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Vol. 49, Issue 256
In the news
Credit Union 1 to end pot business pilot program ANCHORAGE — An Alaska credit union plans to discontinue a pilot program to provide checking and savings accounts to marijuanarelated businesses, an official said. Credit Union 1 will end the program Aug. 30 because critical insurance coverage will no longer be available, The Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday. Cre dit Union 1 announced the program’s launch in November to establish financial services for the primarily cash-operated industry. Marijuana-related businesses cannot continue the program beyond a pilot phase without the liability coverage, said Credit Union 1 CEO James Wileman. Alaska voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2014. The state generated more than $10 million in marijuana tax revenue from July 2017 to June 2018, according to the state Department of Revenue. Cannabis businesses often operate in cash because banks and credit unions are wary of taking on clients whose product is still federally illegal, the newspaper reported. Credit Union 1 was told by its insurance broker that the necessary coverage would not be renewed because of the credit union’s cannabis banking program, Wileman said.
Loaded AR-15 rifle found along bike path ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage man walking his dog found a loaded semi-automatic rifle along a popular bike trail. The Anchorage Daily News reports William Thrash found the AR-15 Tuesday in grass a few feet off a bike path that runs along Campbell Creek. The greenbelt is a popular route for walkers and bikers. Thrash says he wondered whether the weapon was fake. He picked it up and found a round loaded in the chamber and other rounds in the magazine. — Associated Press
Index Local . . . . . . . . . . A2 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . A7 Arts . . . . . . . . . . A8 Classifieds . . . . . . A10 Comics . . . . . . . . A13 Tight Lines . . . . . . A14
Protesters greet Trump in El Paso, Dayton
Seward swimmer wins national title
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Two key measures set for October ballot Voters to weigh in on city manager, sales tax cap. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Voters will get to weigh in on two measures — one changing the borough mayor’s role and another increasing the sales tax cap — in October’s municipal election. The decision to put the measures on the ballot was approved at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. In a narrow five to four vote, the assembly passed an ordinance that would establish a manager form of
government, which would shift chief administrator duties to a manager. According to the ordinance, the form of government is used in 12 out of 19 Alaska boroughs. Sponsored by assembly members Hal Smalley and Kelly Cooper, the ordinance would allow the assembly to appoint a borough manager through a majority vote. In a June 20 memo from Cooper and Smalley to the assembly, they said the mayor would still be elected area wide, but would no longer be the chief administrator. “The mayor would serve as chair of the assembly, still be able to participate in assembly discussions, may vote on assembly actions in the
case of a tie and may veto assembly actions,” the memo states. This form of government can be initiated either by a petition or by a motion adopted by the assembly. If approved by the voters, the assembly would adopt a manager plan after the next mayoral election in 2020. The ordinance received criticism at Tuesday’s meeting, with many who spoke saying they wanted to see a plan for the transition. Duane Bannock of Kenai said he believes the ordinance will fail at the election, which is just over 50 days away, because there is no plan. “What’s your plan?” Bannock asked the assembly Tuesday night.
“It’s not in the ordinance or in the memo. What are the qualifications for new manager? What will recruitment and selection and hiring processes include? Who will be in charge of the process? What’s the salary range and benefit package being offered?” Stormi Brown, Kenai resident and former human resources director for the borough, said she doesn’t think the additional salary should scare people from the idea of a borough manager. “That borough manager will go through an interview and recruitment process,” she said. “An elected See vote, Page A3
Locals double up on recall drives
Peninsula residents have eyes set on removing state Rep. Gary Knopp from office By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
The turbulent political climate in Alaska has spurred many people to et involved outside of the ballot box. While a statewide effort was recently launched at the beginning of August to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a different recall effort — one aimed at Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Soldotna — has been underway on the Kenai Peninsula since the early days of the legislative session. Volunteers for the Recall Knopp effort have set up a booth every Wednesday at Soldotna Creek Park. Yesterday, the booth grabbed the attention of several passersbys. Denele McCarthy, a resident of Soldotna, was one of the Wednesday Market attendees to approach the “Recall Knopp” booth to add her name to the application. “I think after two special sessions and still not getting the work done, being excused or not, he’s not listening to his constituents,” McCarthy said. “It seems like they just want to raid the PFD and pay for state services that way instead of actually coming up with a fiscal plan.” Jason Floyd, owner of Ammo Can Coffee in Soldotna and selfdescribed conservative, has been leading this recall effort after a series of decisions by Knopp left Floyd and other Republican voters feeling betrayed and abandoned by a member of their own party, he said. Floyd said that he voted for Knopp, who ran unopposed in the last
Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion
Denele McCarthy, of Soldotna, signs the petition Wednesday at Soldotna Creek Park to recall Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Soldotna.
