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Vol. 49, Issue 244
In the news
Man sentenced in shooting death KETCHIKAN — A 28-year old Ketchikan man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for the shooting death of a man at a Prince of Wales logging camp. The Ketchikan Daily News reported that Timothy Murphy was sentenced Friday to 38 years, with 18 years suspended, in connection with the October 2017 death of 64-yearold Brian Stanton. Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March. Prosecutors say Murphy shot Stanton twice in the back of the head in a bunkhouse at the logging camp 15 miles from Hydaburg. According to the presentencing report, a psychological evaluation confirmed Murphy was schizophrenic. The report says Murphy feared people at the logging camp were participating in cannibalism.
Budget cuts may lead to more homeless in camps, cars ANCHORAGE — State budget cuts could mean an increase in the number of homeless people in Anchorage living outside, officials said. Vetoes of homeless services funding by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy may force more people to live in camps and cars, The Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday. Dunleavy last month vetoed 182 line items equaling $444 million in cuts to the state operating budget. The cuts reduced support for homeless programs by 85%, from $14.1 million to $2.6 million, the newspaper reported. Most of Anchorage’s homeless population has been housed in various types of shelter, officials said. The vetoes could increase the number of people outside from between 100 and 300 to between 800 and 1,000 over the next 12 months. The cuts could also affect children, pregnant women, elderly, sick, disabled, and seriously mentally ill people, service providers said. Anchorage should raise the money to fill the gap See news, Page A3
Index Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation . . . . . . . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . A6 Classifieds . . . . . . . A8 Comics . . . . . . . . A10 Pets . . . . . . . . . . A12
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Legion
Administration expands deportation authority
Twins capture division crown
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House fails to fund state budget By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
For the second time in as many days, the Alaska Legislature failed to pass a spending bill, leaving dozens of state programs without funding, and hundreds of millions in federal matching funds just out of reach. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said in a press release Monday that the House will, “hold a vote to rescind previous action on S.B. 2002 to get the thirtieth vote,” either from members who previously voted no or from absent members, the release said. Rescinding the vote would mean the Legislature would “undo” a previous vote with a simple majority. However, that would still leave the Legislature needing the 30 votes necessary to fund House Bill 2002 from the Constitutional Budget Reserve. At the end of the state’s fiscal year on June 30, a number of state accounts for various programs are automatically drained and their funds moved into the CBR, a process known as “the sweep.” The Legislature typically votes to reverse this sweep as part of its capital budget. But this year, in addition to no vote to reverse the sweep, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has added a number of accounts to the list of sweepable funds. Accounts not previously on
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire
From left, Rep. Colleen Leonard-Sullivan, R-Wasilla, Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, and Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speak together before a reconsideration vote HB 2002 at the Capitol on Monday. The three representatives voted no on the bill.
the list and currently without funding are the accounts which support the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which provides money for students to attend universities in the state, and the Power Cost Equalization program, which provides subsidies for heating costs in rural areas.
The House voted Sunday for the same bill, and while the bill itself required only a simple majority, 20 votes, to pass, funding the bill from the CBR requires three-fourths, or 30 votes. The end tally on Monday was 29-7, adding four yea votes from Sunday.
Voting against the bill were Reps. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, Sharon Jackson, R-Eagle River, Delena Johnson, R-Palmer, Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, R-Wasilla, Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, Sarah Vance, R-Homer and Tammie See budget, Page A2
Crews close in on containing fire Names of shooting victims released By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
After three days of no substantial growth on the Swan Lake Fire, fire crews completed 72% of their containment objectives Monday. Crews spent the day Sunday removing hoses and water pumps along the containment line in areas where there is a reduced threat of the fire spread, according to the latest update from the Eastern Area Incident Management Team. Helispots were repaired by scattering the log pad and pulling brush back over the area, and wood chippers were used to remove brush piles along secondary containment lines. Helicopters dropped water See fire, Page A3
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
biologist for the Department of Fish and Game, Colton Lipka, said. The bag and possession limits go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The bag and possession limit will stay into effect until Dec. 31.
Kenai Police have released the names of two women killed in a shooting in a Kenai home. The victims are mother and daughter Rachelle M. Armstrong, 60, and Lisa M. Rutzebeck, 39, both of Kenai, according to an update released Monday morning by the Kenai Police Department. Police responded to reports of a shooting at a home on California Avenue early Sunday morning. California Avenue is located near Wildwood Correctional Complex and Cook Inlet View Drive in north Kenai. The deceased have been transferred to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and next of kin have been notified. In an initial statement released Sunday, police said that the shooting happened in the early morning
See dipnet, Page A2
See victims, Page A3
Courtesy Eastern Area Incident Management Team
A map of the Swan Lake Fire as of Monday.
Kasilof River dipnetting area expanded, bag and possession limit increased By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The Department of Fish and Game is increasing the Kasilof River bag and possession limit for sockeye salmon to six fish per day and 12 fish in possession. No more than two
salmon per day and two in possession may be coho salmon, a Monday press release from the Department of Fish and Game said. “Increasing the limits for sockeye salmon allows anglers an opportunity to harvest additional fish to fill their freezer,” area management
Financial crisis opens university to layoffs By Dan Joling Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — The University of Alaska Board of Regents decided Monday they could no longer wait to see if the Alaska Legislature will bail them out from severe budget cuts inflicted by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Meeting in an emergency session, regents voted 10-1 to allow administrators to expedite layoffs of tenured faculty, end programs and take other measures to cut expenses. Declaring the financial emergency is a terrible blow to the university’s reputation, said regent President John Davies. Faculty considering a
job would think twice about accepting one, he said, but at this point, the university’s financial situation is not a secret. “The national headlines are already out there,” he said. “Those faculty members are already choosing not to come. Students are choosing not to come.” Moving forward without action was no longer a choice, Davies said. “We have to, in effect, plan for the worst and hope for the best, at this point,” he said after the vote. Dunleavy, a first-term Republican governor who took office in December, used his line-item veto pen on June 28 to slash more than $400 million from the state operating budget approved
by the Legislature. About one-third of his vetoes were directed at the university. Along with a $5 million cut made by legislators, the university saw its state funding fall by $136 million, a cut of 41% that took effect three days later with the start of the new fiscal year. That translated into reductions of $11 million each month for the next year. Continuing to delay a decision on how to reduce expenses would compound the problem and require greater cuts later, said UA President Jim Johnsen. Layoffs are inevitable because most of the budget is devoted to people, he said. The regents could vote on what to
cut in September. Johnson asked regents for direction on how to plan and gave them three alternatives: cut entire campuses, cut each campus proportionately, or come up with a new university structure that makes strategic cuts with fewer programs offered at fewer locations, larger class sizes and consolidated administration. Regents opted to receive more information on the latter two and will meet again July 30. The university has main campuses in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau and 13 satellite campuses. Proportionate See layoffs, Page A3