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CLARION
Partly sunny 37/23 More weather on Page A-2
P E N I N S U L A
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 124
Question Do you agree with the University of Alaska Regents’ decision to raise tuition? n Yes, it’s appropriate given the anticipated budget shortfall. n No, it’s not fair to students.
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
Marijuana becomes legal in Alaska Initiative legalizing recreational use takes effect as regulators work on details By MOLLY DISCHNER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Smoking, growing and possessing marijuana becomes legal in America’s wildest state Tuesday, thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conflicting laws and court rulings. Making Alaska the third state to legalize recreational marijuana was the
goal of a coalition including libertarians, rugged individualists and smallgovernment Republicans who prize the privacy rights enshrined in the state’s constitution. But when they voted 53-47 percent last November to legalize marijuana use by adults in private places, they left many of the details to lawmakers and regulators to sort out. Meanwhile, Alaska Native leaders
worry that legalization will bring new temptations to communities already confronting high rates of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and suicide. “When they start depending on smoking marijuana, I don’t know how far they’d go to get the funds they need to support it, to support themselves,” said Edward Nick, council member in Manokotak, a remote village of 400 that
is predominantly Yup’ik Eskimo. Both alcohol and drug use are prohibited in Nick’s village 350 miles southwest of Anchorage, even inside the privacy of villagers’ homes. But Nick fears that the initiative, in combination with a 1975 state Supreme Court decision that legalized marijuana use inside homes — could open doors to drug abuse.
Moving pieces
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.
In the news
School district continues work on 2016 budget
House passes resolution for school choice week
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JUNEAU (AP) — A resolution seeking to designate a week next January as “Alaska School Choice Week” turned into a House floor debate over public schools and vouchers. Several Democrats voiced opposition to HCR 2, saying there are already many choices within public education. The resolution references National School Choice Week. Rep. Andy Josephson expressed concerns with Alaska joining a movement that he said is corporatebacked and in some cases challenging public school institutions. Republican Rep. Lynn Gattis, the resolution’s sponsor, said the measure is about empowering parents.
Fur Rondy sled dog races canceled ANCHORAGE (AP) — Organizers of Anchorage’s annual winter festival have canceled sled dog races, citing unseasonable weather. Officials announced Sunday that the Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship sled dog races are being canceled. The races were scheduled to begin Friday and continue through March 1. Officials say warm weather and heavy rain left unsafe conditions for competitors.
Correction The Clarion’s “Find Fred” promotion was inadvertently omitted from Sunday’s edition. Look for Fred in Wednesday’s Clarion.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Classifieds........... A-11 Comics................. A-14 Pet Tails............... A-15 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
See LEGAL, page A-10
By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion
Getting some sun
A bald eagle basks in the afternoon sunshine above the busy Sterling Highway near Kasilof on Monday.
Minimum wage set to increase By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — Alaska’s minimum wage will rise to $8.75 an hour Tuesday, giving a pay increase to thousands of workers. Voters in November overwhelmingly approved raising the minimum wage from $7.75 per hour to $8.75 per hour, effective Jan. 1. Because the state constitution calls for ballot measures to take effect 90 days after election results are certified, the raise doesn’t take effect until Tuesday. A second increase, to $9.75 per hour, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 under the initiative. The minimum wage is to
be adjusted for inflation annually after that. Before Tuesday’s increase, about 5 percent of Alaska jobs, or about 16,000 positions, paid $8.75 or less, said Dan Robinson, chief of the Research and Analysis Section of the state labor department. About 9 percent of jobs — or 28,000 — paid $9.75 or less, he said by email. Affected industries include seafood processing and restaurants, he said. The increase to $8.75 an hour, Alaska’s first minimum wage hike in just over five years, will rank the state’s minimum wage ninth, along with New York, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia,
Kodiak shelter seeks pets from around state KODIAK (AP) — The Kodiak animal shelter is reaching out to other shelters around Alaska to find extra dogs for the island community, which has seen low numbers of adoptable pets recently. The first dog transferred to the town became available for adoption this week. Kyla, a 2-year-old sled dog, arrived earlier this month from the Kenai animal shelter, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported. “She is a very sweet dog and her personality is phenomenal,” Kodiak shelter manager Jean Lilly said. “She gives kisses and loves to play.” Lilly said Kyla was being
spayed Friday and was up for a possible adoption next week. Pets will be transferred to Kodiak as they are available and as space is available on flights because the transportation is donated. Lilly said the shelter began reaching out to other shelters, as well as rescue groups, about the pet-transfer effort in November. The Kodiak shelter is currently working with two rescue groups about other possible transfers, according to Lilly. The Kodiak shelter is particularly interested in working with shelters where animals See PETS, page A-10
according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Voters in three other states also approved increases in their minimum wages last year, and legislatures in several states and the District of Columbia also approved hikes last year, according to the organization. Ed Flanagan, a former state labor commissioner and a sponsor of the initiative, said he is glad to see other states increasing their minimum wage and he would still like to see the federal minimum wage increase. Initiatives sponsors did not claim that $9.75 an hour would be what one would call a true living wage, Flanagan said. “But the whole idea is that
it’s a helluva lot better than what they were making before,” he said, adding, “There’s going to be people better off.” Dale Fox, president and CEO of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association, said concerns he has heard about the minimum wage increase mainly involve the equity of giving raises to employees who make “good money” through tips. His group supports the concept of tip pooling that would include dishwashers, cooks or other back-of-the-house employees, workers that don’t normally benefit from gratuities. That issue has been the subject of litigation.
The Board of Education will be asked to approve the 20152016 Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget on April 6, and must submit the finalized version to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly by May 1. Currently the projected budget totals just more than $167 million, with a $6.5 million deficit, $2.6 of which will come directly from the General Fund Balance for health care costs. The state will also be cutting $2.26 million in one-time funding, which will increase the deficit even further, said Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Support Dave Jones. Health care costs include a 13 percent increase, which was recommended by the School District’s Health Care Broker, according to the budget. As this year’s Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development nears an end, Jones has been hosting series of public meetings across the Kenai Peninsula to breakdown the final numbers. Preceding each budget hearing was a discussion on the school district pools. This year closing down one of the school districts aquatic facilities was not discussed. Jones said the pools are running a nearly $800,000 deficit, but the goal right now is only to reduce that number. For the school district, the bigger picture is to implore the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly See BUDGET, page A-10
FAA releases draft rules for unmanned aircraft systems By ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska/ Alaska Journal of Commerce
Unmanned aircraft operators were given an outline for flight standards Feb. 15 when the Federal Aviation Administration released its proposed rules for drone flights. The draft regulations are a major step toward integrating widespread commercial use of unmanned aircraft in the national airspace. Also known as UAS, unmanned aircraft system flights have been approved by the agency for several years on a C
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case-by-case basis. The Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking expands on the commonalities of approved flights. Currently, UAS flights are allowed only by nonprofit ventures for research and educational purposes and a very select group of commercial entities, primarily film companies. “Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and this milestone allows federal regulations and the use of our national airspace to evolve to safely accommodate innovation,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a
formal statement. Common UAS would be limited to craft less than 55 pounds with flights restricted to line-of-sight operations, constraints found in most certificates of authorization, or COAs, issued by the FAA for flights today. ConocoPhillips obtained the first commercial COA in 2013 for research in the Chukchi Sea and BP got the first overland commercial authorization from the FAA in May 2014 for North Slope surveillance. “We have tried to be flexSee RULES, page A-10