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Movie paints a happy picture
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CLARION
Snow? 31/13 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 109
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Oil execs praise deal
Question Do you think the minimum wage should be raised? n Yes; or n No. 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. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
In the news Miller lags behind GOP rivals in fundraising
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JUNEAU (AP) — Joe Miller reported raising about $30,000 during the last quarter of 2013, the lowest among the major GOP candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race. Miller ended 2013 with about $230,000 on hand. Other candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Mark Begich include Dan Sullivan and Mead Treadwell. Sullivan reported bringing in about $1.3 million during the fourth quarter, his first quarter as a candidate in the race, and Treadwell about $229,000. Begich, who is seeking reelection, reported bringing in about $850,000 between October and December. Begich ended 2013 with $2.8 million. Sullivan reported having $1.1 million on hand and Treadwell about $95,000. Miller entered the current race with more than $400,000, largely funds left-over from his unsuccessful 2010 U.S. Senate campaign.
Inside ‘When I first started up here we had a calculator and a typewriter … and did all our patient profiles by hand. Now virtually everything is done electronically.’ ... See page A-5
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Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Sarah Frostad-Hudkings, left, and Amber Every, commercial setnet fishers, watch the Alaska Board of Fisheries deliberate a proposal to raise the escapement goal for Kenai River king salmon at the Egan Center in Anchorage on Monday. On Wednesday, the board passed what one member called ‘severe restrictions’ on the setnet fishery.
‘Severe restrictions’ imposed New plan would keep nets out of water during low king runs By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
Emotions ran high Wednesday as the Alaska Board of Fisheries deliberated a board-member generated proposal that outlined a new plan to pair restrictions between commercial setnet fishermen and in-river fishers who harvest the struggling Kenai River king salmon stock. As it became clear during deliberations that the board would be making substantive changes to the way the commercial setnet fisheries occur in July and August, more members of the group stood and moved away from the board to the back of the hall leaving the vast majority of the audience seats empty. The restrictions to the commercial setnet fishery, if fully actuated, could result
in a 50 percent reduction in effort causing an unknown reduction in sockeye harvest — the salmon species primarily targeted by the group. Board member Tom Kluberton, board member from Talkeetna who introduced the new language, called the new management “severe restrictions” later during the meeting.
The changes The language amends the Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan to include “step-down measures” that board members said were meant to be paired with step-down measures in the in-river fishery when king salmon stocks are returning in low numbers. According to the new plan, from July
1 to July 31, if the in-river return is projected to be fewer than 22,500 fish — the midpoint of the current escapement goal range of 15,000 to 30,000 king salmon — the Alaska Department of Fish and Game may limit the sportfishery to no bait, or catch-and-release fishing and the East Side setnet fishery will be capped at 36 hours per week. Under the plan, if the in-river fishery is restricted to catch-and-release, setnetters will be limited to only one 12-hour period per week rather than the two regular 12-hour periods. The 2014 preseason forecast for Upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon is estimated at 6.1 million fish across all rivers and streams, with 1.8 million needed for escapement, leaving 4.3 million available See FISH, page A-10
JUNEAU — Executives from the North Slope’s major oil and gas companies on Wednesday hailed an agreement with the state as a major step forward in pursuing a major liquefied natural gas project. While they made clear there is still a long way to go in determining whether a project will be successful, they said the effort has the support of senior managers and the parties are at a place they’ve never been before in efforts to commercialize Alaska gas. They also said having the state as a partner would be significant, in terms of sharing risk and also in demonstrating the project has the government’s support. Executives from BP Exploration Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska and ExxonMobil Production appeared Wednesday before the Senate Resources Committee, along with officials from TransCanada Corp. and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. The committee has been reviewing the agreement between those parties and the state that sets out a roadmap for advancing a project. The panel also has been discussing a separate agreement between the state and TransCanada outlining terms for pipeline services. The committee on Friday is scheduled to begin delving into legislation proposed by Gov. See GAS, page A-10
Crash sends 1 to hospital By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
A man was ejected from his car after a collision with a truck Wednesday morning on Kalifornsky Beach Road. Kenai resident Robert Dolan, 80, suffered facial lacerations and was taken to Central Peninsula Hospital said Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters. A blue Buick sedan pulled out onto the road and the driver of a black GMC Sierra truck did not react in time and slammed
into the car, pushing it into a snow berm, Trooper Timothy Tefft said. The truck crashed into a tree 30 feet down the side of the road in front of the Duck Inn. The front passenger side wheel of the truck broke off the axle. Central Emergency Services first responded to the crash. The driver of the truck, Katie Jones of Soldotna, did not suffer any injuries. She said she was driving west toward Kenai when the car pulled out in front of her.
Jones said Dolan had a bloody nose and had trouble standing up, but was coherent and talking. A Central Peninsula Hospital representative said Dolan was seen, treated and released. After the initial collision, Jones said she couldn’t turn the wheel because of the damage to the front tire and the truck wouldn’t stop until she hit the Photo by Dan Balmer Peninsula Clarion tree. She said the accident could Alaska State Trooper Timothy Tefft fills out a report following a have been a lot worse. “I am just shaken up,” she two-vehicle collison on Kalifornsky Beach Road Wednesday See CRASH, page A-2 morning.
Committee advances education amendment bill By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that supporters say could open the door to more choice in education but critics fear could hurt public schools. SJR9, from Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, would strike a provision in the state constitution prohibiting use of public funds for the direct benefit of private and religious schools. It also would add, in a section of the constitution that says public money cannot be appropriated except for a public
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purpose, that nothing in that section shall prevent payment of public funds “for the direct educational benefit of students as provided by law.” The committee heard hours of testimony Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, during a break in hearing other education bills, committee co-chair Kevin Meyer said there had been a lot of discussion, and he didn’t believe the committee needed to hear any more.
Meyer, R-Anchorage, said public comments — which he described as pretty balanced overall — had continued to come in. He said he didn’t have any problems advancing the measure and letting Dunleavy continue his efforts to get SJR9 to the Senate floor for a vote. Meyer, Dunleavy and Sens. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, and Anna Fairclough, R-Eagle River, recommended the full Senate pass the proposal. Kelly and Fairclough are co-sponsors. Sens. Donny Olson, DGolovin; Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, and Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, made no recommendation, according to the Legislature’s website. C
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SJR9 was sent to the Senate Rules Committee, which is responsible for the Senate’s daily calendar. Bills and resolutions often aren’t brought to the floor for debate unless the votes are there to pass them. SJR9 would have to pass with a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate to qualify for the ballot. Senate Education Committee chairman Gary Stevens, RKodiak, said the measure will probably stay in Rules if and until the 14 needed votes are secured. He expects it will be very hard to get those votes and said his feeling right now is it probably won’t happen. “But that’s up to the folks
pushing it, to see what they can do,” he said. Dunleavy, for his part, is optimistic. Stevens said he does not support the proposal, saying he’s concerned with the longterm implications. He also said without enabling legislation spelling out what the change would mean it’s “a little frightening, because you have no idea what you’re voting for, really.” Dunleavy plans to push enabling legislation this session, though Meyer has said he doesn’t see taking up a measure like that until voters have a chance to decide any proposed constitutional change.