Peninsula Clarion, July 14, 2019

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Man shot by officer after Togiak fatal shooting ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers say a man was shot by a trooper after he refused to drop his weapon following a fatal shooting in Togiak. Troopers Director Col. Barry Wilson says the Togiak-based trooper responded to the sound of shots fired in a nearby residential area Thursday afternoon. Wilson says the trooper arrived to find a man on the ground who died of apparent gunshot wounds. Wilson identified the deceased man as 61-year-old Samuel Brito. The unnamed suspect was flown out of the Southwest Alaska village for medical treatment. The trooper was not injured. Togiak is a village of 876 at the head of Togiak Bay. Wilson says the trooper has been placed on administrative leave and will be named after 72 hours.

Senior Open takes place at Kenai Golf Course Sports / B1

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Sunday, July 14, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Vol. 49, Issue 238

In the news

Swingers

$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday

Efforts to override vetoes quashed By Victoria Petersen and Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion

Efforts to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s vetoes, totalling $444 million, were quashed ahead of Friday’s 11:59 p.m. deadline when the lawmakers convening in Juneau adjourned until Wednesday. Since Monday, lawmakers have been split between Wasilla, where Dunleavy appointed the second special session, and the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. Peninsula lawmakers have been split too. Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai/Soldotna, joined lawmakers in Juneau. Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Kenai/Soldotna reported to Wasilla with fellow Republicans on Monday, but returned to Nikiski later in the week. Sen. Peter Micciche,

R-Kenai/Soldotna, did not attend either session, as he was previously excused for commercial fishing. Micciche said that he’s been in contact with most of the other legislators while away, actively engaging in finding a compromise for the lingering issues regarding the budget and the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. “We have a lot of work to do, but I think everyone knows where that work is,” Micciche said on Friday. “It could be efficient, relatively quick, and I think it could have the scent of a perfect compromise where everyone is unhappy on these three sides that we’re looking at, which is the right in the Legislature, the left in the Legislature, and the governor’s office.” See vetoes, Page A7

Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire

Lawmakers talk among themselves during a break of a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday in Juneau.

Swan Lake Fire growth slows

Wrangell pilot dies in crash KETCHIKAN — A 68-year-old southeast Alaska pilot died in an airplane crash. Alaska State Troopers say the crash Thursday afternoon killed Michael Nash of Wrangell. The airplane with was found crashed at the 400-foot level of Judy Hill on Gravina Island near Ketchikan. The city’s airport is also on Gravina Island. Ketchikan Flight Service shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday notified troopers that Nash was nearly three hours overdue on a flight in a PA-24 single engine, wheeled, Comanche aircraft. The Coast Guard, Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Saxman village public safety officer responded to the area of Judy Hill. — Associated Press

correction A July 4 article on a fatal car crash near Happy Valley incorrectly identified where 18-year-old Michael Franklin, who died in the accident, was from due to incorrect information from Alaska State Troopers. Franklin was from Palmer, Alaska. The Peninsula Clarion regrets this error.

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Unauthorized aircraft threaten firefighting efforts, officials say. By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion

Hawaii, a nonprofit organization in support of Planned Parenthood, told the Empire, “We’re going to send (Dunleavy) as well as those 22 other legislators a message that we’re going to hold him accountable to what he’s doing to the people of this state.” “Him being cowardly, and not being part of the discussion, doesn’t mean that we don’t have our own discussion,” she said. Protesters soon left the Capitol for the governor’s mansion a few blocks

Visibility on the Kenai Peninsula continues to improve as the Swan Lake Fire showed little change over the weekend, according to the latest information from the Northwest 13 Incident Management Team. The south and west perimeters of the fire remained calm where extensive control lines have been established, and additional lines are being constructed to halt fire spread toward Cooper Landing. Crews have been using existing trails and natural features to establish control lines on the east perimeter. Along the East Fork Moose River, crews continue to mop-up hot spots, and sites to the north and northwest have firefighting personnel and structure protection in place. On Friday, the Homer Electric transmission line running along the Sterling highway was re-energized. On Thursday and Friday, firefighters had to deal with two cases of aircraft being operated in the temporary flight restriction zone, which threatened to delay firefighting operations. On Thursday, crews working along the Sterling Highway noticed an unmanned drone flying in the vicinity, Public Information Officer Jonathan

See protest, Page A2

See fire, Page A3

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire

More than a hundred people gather in front of the Governor’s Mansion on Friday to protest budget vetoes by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

‘Shame on you, 22!’

Protesters rally in Juneau to express anger at cuts By Peter Segall Juneau Empire

About 200 protesters gathered across from the Alaska State Capitol at noon Friday, and took the short walk to the governor’s mansion chanting, singing and clapping, voicing their anger at Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the $444 million in cuts to the state budget. Because the Legislature failed to get the 45 votes necessary to override the governor’s line-item vetoes, the cuts to the state budget still stand.

The Legislature had five days to override the vetoes, but the special session called by Dunleavy doesn’t end until Aug. 2. Lawmakers still have time to come to an agreement on the capital budget which will provide funding to social services. Protesters, many of them waving signs that read “It’s the oil tax credit” referring to the tax breaks given to the oil companies operating in the state, gathered outside the Capitol to rally against the cuts. Rose O’Hara-Jolley, of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and

shop talk

Loss of belongings sparks idea for new business By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion

One Anchor Point man, Pete Kineen, is trying to change how Alaskans store their property, by selling storage units instead of renting them. He plans to open properties for Storage Condominiums of Alaska in Kenai, Soldotna and Anchor Point this year, and then in Anchorage, Homer and Seward in 2020. “Not renting means no landlord to take your possessions if you fall behind on rent for any reason,” Kineen said. Kineen said at any given moment, one in 10 Americans are renting a storage unit. “One of the goals was to figure how I can tell somebody ‘buy this and you’ll never lose your possessions,’” Kineen

said. “If you get amnesia for 10 years and remember all your really cool stuff is over here you haven’t paid any fees … You could come 10 years later and your stuff will still be there.” Storage units would range from mini-storage unites, mini-warehouse units, vehicle storage, RV storage, boatyard spaces and truck and equipment storage. Some units are heated. The idea is something Kineen has had in the back of his mind for many years. Kineen experienced his own loss of property after his divorce. When he moved out and packed his personal belongings into a storage unit, he said he took a trip to the South Pacific, and didn’t return for several months. He said he arranged for a friend to pay the rent on the storage See shop talk, Page A3

Photo courtesy of Pete Kineen/Storage Condominiums of Alaska

Storage Condominiums of Alaska units are being planned around the state, with the first being set up in Kenai, near the airport, in Kenai, Alaska.


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