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Vol. 49, Issue 292
In the news
University chancellors ordered to back regents, president ANCHORAGE — The University of Alaska system president has instructed chancellors to support his public statements about budget issues and to support statements by the university’s board of regents, according to a memo. President Jim Johnsen sent a memo to the three university chancellors instructing them on how public communications should be made during budget discussions, KTUU-TV reported Wednesday. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $135 million from the university system’s budget in June. “In this time of acute budgetary stress, please note that the Board has reserved a number of matters to itself, including the determination of budget requests and allocations, as well as what degree and certificate programs will be offered at each University,” Johnsen wrote in the February 18 memo obtained by KTUU. “Communications on such issues must be coordinated, must respect and preserve the Board’s prerogatives, and thus must be reviewed and approved by the president,” Johnsen wrote to the Anchorage, Fairbanks and Southeast chancellors. An administration spokeswoman confirmed the memo was sent by Johnsen and said it is logical for him to oversee communications. While there may be three separately accredited universities, the system is a single legal entity under the Alaska Constitution, Monique Musick said. The goal of the memo was to create the expectation that chancellors should work collaboratively “rather than pursuing separate legislative or political agendas,” Musick wrote in an email. University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Daniel White said he would “reserve comment” on whether the policy impeded his ability to communicate independently. W h i t e e x p re ss e d concern about how See briefs, Page A3
Dunleavy announces order on unions
Many questions remain for region runners
Alaska/ A14
Sports / A7
CLARION
W of 1 inner Awa0* 201 Exc rds fo 8 e r Rep llence i o n rt * Ala ska P i n g ! res s Clu
Friday-Saturday, September 27-28, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The City of Soldotna voted to move forward with its efforts to annex areas near its city limits, with the exception of the areas along Kalifornsky Beach Road. The city council approved a substitute resolution, which removes areas 4 and 5 — the two annexation
areas along K-Beach Road — from the petition and authorizes the city manager to send that amended petition to the Local Boundary Commission, the state entity with the authority to change and create municipal boundaries. The areas in the substitute resolution approved to move forward in the annexation process include an area
near the Soldotna Airport along Funny River Road; an area including and near the Tsalteshi Trails and Skyview Middle School; an area that includes a business corridor along the Kenai Spur Highway, ending near Big Eddy Road; and an area along Funny River Road. Council member Tim Cashman sponsored the substitute resolution. He said there are things that the city isn’t ready to deal with. “I’m aware there are concerns in the K-Beach area, that’s why I wanted to
bring it forward,” Cashman said during the meeting. The council voted unanimously to send their amended petition to the state. Council member Tyson Cox was barred from voting on the original resolution, due to a conflict of interest since he owned property in the K-Beach area. Since the K-Beach area was removed from the petition, Cox was allowed to vote. Members of the public See annex, Page A3
Whistleblower complaint released White House is accused of covering up details of Ukraine call By Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press
WASHINGTON — White House officials took extraordinary steps to “lock down” information about President Donald Trump’s summertime phone call with the president of Ukraine, even moving the transcript to a secret computer system, a whistleblower alleges in a politically explosive complaint that accuses the administration of a wideranging cover-up. The whistleblower, in a 9-page document released Thursday , provides substantial new details about the circumstances of the phone call in which Trump repeatedly spoke of how much the U.S. had aided Ukraine and encouraged new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son. Accusations of efforts to pressure the leader of a foreign nation to dig for dirt on a potential 2020 Trump rival are now at the heart of a House impeachment inquiry against the president. The whistleblower’s official complaint alleges a concerted White House effort to suppress the transcript of the call, and describes a shadow campaign of foreign policy efforts by the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that unnerved some senior administration officials who felt he was circumventing normal channels. “In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. officials that senior White House
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Annexation moves forward But two areas along Kalifornsky Beach Road are removed from the Soldotna City Council resolution moving the process forward.