election cycle, but even then he had low expectations for his representative. Looking back, Floyd said he should have taken the fact that no Democratic or independent candidate ran against Knopp as a warning sign of what was to come. At the beginning of the legislative session this year, Knopp was one of a number of Republicans who
formed a majority coalition with the House Democrats to stand against Dunleavy’s agenda. This split in the Republican Party led to 30 days of the House being unable to assign leadership roles for committees in order to begin the session, and Knopp ended up as the deciding vote that made Rep. Bryce Edgmon, then D-Dillingham and now I-Dillingham, the
Speaker of the House. “The majority of people on the peninsula voted for this governor, and the first thing Gary did when he was sworn in was say, ‘I’m gonna stand against Dunleavy because someone has to,’” Floyd said. “It’s like, who are you representing again?” See knopp, Page A3
Statewide efforts to boot Dunleavy from office come to Soldotna By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
A statewide effort to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy officially kicked off last Thursday, and on Wednesday several peninsula organizers set up a booth at Soldotna Creek Park to collect signatures. Vickie Herrmann from Kenai said that she signed the application during Wednesday’s signature drive because she is concerned about reduced funding for substance abuse treatment and public education, among other things.
“How could you take funding away from schools?” Herrmann said. Andrew Hanrahan, a commercial fisherman from Kasilof, also signed an application Wednesday. He said he does not feel that the governor has the state’s best interests in mind. “ D u n l e av y ’s views are extraordinarily short-sighted,” Hanrahan said. “The guy is a liar, and he’s not doing what’s best for Alaska.” The recall effort comes in the wake of two special legislative sessions that saw the governor and lawmakers go back and forth on issues concerning the state’s budget
and the appropriate amount for the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. Dunleavy campaigned on promises of significantly reducing the state’s budget and issuing a $3,000 dividend check to each Alaska resident. The recall effort is in response to some of the specific actions that he has taken in his first year as governor. Petitioners have cited four actions by Dunleavy as demonstrating either a neglect of duties, incompetence or a lack of fitness for the office: his refusal to appoint a judge to the Palmer Superior Court within 45 days of receiving nominations;
his alleged use of state funds to purchase electronic advertisements and direct mailers that made partisan statements about political opponents and supporters; his use of the lineitem veto to withhold funds from the judiciary in response to a court decision on abortion, and his veto of $18 million from state Medicaid funding that was made in error. Recalling an elected official in Alaska is a multistep process. In order to file the application for a recall petition, a number of signatures must See recall, Page A3
Conservation groups file lawsuit over wilderness road By Dan Joling Associated Press
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P E N I N S U L A
Thursday, August 8, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Partly sunny
ANCHORAGE — Nine conservation groups on Wednesday sued the U.S. Interior Department over its latest proposed land trade that could lead to a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska. The Izembek National Wildlife
Refuge near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula contains internationally recognized habitat for migrating waterfowl. A federal court judge in March rejected a previous land swap. “This deal violates the same laws as the first one and we’re prepared to continue the legal fight to protect this irreplaceable wilderness,” said Bridget Psarianos, staff attorney for Trustees
for Alaska, an environmental law group representing the plaintiffs. Residents of King Cove, a village just outside the refuge boundaries, for decades have been seeking a land connection through the refuge to Cold Bay, which has an all-weather airport and better access to emergency flights. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
in 2013 concluded that a road would cause irrevocable damage to the Izembek watershed. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in a statement last month said the needs of King Cove residents were more important. “I choose to place greater weight on the welfare and well-being of the Alaska Native people who call King Cove home,” Bernhardt said.