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P E N I N S U L A
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 168
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Question Do you agree with the school district’s decision to reinstate funding for the Skyview pool? 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.
In the news Legislature passes bill on AGDC appointment
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JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Legislature has passed a measure allowing out-of-state residents to serve on the board of a corporation that could play a key role in a major liquefied natural gas pipeline project. The Senate’s 13-7 vote makes clearer the way for Richard Rabinow, a former pipeline company executive from Texas, to serve on the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. Gov. Sean Parnell appointed Rabinow last September and has defended the appointment as falling within his discretion under the constitution. Rabinow faces confirmation Thursday. Supporters of HB383, including House Speaker Mike Chenault, have said it was an oversight to not explicitly allow for out-of-state residents to serve on the board. They say they want the best people possible to serve. Opponents say Alaskans should make policy decisions for Alaskans.
Inside ‘I’m convinced that there will not be any terrorists left soon in Donetsk and other regions and they will find themselves in the dock — this is where they belong.’ ... See page A-7
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation.................... A-5 World..................... A-7 Sports...................A-10 Food...................... B-1 Classifieds............. B-4 Comics................... B-7
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Painting the town Nikiski community collaborates on mural
See MURAL, page A-12
Senator discusses Alaska’s economic future By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
It took a small army to complete the 16-by-28 foot community mural. Nearly 100 eager Nikiski community members filled in the panels over two full-day sessions in a seldom-used classroom at the Nikiski Recreation Center last Friday and Saturday. Over course of the day each volunteer, donning paint-splattered shirts, navigated chatting clumps friends and family to refill their paint-crusted Paper Dixie cups. After coating a spongeheaded brush with vibrant colored paint, they slowly covered the massive panels that would eventually equal one complete mural. Anna Widman, art teacher at Nikiski High School, conceptualized the mural. She intends to organize a series of community inclusive art projects to be publicly installed around Nikiski. Her pilot project was a smaller mural at Nikiski High School last year. “There’s a pretty heavy involvement and desire from the community to promote arts in the area,” said Widman. Her students came up with the action, recreation theme, Widman said. Half of their initial designs made it into the final draft. The North Peninsula Service Area Board of Directors was included in the six-month process, and approved the final design, said Rachel Parra, Nikiski recreation center director. The Alaska State Council on the Arts funded the materials for the project and the Recreation Center covered the other costs, she said. On painting day the students’
Begich speaks to state issues
Photos by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion
Above: Margy Cox leans over on of the many panels making up the 16-by-28foot mural community members painted Friday and Saturday at the Nikiski Recreation Center. Top: Anna Widman’s high school art students came up with the recreation theme for the mural, which was open for community volunteer painters at the Nikiski Recreation Center.
Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Begich said he remembers driving through the Kenai Peninsula five years ago, shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, and noticing the economy here was not in the best of shape. In a return to the area, he shared some insight into his congressional activities then fielded questions on his tax reform proposal, health care and the future of Alaska’s economy at a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Begich said it has been his priority to create more jobs for the benefit of Alaska’s longterm development. He called Monday’s announcement of ConocoPhillips’ permit approval to export liquefied natural gas from its Nikiski plant incredible news considering the effort it took him to push the LNG export permit to the top of the list. “It means jobs in the community,” he said. “We need to keep pressure on agencies because they get into their systems and get lost.” Begich said the condition of the state finances are not as healthy as they used to be and the state has a challenge ahead to increase oil production to move forward. He said his appointment to See BEGICH, page A-12
CIAA buys Port Graham hatchery By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
Pink salmon fishing in the Lower Cook Inlet could soon be revitalized as the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association finalized its purchase of the Port Graham Hatchery on Monday after nearly two years of planning, permitting and logistics. The facility has not been operational since 2007 when low returns of pink salmon and poor prices forced the Port Graham Hatchery Corporation to close. In 2010 the group asked the aquaculture association to assume management of the operation. Pink salmon reared by the aquaculture association, or CIAA, are expected to return to Port Graham Bay this year, allowing CIAA to begin collecting eggs for brood stock and harvest fish to recover some of the costs during its first year of operation. “Our goal is to put 84 million eggs in the hatchery and any fish that are beyond that
Panel advances pension plan By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
Courtesy photo Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association bought the Port Graham hatchery Monday, shown in this 2013 photo, and has plans to incubate 84 million pink salmon eggs in 2014 at the facility.
will probably be harvested as cost recovery, although some will be collected by local subsistence users,” said Gary Fandrei, executive director of the aquaculture association. Though the association can recoup some of its costs under a permit to fish in the Port Graham Bay, Fandrei said the group did not expect to fully recover the roughly $1 million
a year it will cost to operate the hatchery. CIAA aims to have enough fish returning to the area by 2016 to recoup most of its cost. “We should be able to do cost recovery (fishing) then and there would still be a common property fishery,” he said. In the interim, the aquaculture association will borrow See FISH, page A-12 C
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JUNEAU — The House Finance Committee advanced Gov. Sean Parnell’s plan for addressing the state’s pension obligation Tuesday, but the issue was not yet settled. As HB385 was moving from committee, Senate Finance was meeting on the opposite end of the fifth floor of the Capitol, discussing other possible options. Senate Finance co-chair Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said he is interested in putting more toward the teachers retirement system than Parnell proposed — perhaps around $2 billion — and looking at ways for the state to preserve its cash reserves. But he stressed it will be a committee decision, and he was not sure what direction the com-
mittee would take. The decision comes down to how much money the state wants to put down, how much it wants to make it annual payments and over what period it wants to spread those payments. The debate comes at a time of deficit spending for the state amid slumping revenues. While the state has billions of dollars in reserves now, Legislative Finance Division Director David Teal said they could be gone by 2024, largely a function of spending and revenue trends. Parnell’s plan calls for taking $3 billion from the constitutional budget reserve and putting about $1.9 billion into the public employees’ retirement system and $1.1 billion toward the teachers’ system. See PLAN, page A-2