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CLARION
Partly Sunny 35/23 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 103
Question What do you think of the current weather pattern? n I’m enjoying the mild temperatures; n This is miserable, please bring winter back. To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked.
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Lawmakers asked to extend Tesoro contract Bill proposes one year extension of royalty oil By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Wednesday in Juneau Gov. Sean Parnell introduced a bill to extend the state’s contract with Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company for the sale of royalty oil. The bill proposes an extension of royalty oil supply negotiated between the state and Tesoro from Jan. 31, 2015 to Jan. 31, 2016. The state will sell between 5,000 and 15,000 barrels of its royalty oil per day to Tesoro, according to the contract.
Kevin Banks, petroleum market analyst with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas said the state entered a contract in October 2013 with Tesoro, for the company to buy oil from the state for one year. “As the rules go, we can sell oil for a year or less, but if we need to sell oil for a year or more, that requires legislative approval,” Banks said. After the deal was finalized last year, he said, Tesoro approached the state asking to extend the contract. See GAS, page A-10
Peninsula Clarion file photo
In this Feb. 1, 2008 photo, the Tesoro refinery in North Kenai is shown. Gov. Sean Parnell on Wednesday introduced legislation to extend the state’s contract with the company for the continued sale of royalty oil. The bill seeks to extend the sale from its Jan. 31 2015 date to Jan. 31, 2016.
President raises min wage for new federal workers
In the news Planned Parenthood sues over abortion payment changes
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Several organizations filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a regulation change that would require abortion providers who bill Medicaid to reimburse the procedure, to further define what constitutes a “medically necessary” reason to have the procedure. The change, scheduled to go into affect Feb. 2, is being challenged in Alaska Superior Court by Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union and lawyer Susan Orlansky, of Anchorage. Opponents of the new regulation said the state is trying to circumvent a 2001 Alaska Supreme Court decision that said the state could not discriminate in the type of services it provided Medicaid reimbursement for, meaning it must provide reimbursement for abortions the physician deemed medically necessary. If the new regulations take effect, low-income women will be disproportionately affected, said Treasure Mackley, political and organizing director of Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest in an interview earlier in January. “Every Alaskan woman, regardless of income, should be able to make the pregnancy decision that’s best for her,” said Chris Charbonneau, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, according to a media release. “The Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled that women’s pregnancy decision must be given equal protection under the law. Politicians and government officials in Juneau should not decide what is ‘medically necessary’ — that’s a private matter between a woman and her doctor.” — The Associated Press
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Peninsula Clarion file photo
In this October 10, 2012 file photo nurses from Central Peninsula Hospital administer flu shots during a drive-through flu vaccination clinic in the hospital’s parking garage. The H1N1 virus is one component of the influenza vaccine being offered for the 2013-14 flu season.
H1N1 kills 3 in Alaska Soldotna man among those felled by the influenza strain By Dan Balmer Peninsula Clarion
The sudden death of a Soldotna man earlier this month has been confirmed by the Alaska Department of Health Thursday to be the third fatality linked to the H1N1 flu strain this year. The deadly flu strain has been the most prolific strand of the flu at Central Peninsula Hospital this season and the virus is one of several being treated by this year’s seasonal flu vaccine.
Although the state could not release the name of the deceased, being restrained by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Greg Wilkinson, spokesperson for the Department of Public Health confirmed the death occurred on Jan. 11 in the gulf region of the state. Robert Suder 49, died in his home on Jan. 11, one week after returning from a holiday visit to see his wife and kids in Arizona. Suder, who was an optometrist at Visions Optical in Soldotna, returned to
work for one day after the trip before calling in sick, said his mother Barbara Gunsolus. According to an autopsy performed by the Alaska State Medical Examiners Office, released to the family, Suder tested positive for H1N1 influenza, which progressed to pneumonia. Gunsolus said Suder had complained of a sore throat and congestion and went to go see his doctor, who diagnosed him with bronchitis.
(AP) President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday that he will sign an executive order setting the minimum wage for workers covered by new federal contracts at $10.10 an hour, a big jump from the current federal minimum of $7.25. Obama hopes his order will spur Congress to increase the minimum wage for all employees. In similar efforts, Democrats in more than half of U.S. states are sponsoring or are expected to introduce state-level wage hike measures, according to a national review by The Associated Press. Even in Republican-dominated capitals where the bills are longshots, the proposals still give Democrats a chance to hammer home the popular theme of fair wages in what is an election year in most places.
Weather forces Yukon Quest Farm Bill moves through Congress changes JEFF BARNARD Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The Farm Bill moving through Congress includes disaster assistance for ranchers who lost cattle and grazing to drought and wildfire, and millions of dollars in federal payments for counties with federal lands. Organic farmers would get improved crop insurance and wheat farmers help in selling their crops overseas. The bill passed the House on Wednesday and goes to the Senate. About 225 cattle died in Oregon in the 2012 wildfires, and hundreds of thousands of acres of rangeland burned. No disaster assistance was available at the time because the last Farm Bill had expired and Congress could not agree on a new one.
AP Photo/Jeff Barnard
In this Dec. 22, 2009 file photo, a pair of buckaroos trail a bunch of young bulls through the Catlow Valley on the Roaring Springs Ranch near Frenchglen, Ore. The Farm Bill moving through Congress would restore disaster assistance to ranches in southeastern Oregon that lost cattle and grazing to massive wildfires.
The current bill would restore programs that offer grants to partially cover the value of cattle and grazing lost to disaster. “That is good news,” said Jeanette Yturriondobeita. She and her husband, Rich, run
the 12-Mile Ranch southwest of Jordan Valley in Malheur County. “It will help a lot of people.” They lost a third of their 300 cattle, and had to buy hay and lease pasture more than 100 C
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See H1N1, page A-10
miles away to feed the survivors. With drought building in Oregon, they don’t expect to put up much hay for next year and have not replenished their herd. They expect more grazing restrictions from federal protections for the sage grouse. In Klamath County last summer, drought and newly awarded water rights led to irrigation shutoffs to cattle ranchers in the upper basin, forcing them to find new pasture or sell off their herds. Ranchers estimated they lost hundreds of millions of dollars. The bill extends for one year Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, which makes up for property taxes the government doesn’t pay. Oregon received $15.5 million last year. Nationwide, the program has distributed $6.3 billion since 1977. See FARM, page A-10
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Warm weather is forcing changes to the start and finish of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. Unseasonably warm temperatures has made ice on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks too unstable to have the race start there Saturday. Temperatures in the mid-40s last week has left open stretches of water near the Cushman Street Bridge. Instead, crews will truck in snow for the race to start on Second Avenue. It’s the same story in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, where the 1,000-mile race will end in about eight days. Warm weather and dicey river conditions mean the race won’t end on the Yukon River in Whitehorse. Instead, the finish line will be moved about 18 miles north of Whitehorse, to Takhini Hot Springs.