Peninsula Clarion, August 04, 2019

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20 dead in El Paso after gunman opens fire News / A5

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Dunleavy has skin cancer removed ANCHORAGE — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office announced Friday that biopsies of skin variations removed from his forehead confirmed a basal cell carcinoma, or a mild form of skin cancer. Dunleavy’s spokesman Matt Shuckerow says Dunleavy took precautionary measures with his dermatologist this week, which left a series of sutures on his forehead. Shuckerow says the carcinoma was removed. He also says Dunleavy and his doctor believe potential risks were addressed with the routine procedure. Dunleavy first talked about the issue Friday morning, tweeting a photo in which his sutures are visible. He wrote: “I’m happy to say, I’m in good health. Moral of the story, wear sunscreen.” Dunleavy temporarily suspended his gubernatorial campaign in 2017 for medical issues involving his heart. In reviving his campaign, Dunleavy said his treatments were successful.

Dunleavy proposes assisted living rate hike JUNEAU — The governor of Alaska is moving ahead with a plan to increase in prices at See news, Page A3

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Borough to vote on sales tax cap bump By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion

During its Tuesday meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will discuss and vote on an ordinance increasing the

maximum amount subject to borough sales tax from $500 to $1,000. The ordinance to increase the maximum amount subject to borough sales tax was introduced by Mayor Charlie Pierce and assembly

member Kenn Carpenter. The ordinance is aimed at maintaining future fund balances, according to the ordinance document. “Due to the continuing uncertainty about state and local revenues, the decline

in state assistance to municipalities, the increasing loss in property tax revenues to the borough from exemptions on real property, and increasing reliance on borough funding for the school district, the borough must take steps

to maintain its unrestricted fund balance into the future within financially prudent and responsible parameters to enable it to fund the services and public education See tax, Page A3

Rallies usher in recall effort By Michael Armstrong Homer News

trash into three large dumpsters over at the Zero Waste Depot. Volunteer coordinator Ryan Astalos said that their strategy has been effective in the move toward zero waste because it not only gives

A movement to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy started on Thursday with rallies around the state, including one held at WKFL Park in Homer. Co-sponsored by former Alaska senators Arliss Sturgulewski and Vic Fischer, and Usibelli Coal Board Chairman Joseph Usibelli, the Recall Dunleavy group seeks to remove the governor from office on several grounds, including his failure to appoint a judge in a timely manner, misuse of state funds, violating separation of powers, and incompetence, the group says. “Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s sudden, severe, and sometimes illegal budget cuts have caused tremendous harm to Alaska and Alaskans,” Usibelli wrote in an editorial with his wife, Alaska State Laureate Peggy Shumaker. “…What we cannot afford is for Gov. Dunleavy to remain in office.” In Homer, over the course two hours on Aug. 1 a steady stream of voters lined up to sign recall applications, with 300 people signing in the first hour alone. Protesters stood on the lawn by Pioneer Avenue waving signs that said “Yes to education; no to Dunleavy,” “Think responsibly about our future” and simply “Save our state.” Rallies also were held in Anchorage, Bethel, Cordova, Fairbanks, Haines, Igiugig, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Wasilla, Sitka, Unalaska, Valdez and Yakutat. A Soldotna woman, Michele Vasquez, and her husband, Larry Simmons, signed an application while visiting Homer. Vasquez wore a T-shirt that read “Profane guttersnipes for justice,” a reference to a Republican Party term for people who protested at Wasilla Middle School during the special session earlier this month. “I think he’s trying to decimate and devastate the state with his draconian budget cuts,” Vasquez said. “It’s insane. I’ve never seen anything like this, except Kansas.” University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate Sara Betcher, who got a master’s degree in cross cultural studies and now lives in Homer where she works as a documentary filmmaker, cited Dunleavy’s cuts to educations as why she signed a recall application. “I feel like his decisions have led to a political emergency with funding cuts to important agencies and programs,” she said. “… He’s put a lot of people in a mental state of crisis. I think with the recall that can give us some level of hope things can normalize.” Meg Mitchell expressed a similar sentiment. “I am in bliss,” she said of the recall effort. “… This is exciting.” Homer writer and whale researcher Shelley Gill spoke at the rally, outlining the reasons for the recall as well as the process.

See love, Page A2

See recall, Page A3

Photos by Megan Pacer / Homer News

Headliner Ani DiFranco (above) performs Friday at Salmonfest in Ninilchik. Below, Nicole Campanale, fiddle player for Seward-based folk-rock band Blackwater Railroad Company, performs with the band on the River Stage on Friday.

SALMONFEST

Coast Guardsman dies in fall from Kodiak Island cliff KODIAK — A 25-yearold Coast Guardsman died in a fall from a cliff on Kodiak Island. Alaska State Troopers say Ricky Reese Jr. died Wednesday after falling about 60 feet. Reese and a friend before the fall had been hiking on a cliff overlooking Buskin Beach. Emergency medical technicians and the Coast Guard Fire Department responded and attempted life-saving efforts. Reese was transported to the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Reese was originally from Georgia. His hometown was not released.

Steffensen finds quick success on diamond

P E N I N S U L A

Vol. 49, Issue 253

In the news

Whirlwind

‘Three days of fish’ festival returns with renewed energy By Megan Pacer Homer News

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ome people know the story of how Salmonfest came to be, a lot don’t. Back in 2011, it was debuted as Salmonstock. The main purpose for the festival at that time was to protest the proposed Pebble Mine Project, and to drum up funds and support for fighting it. When it appeared Pebble would no longer be an issue, several of the festival’s producers pulled out and festival director Jim Stearns forged ahead under the name Salmonfest with Cook Inletkeeper as a new major partner. “We got involved in year one,” said Bob Shavleson of Cook Inletkeeper. “And every year that interest has grown.” Same festival, different name, and perhaps a bit less urgency. That’s not how things have felt at the annual “three days of fish, love and music” for the last two years. With See fest, Page A2

Fish, love and … compost? By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion

Three days of fish, love and music — and three days of environmental activism. For the past three years, volunteers from Cook Inletkeeper have attempted to make the Ninilchik music festival a zero waste experience. Executive Director of Cook Inletkeeper Carly Weir said the effort has two main goals: to reduce the amount of trash produced during the festival and to educate festivalgoers about responsible waste disposal. To reach those goals, Inletkeeper set up 11 waste stations throughout the fairgrounds, each manned by a volunteer. The stations had four disposal bins: one for plastic, one for aluminum, one for compostable

Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion

Rosie Skovron (left) and a Salmonfest attendee smile for the camera Friday at one of the waste disposal stations during Salmonfest 2019 in Ninilchik. Skovron is a volunteer for the Zero Waste project and an intern at Cook Inletkeeper.

materials and one for all other trash. As festival attendees went to throw away their water bottles, plates and soda cans, the volunteers manning the station would gently direct them to the appropriate bin. Meanwhile, other volunteers made the rounds emptying full bins and sorting all the


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