Beluga
Soccer
Whale with harness found near Norway
Soldotna takes 2 from Nikiski
World/A5
Sports/A6
CLARION
Mostly cloudy 54/38 More weather on Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 180
In the news Anchorage police say man found dead in car had been shot ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police say a man found dead in a car was shot to death. Thirty-six-year-old Laron Roberts died. Police shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday took a report of a dead man in a car in the 1000 block of 20th Avenue. The location is along Woodside Park near Chester Creek. Responding officers called in detectives. Police say Roberts was shot in the upper body. His next of kin was notified of his death. Police are asking witnesses or people with surveillance video to contact them.
Anchorage utility begins draining city lake to repair pipe ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage utility is draining a city lake to repair a sewer line. Anchorage television station KTUU reports Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utilities is draining Campbell Lake to fix a line damaged by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Nov. 30. Crews in March made temporary repairs on a 200-foot segment along the north shore of Campbell Lake. Draining of the manmade lake began Sunday and it will take two or three days for dammed water to flow down Campbell Creek. The utility has been working with wildlife authorities to ensure that the repair does not affect fish populations. Fish are expected to make their way into the original stream bed along the bottom of the lake. Permanent repairs must be finished by May 10. — Associated Press
Index Local................A3 Opinion........... A4 Nation..............A5 Sports..............A6 Classifieds...... A8 Comics.......... A10 Police............. A11 Pets...............A12
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Peninsula heads into fire season Ninilchik fire 12th to occur in region since April 1
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Alaska’s Division of Forestry is currently monitoring what remains of a brush fire that occurred in Ninilchik on Saturday and burned 2.5 acres near a subdivision on the southern end of Oil Well Road. The fire was first reported at 1:18 p.m. on Saturday, according to an update from the Division of Forestry via AKfireinfo. com. Ninilchik Emergency Services were the first to arrive on scene and evacuated two homes that were in immediate danger. The siding of one of the homes was partially damaged, but firefighters were able to contain the fire before any structures were destroyed or sustained significant damage.
Attorney general recovering after heart attack By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
An aerial view of a brush fire in Ninilchik on Saturday. (Photo by Tim Whitesell/Division of Forestry)
Howard Kent, fire management officer for the Kenai/Kodiak Office of
the Division of Forestry, said on Monday that four residences were evacuated
while crews contained the fire. By 3:30 p.m. on SatSee FIRE, page A11
JUNEAU — Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson is doing well after suffering a heart attack and undergoing emergency surgery to fix an artery, a state Department of Law spokeswoman said Monday. Cori Mills said Clarkson was on a flight to Seattle Friday night after attending a conference in Louisiana. She said he alerted a flight attendant that he was experiencing discomfort and was met by paramedics when the plane landed. See AG, page A11
Clarion takes home press club awards By Michael Armstrong Homer News
The Peninsula Clarion did strongly in sports reporting for the Alaska Press Club’s annual journalism award contest. Sports reporters Jeff Helmeniak and Joey Klecka won two awards each for their writing. Clarion editor Erin Thompson also won for best reporting on health and reporter Victoria Petersen for best report on government and politics. The Clarion competed in the large print category that includes papers in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Petersen, editor of The Spenardian, a magazine about the Spenard neighborhood in Anchorage, also won two
Clarion reporter Victoria Petersen holds Alaska Press Club awards on Saturday in Anchorage. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
awards for her work there. out Saturday at the Alaska The awards were given Press Club awards banquet.
The awards ceremony capped three days of talks, presentations, workshops and panel discussions held at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The weekend brings together Alaska journalists working in print, radio, television and online media. Here are the Clarion awards: • Petersen, third place in best reporting on government and politics in print large for “Borough chooses not to appeal court decision, updates invocation policy” • Helminiak, third place in best sports or outdoors column, print small and large for “Passion and Risk,” Oct. 11, 2018; “When bad conditions
become challenging conditions,” Jan. 5, 2018; “Enjoying the silence,” June 21, 2018 • Helminiak, third place in best sports reporting, print small and large for “Yeaton, Norris collect Mount Marathon wins” • Klecka, third place, best sports feature, print small and large for “Passion, dedication defines Twins career for Steffensen” • Klecka, first place in best sports reporting for print small and large for “Nikiski captures state volleyball crown” • Thompson, first place in best reporting on health for print large for “Health care See PRESS, page A3
Rosenstein submits letter of resignation By ERIC TUCKER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted his resignation Monday after a two-year run defined by his appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. His last day will be May 11, ending a tumultuous relationship with Trump and a tenure that involved some of the most consequential, even chaotic, moments of the president’s administration. When Trump wanted to fire then-FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the Russia probe, Rosenstein wrote the memo that the White House used to justify the dismissal. But eight days later, Rosenstein took a
In this Feb. 25, file photo, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaks at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) event on the rule of law in Washington. Rosenstein has submitted a letter of resignation to President Donald Trump. It’s effective May 11. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
step that Trump feared would end his presidency: appointing Robert Muel-
ler as special counsel. The move made Rosenstein the frequent target of Republi-
Names of presumed jail fire victims released By Rachel D’Oro Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — Guards were unable to save two prisoners from a weekend fire that broke out in a village jail because they were driven
out by heat and smoke, Alaska authorities said Monday. One of two guards at the scene of the early Sunday morning fire in Napakiak was seriously injured trying to free the inmates, who died in the
blaze. The other guard said a prisoner set fire to a mattress, but it was unclear how fire-starting materials got into a cell. Troopers said the fire victims have been tentatively identified as See JAIL, page A11
can wrath and angry Trump tweets and left him repeatedly appearing on the verge
of being fired. Yet in the end, he was largely in Trump’s corner. He joined Attorney General William Barr in determining that Trump had not obstructed the Mueller investigation — reaching a conclusion that Mueller himself pointedly did not make. He defended Barr against criticism that he was spinning Mueller’s findings in the president’s favor and stood silently behind him as Barr praised Trump’s cooperation at a news conference before a redacted version of the report was released. In his resignation letter to Trump, Rosenstein paid tribute to the Justice Department’s accomplishments and to Trump himself, even praising the sense of humor of a man who once retweeted an image that showed Rosenstein and other officials jailed for See LETTER, page A11
Former Anchorage bank worker sentenced in theft of $4.3M By Dan Joling Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A daring Alaska bank employee who boxed up $4.3 million in cash, rolled it to his car and flew it to Seattle was sentenced Monday
to 10 years in prison for bank theft. Gerardo Valenzuela, 34, also known as Gary Cazarez, was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty in January. U.S. District Judge See BANK, page A3