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Vol. 50, Issue 9
In the news Alaska Airlines scales back miles partnership with American ANCHORAGE — Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will scale back their mileage plan partnership early next year. Alaska Airlines mileage plan members will not be able to earn miles on American Airlines international flights beginning March 1, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. Alaska Airlines passengers will also no longer be able to use miles for award travel on flights operated by Texas-based American Airlines, company officials said. Alaska plan holders will still be able to earn milefor-mile value on American flights with Alaska flight numbers to locations in the Midwest, the East Coast and parts of Canada, the airlines said. Prior to the Oct. 2 announcement, American Airlines was Alaska’s last domestic mileage plan partner, meaning Alaska plan members will not have another major carrier on which to use miles. Alaska now serves about 90% of the destinations connected with the American Airlines partnership, and the arrangement no longer benefits either airline the way it did before Alaska purchased its West Coast rival Virgin America in 2016, Alaska Airlines said. Alaska’s domestic partnership situation is part of a natural evolution as airlines grow, said Steve Danishek, president of Seattle-based TMA Travel. “The airlines will do better revenue-wise if they take all the mileage members and put them into their own planes because they don’t pay anything” to a partner airline, Danishek said. See news, Page A2
Correction An article published in the Thursday, Oct. 10 edition of the Clarion contained an error. The article stated that newly elected Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members are not subject to term limits. Borough codes require that assembly members who have served two consecutive terms wait 180 days before seeking a third term.
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Big Friday
Businessmen tied to Ukraine probe charged
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Turkey presses Syrian assault
The United Nations refugee agency says tens of thousands of people are fleeing Turkish airstrikes and artillery. By Lefteris Pitarakis and Mehmet Guzel Associated Press
AKCAKALE, Turkey — Turkey pressed its air and ground assault against U.S.allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Thursday for a second day, pounding the region with airstrikes and an artillery bombardment that raised columns of black smoke in a border town and sent panicked civilians scrambling to get out. Amid the fierce fighting, residents fled with their belongings loaded into cars, pickup trucks and motorcycle rickshaws, while others
escaped on foot. The U.N. refugee agency said tens of thousands were on the move, and aid agencies warned that nearly a half-million people near the border were at risk. It was a wrenchingly familiar scene for many who had fled the militants of the Islamic State group only a few years ago. There were casualties on both sides: Turkish officials in two border provinces said mortar fire from Syria killed at least six civilians, including a 9-month-old boy and three girls under 15. On the Syrian side, seven civilians and eight Kurdish fighters have been killed since the
Ismail Coskun / HA
People run for cover after mortars are fired from Syria into Akcakale, Turkey, on Thursday.
operation began, according to activists in Syria. The Turkish offensive was launched three days after U.S. President Donald Trump
opened the way by pulling American troops from their positions near the border alongside their Kurdish allies. At a time when Trump
faces an impeachment inquiry, the move drew swift criticism from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, along with many national defense experts, who say it has endangered not only the Kurds and regional stability but U.S. credibility as well. The Syrian Kurdish militia was the only U.S. ally in the campaign that brought down the Islamic State group in Syria. Trump warned Turkey to act with moderation and safeguard civilians. But the opening barrage showed little sign of holding back: The Turkish Defense Military said its jets and artillery had struck 181 targets so far. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the See syria, Page A14
Drought tax relief offered to farms Those who are forced to sell livestock because of severe weather conditions may get aid, the IRS says.
By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
The youth cast of “Frozen Jr.” rehearses a scene Wednesday at the Triumvirate North theater in Kenai.
