them.”
See GOV, page A2
Though the primary polls are closed, some of the races are too close to call until every last vote has been counted. On the peninsula, three Legislature races are pending with the candidates separated by 30 votes or fewer. As of Wednesday afternoon, without absentee ballots counted, candidate Ron Gillham was leading the race for the Republican nomination in Senate District O over incumbent Peter Micciche by nine votes. In House District 29, candidate Wayne Ogle had a lead of only three votes over candidate Ben Carpenter for the Republican nomination in that race. In District 31, candidate Sarah Vance has a 30-vote lead over candidate John Cox for the Republican nomination. On Tuesday, the Alaska Division of Elections counted early ballots cast through Monday and the first count of absentee ballots logged up to the Friday before. Next Tuesday, the division will count the early ballots voted on Aug. 21, will conduct a second count of absentee ballots in districts where voter history and duplicate voter checks are complete and the first count of questioned ballots. The final count for the primary will be completed on Aug. 31, at which point all remaining absentee and questioned ballots will be counted. There are a number of ab-
sentee, questioned and early ballots in both districts, and with the margins narrow, the races are too close to call yet. According to the Division of Election, Micciche holds the lead among voters from Nikiski, Sterling and Seward while Gillham holds the edge in the Kenai/Soldotna area. Because there are no Democratic challengers in the District O race, the winner of the Republican primary will likely take the general election in November unchallenged. In District 29, Ogle held the lead in the Nikiski and Funny River areas while Carpenter took the lead in Sterling, Cooper Landing, Moose Pass and Seward. The winner will face Democratic nominee Shawn Butler — who had no challengers in the Democratic primary — in the general election for the District 29 seat. In District 31, Vance took the lead in Happy Valley, Ninilchik, Kasilof and Homer while Cox holds the edge in Anchor Point and Fritz Creek. The winner will face Democratic nominee Paul Seaton — who ran as a nonpartisan candidate in the Democratic primary this year after the Alaska Republican Party ousted him in response to his decision to join the bipartisan House Majority Caucus — in November. Seaton said he was pleased with the number of people who turned out to vote for him in See CLOSE, page A2
Industry rep: Demand for oil and gas still strong, despite production decline By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Wednesday’s joint Chamber Luncheon hosted CEO and president of Alaska Oil and Gas Association Kara Moriarty, who offered an update on the industry. Although production of oil and gas continues to decline, Moriarty said consumption is increasing and that demand for these resources is still present. “(Oil and gas) still dominate the revenue stream, even as production continues to decline,” she said. Moriarty offered an optimistic outlook on the future of oil and gas in Alaska and specifically in the Kenai Peninsula region, noting that the industry currently provides thousands of jobs for the area. She said that just over 100,000 jobs in the state can be traced back to the industry, and over $6 billion in wages, according to the McDowell Group in Anchorage.
Kara Moriarty gives her Alaska Oil and Gas Association industry update on Wednesday at the Kenai Visitors Center. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
“We have some in Alaska and the statistics and forecast that are saying that the era would prove that.” On a global scale, between of oil is over,” Moriarty said. “We would disagree with that 1997 and 2017, oil and gas re-
serves have grown by over 50 percent, according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018. The U.S. Energy Information Association said the 2040 forecast for energy consumption shows petroleum continuing to grow. “If you combine petroleum and natural gas, over 58 percent of the globe’s energy is still going to come from those two traditional sources of fuel,” Moriarty said. On a local level, Moriarty said that Alaska still has oil and gas reserves to explore, especially in Cook Inlet with a forecast of around 600 million barrels of oil and 19 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to United States Geological Survey. “So that’s good for your own backyard,” she said. The North Slope may be on the brink of new production. Moriarty highlighted several projects to keep an eye on, including the Liberty project, which she said holds an es-
timated production value of 60,000 barrels a day, compared to the current production on the North Slope, which is a total of 520,000 barrels a day. “We’re on the cusp of a new renaissance on the North Slope,” she said. Looking ahead, Moriarty said the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was the next generation of oil and gas production in Alaska. While the Alaska Oil and Gas Association painted a bright future for oil and gas in Alaska, present production has room to improve. In the U.S., Alaska is fifth in production of oil and gas behind Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico and Oklahoma, making up only 5 percent of the production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. Moriarty suggests more investment and more stable policy will improve Alaska’s oil and gas industry. See OIL, page A2
Study: Climate models underestimate permafrost emissions JUNEAU (AP) — Global climate projections have drastically underestimated carbon emissions from thawing permafrost in the Arctic, a new study suggests. The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications indicated that permafrost emissions could be more than double what has been projected because of the methane from thermokarst
lakes, which form in permafrost, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. Scientists have previously projected that the Arctic could absorb as much or more carbon than emitted partly because of additional plant growth from warmer temperatures. Taking into account the thermokarst lakes, the projections of permafrost emissions in the later part of this century could increase
by 118 percent, according to the study. “If we take into account these lakes, we realize, ‘Oh, we actually have a pretty significant source of permafrost carbon this century,’” said Katey Walter Anthony, the study’s lead author and associate professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The permafrost emissions could match emissions from land use change, like forest
clearing and burning — the second-largest human source of emissions. If more carbon from permafrost is emitted, it could lead to greater warming. “The models that we’ve used to construct these carbon budgets of how much CO2 we can emit and stay below a certain temperature threshold that we say is the edge of where things go from bad to really bad — those carbon budgets
are probably made with models that are incomplete and may, in many ways, be very optimistic,” said Charlie Koven, a scientist who works on climate models at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Anthony’s study calls for the broader climate models to start incorporating thermokarst lakes for a more comprehensive projection of emissions this century.