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Ride on
Mat time
Winter no reason to put the bike away
Wrestlers ready for state tournament
Recreation/C-1
Sports/B-1
CLARION
Clear skies 20/2 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
Friday-Saturday, February 6-7, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 109
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Binkley project wins award
Question Would you like to see Sarah Palin run for president in 2016? n Yes n No To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
Street upgrades cited for innovative design
In the news Lawmakers revive bid to rename Mount McKinley
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ANCHORAGE (AP) — Lawmakers have failed in past attempts to rename North America’s highest mountain, but a new proposal may have a better chance this year under a Republican Congress, according to an aide to an Alaska lawmaker who is resurrecting the effort. U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have introduced a bill to give Mount McKinley its historical Alaska Native name. The Alaska Republicans announced a Senate bill Wednesday to formally call the 20,320-foot mountain by its Athabascan name, Denali, KTUU reported. The bill comes after previous efforts by Murkowski failed. Her spokesman, Matthew Felling, said the legislation this time faces better odds with a Republican Senate majority. The mountain’s current name honors the 25th U.S. president, William McKinley of Ohio, who served one full term as president before his assassination in 1901. Murkowski and Sullivan stressed that the mountain has a longer known history with its Athabascan name, which means “the Great One” or “the High One.” “Alaskans take great pride in this gorgeous natural monument, so it is important that we grant it its ancestral name to honor and respect our heritage as well as the lands through a name that goes back centuries,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This is our Alaska, and this should be our decision.”
Correction A story Thursday’s Clarion incorrectly listed Gov. Bill Walker’s party affiliation. Walker is an independent. The Clarion regrets the error.
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Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Frosted
Geary emphasized that the new budget document was a recommendation. “The Legislature can obviously choose to reject the Governor’s recommendations and take action on their own,” he wrote. Geary also wrote that poten-
After years of planning and implementation, the city of Soldotna has been praised for its street improvements. Last Saturday, the Alaska Chapter of the American Public Works Association, presented the city with an award for Outstanding Innovative Design for its Binkley Street improvement project. A plaque honoring the city was presented to project manager Lee Frey during a ceremony at the Petroleum Club of Anchorage. “It’s exciting to have the honor,” said Soldotna city engineer Kyle Kornelis. The improvements to Binkley Street were numerous. The 4,800-foot-long street was completely redone, utilities were updated and the sidewalks were widened, according to an email from Frey. The project, which was completed last October, cost approximately $3.5 million. It was funded through state legislative grants. “Some people probably don’t remember how bad a shape Binkley Street was,” Frey said. “The paving on the street was deteriorating quite a bit. We’ve
See STATE, page A-12
See AWARD, page A-12
Ice crystals form on a tree branch recently. Forecasters are calling for continued chilly temperatures and mostly clear skies over the weekend.
State workers brace for layoffs By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion
As state employees waited for an official announcement of Gov. Bill Walker’s new budget, warnings of potential position cuts and layoffs filtered through union representatives to their constituents. Walker’s office on Thursday released a pared down version of former Gov. Sean Parnell’s budget, one that recommended drastically reducing the state’s capital budget spending and eliminating funding for 308 employee positions. “We expect more than half of those are currently vacant or are expected to be vacant through attrition or retirement,” said Director of the Office of Management and Budget Pat Pitney during a press conference. Dennis Geary, acting Business Manager for the Alaska
Budget for capital projects cut By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
The $444.3 million reduction in unrestricted general fund spending in the amended budget proposal that Governor Bill Walker released on Thursday could make a large difference for projects in the Kenai Peninsula. The state’s fiscal year 2015 budget fundPublic Employees Association, which represents state supervisors, human resources employees and others in what it calls the confidential bargaining unit, said the governor’s release may ease some of the tension he’s heard from state employees over the last few weeks. “I can’t quantify how many
ed 94 projects in the Kenai Peninsula. The 2016 budget will fund four. Walker’s budget details the amount of state and federal money that will be given to municipal and borough projects throughout Alaska. The fiscal year 2015 budget, which runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015, appropriated a total of $594.8 emails I’ve received in the last month, but it’s clearly in the hundreds and it’s all folks concerned about, mostly the concern is about knowing something. The unknown is always far more scary than knowing what’s coming up,” he said. In a mass email to union members Wednesday evening,
By IAN FOLEY Peninsula Clarion
million from the state’s unrestricted general fund. The newly released 2016 budget appropriates a total of $150.3 million in unrestricted general fund money. The Kenai area, encompassing House Districts 29, 30 and 31, will receive a total of $9.9 million, which includes money from the state’s See BUDGET, page A-12
Governor weighs in on marijuana regulations By MOLLY DISCHNER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Gov. Bill Walker has suggested that a new board help write the regulations surrounding legalized marijuana as Alaska lawmakers work to implement rules for legal use of the drug. Voters in November approved a ballot initiative legalizing possession and trans-
portation of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults 21 years and older. It also directed the state to develop regulations for a commercial industry. In a Wednesday memo from the governor’s legislative office to Senate State Affairs Committee Chairman Bill Stoltze, Walker suggested that many regulations could be developed by a new marijuana board that shares resources with the exist-
ing Alcoholic Beverage Control board. That’s the approach ABC board Executive Director Cynthia Franklin has suggested and that Sen. Lesil McGuire has indicated would appear in an upcoming bill. Walker also suggested that lawmakers consider giving the marijuana board enforcement powers and dedicated staff. The memo also identified
potential licensing issues for the Legislature to consider, including whether to grant licenses for marijuana businesses based on merit or via a lottery. Walker also suggested that the Legislature or a regulatory board look at defining edibles with marijuana to limit serving sizes, prohibit “repackaged” products and disallow products that appeal to youth. He also suggested a public education
campaign on the drug. The initiative called for a broader definition of marijuana than is currently in some statutes, and Walker supported that definition in his memo. He also called for a definition of a public place that matches the definition in current statute, which includes schools, parks, prisons and businesses. Under the initiative, “public” consumption is banned.
Ex-acting adjutant to retire By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Brig. Gen. Leon “Mike” Bridges, who served as acting adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard after the ouster of a former leader, plans to retire on May 1 after he was not chosen to permanently take over the job. Gov. Bill Walker, who took office in December, recently announced that retired U.S. Army Col. Laurie Hummel would be the new adjutant general. Hummel started the job on Thursday. Bridges said in an interview
Wednesday that he applied for the position and considered himself to be a useful soldier and public servant. But he said Walker is commander in chief of the state’s military forces and has selected his new leadership team. Bridges said it’s time for him to move on. Bridges oversaw a transitional period for the Guard. In September, a report on allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct within the Guard by the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Complex Investigations found victims lacked confidence in the command.
The report, released under then-Gov. Sean Parnell, led to a leadership change that included the ouster of then-adjutant general Thomas Katkus. The allegations and criticism of the Parnell administration’s handling of allegations shadowed last year’s gubernatorial race. Since taking office, Walker’s administration has named retired state court judge Patricia Collins as a special investigator to look into allegations of sexual abuse or harassment by AP Photo/Becky Bohrer National Guard members. Col- Brig. Gen. Leon “Mike” Bridges, center, testifies before the Senlins also has been asked assess ate State Affairs Committee on Thursday in Juneau. Pictured See GUARD, page A-12 on the left is Alaska Attorney General Craig Richards. C
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