Joey Klecka / Peninsula Clarion
52 ‘Frozen’ kids keep Triumvirate cool By Joey Klecka Peninsula Clarion
Organizing 52 kids for a theater production may seem chaotic — but the directors of Triumvirate Theatre North’s production of “Frozen. Jr.” are making it work. “Kids are honestly easier to manage than adults,” Nikiski High theater teacher Joe Rizzo said. “You tell a kid, ‘You need to be over there’, you’re not going to get them saying, ‘Well, I don’t think the character would do that’. Adults like to make their own acting
decisions. “When you have 52 kids in a play, it’s like stage left, stage right, stand there,” said Rizzo, who is handling the musical end of the “Frozen” production. His wife, Pauline, is directing. The 2013 Disney film has become a favorite among kids, and Rizzo said Triumvirate decided to do the play as soon as the script became available to purchase for theater companies. “These shows are perfect for bringing kids up on,” he said. Rizzo said kids’ familiarity
with the work, as well as with the ubiquitous hit “Let It Go” have made his job a bit easier. “Every kid has seen the show,” he said. The play follows the script of the original film, but with minimal speaking roles that make for a full musical. “The only thing about putting on the big production like this, is as an adaptation, a great deal of it is music. The majority of the play is them singing songs.” Beyond the music, one of the play’s big draws, he said, is the story line, which breaks away from
the classic narrative of true love between two characters, and focuses more on a different love that often is overlooked in the modern day. “It breaks away from the Prince Charming saving the day at the end,” he said. “It’s about the sisters. It’s about that kind of love conquering all — not about romantic love, but rather love within a family. I think that resonates with people. “Anna doesn’t need some man to come along and save her. She ends up being See frozen, Page A14
Service board elections vote delayed By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
An ordinance changing service board elections to appointments was postponed until November at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. The move was made to allow for local service area boards to make recommendations on the ordinance. The borough has 12 service boards, of which seven boards include elected positions. Historically, it has been difficult to find qualified candidates willing to run for service board seats, an Aug. 22 memo to the assembly
from assembly members Willy Dunne and Brent Hibbert said. “The borough is one of the few boroughs, if not the only, in the State of Alaska with elected service area boards,” the memo said. Changing from elected boards to appointed boards will significantly reduce the time and expense involved in borough elections, the ordinance said. The assembly was scheduled to vote on the ordinance during Tuesday’s meeting, but assembly member Hal Smalley moved to postpone the decision until the Nov. 5 meeting, allowing the service
area boards to weigh in. Earlier this summer, the Election Stakeholders Group — a group established by the assembly to research ways to increase voter participation — published their final report and recommendations. One of their six specific recommendations asks the borough to appoint service board members, rather than hold elections. “Appointed boards have proven to increase public interest in service on a board as potential board members would not have to run or otherwise comply with the election process requirements,” the memo said.
The clerk’s office has indicated thousands of dollars could be saved by eliminating the seats from the election process. Cost savings would come from a reduction in printing costs and the time required of election officials and the clerk’s office when it comes to reviewing ballots, the memo said. The ordinance said the appointment process will remain a public process, where openings will be advertised and the mayor will appoint interested applicants and the assembly confirms the appointment.
Peninsula farmers who experienced hardships due to the drought may be able to receive some federal assistance. The Internal Revenue Service is offering tax relief for Alaska farmers and ranchers who were forced to sell livestock due to drought, flooding or other severe weather in re cent years, a We d n e s d ay p re s s release from the IRS said. “In most cases, qualified farmers and ranchers whose drought-sale replacement period was scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2019, now have until the end of their next tax year to replace the livestock and defer tax on any gains from the forced sales,” the release said. “Sales of other livestock, such as those raised for slaughter or held for sporting purposes, or poultry, are not eligible.” The federal assistance is being offered to farmers and ranche r s i n t h e Ke n a i Peninsula Borough, Anchorage, Kodiak, Ketchikan, Lake and Peninsula Borough, the Matanuska Susitna Borough, Prince of Wales, Skagway, Hoonah, Angoon, Valdez and Cordova, Wrangell-Petersburg and the Yukon-Koyukuk. Boroughs that border those communities are also eligible for federal assistance. See drought, Page A2