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Vol. 50, Issue 8
Art, nature mesh in Cooper Landing exhibit
Expert picker looks for better luck in Week 6
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Sports / A7
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Lousy 48/33 More weather, Page A2
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
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Thursday, October 10, 2019 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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State Supreme Court hears youth climate suit By Dan Joling Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — An Alaska law promoting fossil fuel development infringes on the constitutional rights of young residents to a healthy environment, a lawyer told Alaska Supreme Court justices on Wednesday. A lawsuit filed by 16 Alaska youths claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate the country’s northernmost state and interfere with their constitutional rights to life, liberty and public trust resources that sustain them. The state’s legislative and executive branches have not taken steps to lower greenhouse gas emissions and adopted a policy that promotes
Doctor held on narcotics charges By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
S o l d o t na doctor Lavern Davidhizar has been arrested on federal narcotics charges, U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced in a Wednesday press release. Special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Davidhizar, 74, alleging he illegally distributed large amounts of opioids and other powerful narcotics by writing prescriptions for patients without medical examinations and lacking medical necessity, the press release from Schroder’s office said. Davidhizar was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint that charges him with illegally distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice. The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that between 2017 and 2019 Davidhizar prescribed more than 700,000 narcotic pills, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, methadone and tramadol, the release said. According to the affidavit, Davidhizar was referred to as the “Candy Man” because it was common knowledge people could obtain pain medication prescriptions from him when they did not have a legitimate medical need, according See doctor, Page A3
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putting more in the air, said attorney Andrew Welle of the Oregon-based Our Children’s Trust group. “This is an issue that is squarely within the court’s authority,” Welle said. Assistant Attorney General Anna Jay urged justices to affirm a lower court ruling rejecting the claims. Ultimately, the climate change issues raised by Alaska youth must be addressed by the political branches of government, she said. “The court does not have the tools to engage in the type of legislative policy making endeavor required to formulate a broad state approach to greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. The 16 youths sued in 2017 and claimed damages by greenhouse
gas emissions are causing widespread damage in Alaska. The lawsuit said the state has experienced dangerously high temperatures, changed rain and snow patterns, rising seas, storm surge flooding, thawed permafrost, coastal erosion, violent storms and increased wildfires. Our Children’s Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting natural systems for present and future generations. The group in 2011 unsuccessfully sued the state, claiming the state failed to adopt measures to protect young people from climate change. The judge in that case concluded that courts lack scientific, economic See suit, Page A3
Mark Thiessen / Associated Press
Esau Sinnok, of Shishmaref, speaks at a news conference Wednesday after the Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments in Anchorage, in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate.
Areas of Chugach forest reopen after fire By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Areas of the Chugach National Forest impacted by the Swan Lake Fire are now open, an Oct. 9 press release from the U.S. Forest Service said. The south portion of Resurrection Pass Trail, West Swan Lake, Swan Lake, Juneau Lake, Romig and Trout Lake cabins and surrounding areas, including all cabins and trails, are now open in the Seward Ranger District. The Forest Service is urging hikers to use extreme caution when exploring burned areas of the forest. “While efforts have been made to remove trees of concern and clear the trail and cabin areas, hazards within the burned area may include fire-weakened standing trees which can fall without warning and deep ash pits holding residual heat capable of causing severe burns.” The fire is expected to be completely contained by Dec. 31. Deep pockets of duff and heavy fuels will continue to smolder for weeks and possibly months. The Swan Lake Fire is estimated to be 167,164 acres, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report. A crew of eight
Jeff Helminiak / Peninsula Clarion
Areas burned by the Swan Lake Fire can be seen from Vista Trail at Upper Skilak Campground on Sunday.
and an engine are managing the fire. The cost of the fire has reached more than $49 million to date. Emergency responders and volunteers who managed the fires burning on the Kenai Peninsula this summer were commended through a resolution at Tuesday’s Kenai
Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. “The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly commends the work of fire managers, incident management teams, support personnel, and all of the volunteers that contributed towards the successful suppression and
containment of fires throughout the Kenai Peninsula,” the resolution said. “The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly makes special recognition of all of the firefighters, both locally and from other regions, that were on the front line working in extreme conditions to keep the
residents of the Kenai Peninsula safe.” A copy of the resolution will be sent to all responding agencies that served the Kenai Peninsula during this season. The Swan Lake Fire is one of many fires that have burned 2,577,028 acres in Alaska this summer.
Assembly welcomes, swears in new members By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Three new assembly members were sworn in Tuesday night during the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. Tyson Cox, Jesse Bjorkman and Brent Johnson will take their seats on the assembly at the next meeting, Oct. 22.
Cox will be representing the Soldotna area. Bjorkman will represent the Nikiski area. Brent Johnson will represent Kasilof area south to Happy Valley. Assembly President Wayne Ogle, Vice President Dale Bagley and assembly member Paul Fischer said farewell to their public office at Tuesday’s assembly
meeting. The three assembly members are stepping down from their public posts after choosing not to run for reelection. “I want to give a special thank you to Mr. Ogle, Mr. Bagley and Mr. Fischer for their years of public service,” Mayor Charlie Pierce said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I truly do hope we continue to see you
and hear your inputs.” Fischer has served on the assembly for a number of years, including as the body’s president. He told the assembly and the audience a story of his most memorable meeting, where the assembly stayed up all night to pick a new assembly president. Fischer said there were 16 members on the assembly
at the time, with half representing areas within the city and half outside of the city. The vote for a new president continued to draw a tie. “It was always coming back a tie, a tie, a tie,” Fischer said at Tuesday’s meeting. “By 7 a.m., we were all getting tired. Thanks to Seward, their See Assembly, Page A2
Defying inquiry, Trump makes charge more certain By Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly and Jonathan Lemire Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The combative White House letter vowing to defy the “illegitimate” impeachment inquiry has actually put President Donald Trump on a more certain path to charges. His refusal to honor subpoenas or allow testimony would likely play into a formal accusation
against him. The letter sent to House leaders by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone Tuesday evening declared the president would not cooperate with the investigation — a clear reason, Democrats say, to write an article of impeachment charging him with obstruction. The White House insists that a formal House vote is necessary just to start the impeachment process. But Democrats are moving ahead without
one, confident for now that they are backed by the Constitution and Trump’s own acknowledgements of trying to persuade a foreign government to investigate a political foe. “The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the president’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in response to the letter. “Mr. President, you are not above the
law. You will be held accountable.” Trump again defended his decision not to cooperate, calling a whistleblower’s complaint about his call with Ukraine’s leader “a fraud being perpetrated on the American public” and saying Republicans are being treated unfairly. He repeated he was being vilified for “a perfect phone call.” But the president also undercut his no-cooperation argument See trump, Page A2