Ben Boettger

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Kenai City Council fails two measures related to land dispute

A land dispute that has irritated Kenai officials, residents and would-be property developers remains a potential irritant after the Kenai city council failed two measures… Continue reading

A family of tundra swans swim near the banks of Spruce Lake, part of the Swan Lake canoe trail system in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, on Friday north of Sterling. In the spring, tundra swans migrate to Alaska in flocks, but disperse in pairs to breed and raise young during the summer. Spruce Lake is one of more than a dozen lakes in the canoe trail system, which requires boaters to portage their canoes or kayaks between the lakes down short connecting trails. Boaters can start from the west entrance, located near Fish Lake Campground on Swan Lake Road north of Sterling, or from the east entrance, further down Swan Lake Road from the intersection with Swanson River Road. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Swan promenade

A family of tundra swans swim near the banks of Spruce Lake, part of the Swan Lake canoe trail system in the Kenai National Wildlife… Continue reading

A family of tundra swans swim near the banks of Spruce Lake, part of the Swan Lake canoe trail system in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, on Friday north of Sterling. In the spring, tundra swans migrate to Alaska in flocks, but disperse in pairs to breed and raise young during the summer. Spruce Lake is one of more than a dozen lakes in the canoe trail system, which requires boaters to portage their canoes or kayaks between the lakes down short connecting trails. Boaters can start from the west entrance, located near Fish Lake Campground on Swan Lake Road north of Sterling, or from the east entrance, further down Swan Lake Road from the intersection with Swanson River Road. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Familiar face to take Kenai Senior Center reins

Regular visitors going to the Kenai Senior Center for lunch, games, Thursday evening bluegrass jam sessions, and other activities will be seeing a new face… Continue reading

Tayla Cole plays with a program called “Banana Piano,” running on a Raspberry Pi computer, as Taylor Crista (right) and Amy Sevast look on during a Raspberry Pi demonstration on Monday, July 24, 2017 at the Kenai Public Library in Kenai, Alaska. The program uses the fruit’s electrical conductivity, and the conductivity of human skin, to make bannas — wired through an input device called Makey Makey — produce digital tones when touched. Kenai Library intern Kianna Steadman used the Bannana Piano and other inventions to introduce the Kenai Library’s twelve Raspberry Pi computers, which will be the subject of three workshops at the library next week, and a club that will meet weekly thereafter. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai library starts do-it-yourself computer club

In the world of consumer electronics, the Raspberry Pi is meant to be a project more than a product: a computer consisting of single programmable… Continue reading

Tayla Cole plays with a program called “Banana Piano,” running on a Raspberry Pi computer, as Taylor Crista (right) and Amy Sevast look on during a Raspberry Pi demonstration on Monday, July 24, 2017 at the Kenai Public Library in Kenai, Alaska. The program uses the fruit’s electrical conductivity, and the conductivity of human skin, to make bannas — wired through an input device called Makey Makey — produce digital tones when touched. Kenai Library intern Kianna Steadman used the Bannana Piano and other inventions to introduce the Kenai Library’s twelve Raspberry Pi computers, which will be the subject of three workshops at the library next week, and a club that will meet weekly thereafter. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Oil workers celebrate 60 years of Swanson River

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the name of Bobbi O'Neill, originally referred to by her maiden name of Burns. Three generations… Continue reading

Pipeline may come to Ladd Landing; coal terminal won’t

After its May decision to stop seeking permits, Delaware-based PacRim Coal is giving up what had been a key piece of property in its plans… Continue reading

NordAq fined $100,000 for unplugged well

On Thursday the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued a $100,000 penalty and a $800,000 bond requirement to Alaskan independent oil and gas company… Continue reading

Setbacks complicate Kenai marijuana permitting

The question of how to measure the minimum distance Kenai code mandates between marijuana businesses and churches, schools, recreational facilities and substance abuse treatment centers… Continue reading

Kenai Council may trim proposed marijuana setbacks

Setbacks for commercial marijuana establishments may become more tightly regulated in Kenai than they are at the state level. Alaska’s regulations for commercial marijuana require… Continue reading

Kenai temporarily bans in-store pot smoking

Marijuana businesses that may open in Kenai in the coming year won’t be able to offer space for customers to try the product on-site, at… Continue reading

Kenai may vote on pot moratorium Jan. 6

While current state marijuana regulations will allow marijuana consumption in designated areas of licensed marijuana retail stores, a proposal from Kenai Mayor Pat Porter would… Continue reading

Kenai council prepares for personal use marijuana

When possession and private use of marijuana becomes legal, Kenai authorities hope to be prepared for the change. Ballot measure 2, the law legalizing the… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Kenai city attorney Scott Bloom speaks to a Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon crowd about the state of commercial marijuana in Kenai on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center conferrence room.

Kenai attorney preps residents for marijuana business

With Kenai’s first legal marijuana retailer preparing for an announced opening next Monday, Kenai City Attorney Scott Bloom briefed attendees of a Wednesday Kenai Chamber… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Kenai city attorney Scott Bloom speaks to a Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon crowd about the state of commercial marijuana in Kenai on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center conferrence room.

Kenai finalizes pot regulations

Prospective marijuana businesses in Kenai will have to observe 1,000-foot setbacks from schools, 500-foot setbacks from other sensitive areas — measured two different ways —… Continue reading

Marijuana activists prepare for KPB vote

Three months ahead of a vote on whether cannabis businesses can continue operating in the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s outside incorporated cities, the nascent industry and… Continue reading

A retired U.S Airforce Lockheed T-33 fighter jet stands on a pedestal in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport on July 7, 2017 in Kenai. The Kenai Airport Commission is discussing giving the plane a fresh coat of paint this summer. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Airport T-33 may get new paint

The aircraft mounted in the grassy lot in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport — a retired U.S Air Force Lockheed T-33 “Thunderbird”— may be… Continue reading

A retired U.S Airforce Lockheed T-33 fighter jet stands on a pedestal in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport on July 7, 2017 in Kenai. The Kenai Airport Commission is discussing giving the plane a fresh coat of paint this summer. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Army Corps leaders speak on Kenai bluff erosion

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the date of the meeting to July 6. Last week Kenai residents provided input on one… Continue reading

Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box outside Kenai’s American Legion post as part of Brown’s Eagle Scout community service project on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. To earn Boy Scouting’s highest rank, Brown organized the troop, along with friends and family members, in repainting the flower box red, white, and blue, and planting it with a pattern of red, white, and blue flowers, along with purple petunias to symbolize the Purple Heart military decoration given to wounded soldiers. Brown, who began planning the project about two weeks ago, said his two brothers had previously done Eagle Scout projects to benefit schools and churches. “I wanted to do something for the veterans, and this was the best I could come up with,” Brown said.

Doing a good turn

Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box… Continue reading

Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box outside Kenai’s American Legion post as part of Brown’s Eagle Scout community service project on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. To earn Boy Scouting’s highest rank, Brown organized the troop, along with friends and family members, in repainting the flower box red, white, and blue, and planting it with a pattern of red, white, and blue flowers, along with purple petunias to symbolize the Purple Heart military decoration given to wounded soldiers. Brown, who began planning the project about two weeks ago, said his two brothers had previously done Eagle Scout projects to benefit schools and churches. “I wanted to do something for the veterans, and this was the best I could come up with,” Brown said.
Linda Nelson (in wheelchair) and her husband Rodney Nelson hold signs in a demonstration by supporters of women’s health organization Planned Parenthood and opponents of the U.S Senate healthcare bill known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act on Thursday, July 6, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Residents rally for health care

Linda Nelson and her husband Rodney Nelson were among those who turned out in Kenai on Thursday to hold signs in a demonstration by supporters… Continue reading

Linda Nelson (in wheelchair) and her husband Rodney Nelson hold signs in a demonstration by supporters of women’s health organization Planned Parenthood and opponents of the U.S Senate healthcare bill known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act on Thursday, July 6, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Assault charges dropped against Tim Navarre

Assault charges against Tim Navarre, a member of the Kenai City Council and of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education, were dropped last week… Continue reading