Cloudy 51/36 More weather, Page A2
P E N I N S U L A
School contract gets OK The Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education still needs to approve the contract at its next meeting Oct. 7. By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Peninsula teachers and staff have voted to support the contract negotiated by two employee associations and the school district. The executive boards of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association certified results from a vote to ratify the contract for teachers and support staff in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of the contract, which the district and associations agreed upon in the early hours of Sept. 17, a Wednesday press release from the See school, Page A2
Carolyn Kaster / associated press
President Donald Trump walks to the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday as he returns from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump said at a Thursday breakfast that he wanted to identify the whistleblower and his or her sources, alleging they are “close to a spy” and alluding to the death penalty.
officials had intervened to ‘lock down’ all the records of the phone call, especially the official word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced as is customary by the White House situation room,” the complaint says. The previously secret document, with its detail and clear narrative, is likely to accelerate the impeachment process and put more pressure on Trump to rebut its core contentions and on his fellow Republicans to defend him or not. It also provides a road map for Democrats to seek corroborating witnesses and evidence, which will complicate the president’s efforts to characterize the findings as those of a lone partisan out to undermine him. In response, Trump threatened “the person”
who he said gave information to the whistleblower as he spoke at a private event in New York with staff from the U.S. mission to the United Nations. “Who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” Trump said in audio posted by The Los Angeles Times. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” On his Twitter account, Trump insisted the entire controversy is political: “The Democrats are trying to destroy the Republican Party and all that it stands for. Stick together, play their game and fight hard Republicans. Our country is at
Fireweed FiberFest returns to Soldotna By Joey Klecka
stake.” His tweet was in all capital letters. Under pressure from House Democrats, the White House a day earlier released a rough transcript of the phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president. In it, Trump prodded Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential 2020 election foe, and Biden’s son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. But the complaint released Thursday offered a broader picture of what was happening in the White House and the administration at the time. In the aftermath of the call, according to the whistleblower, White House lawyers were concerned “they had
The annual Fireweed FiberFest returns to the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex this weekend. Hosted by the Fireweed Fiber Guild nonprofit, FiberFest brings together Alaska’s best and most fervent fiberwork artists and spinners for an admission-free look at all varieties of animal fiber. According to FiberFest chairman and Fireweed Fiber Guild member Nancy Field, the show has a multipronged approach to celebrating natural fibers and their uses. “One, it’s educating the general public on Alaska agriculture,” Field said. “It’s telling people about farms that aren’t really in the public
See trump, Page A14
See fiber, Page A2
Peninsula Clarion
Trails begin to reopen as Swan Lake Fire winds down
Index
By Brian Mazurek
Local . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Nation & World . . . . A5 Religion . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . A7 Classifieds . . . . . . A10 Comics . . . . . . . . A13
Portions of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge have reopened for recreation as activity from the Swan Lake Fire continues to be minimal. The Hidden Creek Trail, Skilak Lookout Trail, Bear Mountain Trail, Upper Ohmer Cabin and Watson Lake Campground have been reopened as of Thursday, according to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Skilak Lake Road, Bottenintin Lake day use area and the boat launches at Upper
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Skilak, Lower Skilak and Jim’s Landing have also been reopened. All other areas including campgrounds, trails and cabins within the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area remain closed. Access routes to reopened facilities pass through burned areas, and some facilities are close to burned habitats. Fireweakened trees can fall without warning, and deep ash pits are capable of holding heat that could cause severe burns. All burned lands in the refuge remain closed, and people should use caution around the areas that have been reopened.
Windy conditions on Wednesday tested the containment lines around the perimeter of the Swan Lake Fire, but those lines held successfully with no additional growth according to the latest update from the Alaska Type 3 Management Team. The fire is currently at 167,164 acres and is considered 81% contained. There are 102 personnel managing the fire, which, to date, has cost $47.9 million dollars to manage, according to the latest situation report from the National Interagency See fire, Page A2
Jeff Helminiak / Peninsula Clarion
Damage from the Swan Lake Fire can be seen from Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday.