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Vol. 49, Issue 246
In the news
City mulls purchase of two new police vehicles The Soldotna City Council is considering the purchase of two new police cars. The city council will consider a resolution Thursday on whether or not to purchase two 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptors, which are estimated to cost in total $76,242. Funds were appropriated in the FY 2020 operating budget for the purchase of the vehicles. “It is in the best interest of the City of Soldotna to approve this purchase,” the resolution said. The vehicles’ price quote was found using the state’s Equipment Fleet procurement website, which displays current pricing on vehicles.
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Salmonfest in Ninilchik about fish, love, music
Ostrander is scholarathlete of the year
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House votes to ‘decouple’ PFD from bill By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
The House passed two amendments Wednesday morning, one to remove language concerning the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend from House Bill 2001 and another to add $5 million toward the Alaska Marine Highway System. With 11 legislators excused, 29 members of the House met to debate two amendments to the funding bill that has been working its way through the Legislature for the past two weeks.
In an attempt to “bifurcate” the PFD from the capital funding, Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, introduced an amendment removing the language concerning the dividend from the bill. Despite some objection from Republican minority members including Reps. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, and Sara Vance, R-Homer, the amendment was passed 19-10. Dissenting lawmakers accused supporters of the amendment of “kicking the can down the road,” in the words of Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla. Those lawmakers said that the special
session was meant to debate the PFD and that not doing so was violating the terms of the session. Eastman also objected on the grounds that this was the first time he had heard this legislation read out across the floor, a necessary procedure for consideration of a law. The constitution says that a bill must be read out three separate times on three separate days in order to be legitimately considered. Other legislators contended that because the bill’s language was identical to previous bills read out across the
floor, that condition had been fufilled and the bill had already gone through due process. An amendment only requires a simple majority of legislators present, lowering the threshold for passage significantly. A second amendment, sponsored by Reps. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, and Louis Stutes, R-Kodiak, was introduced adding $5 million to the AMHS. Several representatives from Southeast spoke in favor of the amendment See budget, Page A3
Kenai man charged in double homicide By Brian Mazurek
Campfire ban lifted
Due to the recent rain and reduction in fire danger on the Kenai Peninsula, the U.S. Forest Service announced that the campfire bans and all fire restrictions have been lifted for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Kenai Fjords National Park and Chugach National Forest lands on the Kenai Peninsula as of Wednesday. Although fire danger has decreased over much of the Kenai Peninsula, the Forest Service urges residents and visitors to continue to use caution with campfires. For statewide fire information, visit https://fire.ak.blm.gov/ or www.akfireinfo.com. Questions regarding the lifting of the campfire ban should be directed to the Kenai Fjords National Park at 907-422-0500, Chugach National Forest at 907-7439500 or the Refuge at 907-262-7021. According to a Wednesday update from the Eastern Area Incident Management Team, the Swan Lake Fire has experienced minimal spread due to recent precipitation, and fire crews are working to remove miles of hose lines from non-active areas, as well as structure protection hose from the Moose Research Center. Crews continue to monitor the fire by air, and heavy equipment and woodchoppers are being used to repair secondary containment lines. The fire is approximately 102,229 acres in size and the 306 personnel assigned to the fire have completed 72% of their containment objectives. For the latest information on the fire, call 208-391-3488. — Staff reports
63/50 More weather, Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, July 25, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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Peninsula Clarion
He condemned Trump’s praise of WikiLeaks, which released Democratic emails stolen by Russia. And he said of the interference by Russians and others: “They are doing it while we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.” His report, he said, should live on after him and his team. “We spent substantial time assuring the integrity of the report, understanding that it would be our living message to those who come after us,” Mueller said. “But it also is a signal, a flag to those of us who have some responsibility in this area to exercise those responsibilities swiftly and don’t let this problem continue to linger as it has over so many years.
A Kenai man has been arrested for murder after allegedly shooting and killing two people, according to a police affidavit filed at the Kenai Courthouse on Tuesday. Masonn Byrd, 25, was arrested Tuesday night as part of an investigation into the killing of Rachelle Armstrong, 60, and Lisa Rutzebeck, 39. Kenai police responded to reports of a shooting at an apartment on California Avenue in Kenai early Sunday morning and found the two women deceased in the living room. According to the affidavit, a witness told police that they saw a man in the apartment and heard two gunshots. While reviewing Armstrong’s cellphone, police allegedly found multiple conversations about dealing drugs, including one conversation between Armstrong and Byrd suggesting that Armstrong owed Byrd money for a drug debt. According to the affidavit, the text conversation between Byrd and Armstrong ended approximately 20 minutes before the shooting took place. On July 22, Byrd’s cellphone records were sent to the Department of Public Safety for analysis. Police reported that initial results showed that Byrd’s phone was within range of the cellphone tower sector that covers California Avenue at 3:05 a.m. on July 21, three minutes before the time that the killings were reported. Byrd was interviewed Tuesday by police, who reported Byrd denied involvement in the killings. Another witness was interviewed and told police that Byrd had admitted to shooting the two women the morning after and that Byrd planned to throw the gun in the river, the affidavit said. Byrd is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
See mueller, Page A2
See arrest, Page A3
Andrew Harnik / Associated PRess
Former special counsel Robert Mueller arrives Wednesday on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference.
Mueller: No Russia exoneration for Trump, despite his claims By Eric Tucker, Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael Balsamo Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller, the taciturn lawman at the center of a polarizing American drama, bluntly dismissed President Donald Trump’s claims of “total exoneration” Wednesday in the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference. In a long day of congressional testimony, Mueller warned that Moscow’s actions represented — and still represent — a great threat to American democracy. Mueller’s back-to-back Capitol Hill appearances, his first since wrapping his two-year Russia probe, carried the prospect of a historic climax to a rare criminal
investigation into a sitting American president. But his testimony was more likely to reinforce rather than reshape hardened public opinions on impeachment and the future of Trump’s presidency. With his terse, one-word answers, and a sometimes stilted and halting manner, Mueller made clear his desire to avoid the partisan fray and the deep political divisions roiling Congress and the country. He delivered neither crisp TV sound bites to fuel a Democratic impeachment push nor comfort to Republicans striving to undermine his investigation’s credibility. But his comments grew more animated by the afternoon, when he sounded the alarm on future Russian election interference. He said he feared a new normal of American campaigns accepting foreign help.
Local research showcased in center’s new exhibit By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
A new exhibit at the Alaska SeaLife Center offers an interactive way for guests to learn how the organization’s researchers study Alaska’s oceans. The science exhibit begins by informing guests how their exhibit tickets directly support scientific discovery at the center, according to a Tuesday press release. “This summer we are highlighting the newest horizons of science that our research team is exploring–specifically the ones related to using technology to understand animals in their natural habitats,” Dr. Amy Bishop, assistant science department head, said. The displays will be updated regularly, but this summer, the exhibit highlights research projects investigating habitat use and the survival of
Steller sea lions and Pacific sleeper sharks. The exhibit is interactive and provides hands-on opportunities to better understand sensors, telemetry tags and processes that help local researchers know where animals are and where they’re going. The exhibit also includes a thermal imaging camera, and visitors can see a thermal image of their body on the large screen. The same sensor is also used to study animal health and monitoring ocean temperatures, the release said. The exhibit will be updated regularly to reflect the most recent science occurring at the center. Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to write questions to the center’s researchers, which will be answered later on the center’s blog or Facebook page. The center is open until 9 p.m. daily in Seward.
Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
The new exhibit at the Alaska SeaLife Center focuses on the center’s ongoing research.