Ben Boettger

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Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Borough Planning Director Max Best speaks about the AK LNG Project's Kenai Spur Highway relocation plans on Thursday, Jan. 21 to a crowd at the Nikiski Recreation Center.

Spur Highway reroute will need Kenai Peninsula Borough approval

When the Alaska LNG project moves the Kenai Spur Highway to accommodate the footprint of the liquefaction and export terminal it plans to build near… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Borough Planning Director Max Best speaks about the AK LNG Project's Kenai Spur Highway relocation plans on Thursday, Jan. 21 to a crowd at the Nikiski Recreation Center.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Greg Hicks (in plaid) examines an image at the opening reception of the Rarified Light photography exhibit on Thursday, Jan. 14 at the Kenai Fine Arts Center.

Rarefied Light photography exhibit showing at Kenai Fine Arts Center

Alaska is infested with photographers — for good reason, according to Kenai Peninsula College art professor Cam Choy. “Obviously the state lends itself to the… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Greg Hicks (in plaid) examines an image at the opening reception of the Rarified Light photography exhibit on Thursday, Jan. 14 at the Kenai Fine Arts Center.

HEA rates to increase Feb. 1

Rates paid by Homer Electric Association users will rise by 3.25 percent beginning Feb. 1. The Alaska Regulatory Commission, which permits rates charged by public… Continue reading

Photo courtesy City of Kenai This satellite image showing a possible arrangement of the stage complex planned for Kenai's Millennium Square is included in a draft report of he Kenai Outdoor Opportunity Location Committee, a group planning development in the vacant feild east of the Kenai Senior Center.

Millennium Square plans developed by Kenai subcommittee

Development plans for the bluff-top lot east of the Kenai Senior Center may be closer to reality than they’ve been since the Kenai City Council… Continue reading

Photo courtesy City of Kenai This satellite image showing a possible arrangement of the stage complex planned for Kenai's Millennium Square is included in a draft report of he Kenai Outdoor Opportunity Location Committee, a group planning development in the vacant feild east of the Kenai Senior Center.

Kenai revives 2013 comprehensive plan

The Kenai Comprehensive Plan that voters rejected in a 2013 ballot proposal will be used as the draft for an upcoming comprehensive plan revision. After… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sitting on stage in an easy chair backed by decorative kayaks, outgoing director of the Kenai Watershed Forum Robert Ruffner plays himself in a skit satirically re-enacting his failed appointment to the state Board of Fisheries during an event held in his honor on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Triumverate Theatre in Kenai.

Kenai Watershed Forum serves roast of Ruffner

Robert Ruffner finally reached a board of fish on Saturday. After being nominated to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Board of Fisheries in… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sitting on stage in an easy chair backed by decorative kayaks, outgoing director of the Kenai Watershed Forum Robert Ruffner plays himself in a skit satirically re-enacting his failed appointment to the state Board of Fisheries during an event held in his honor on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Triumverate Theatre in Kenai.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton touches the shoulder of her horse Major on Thursday, Jan. 7 at the home of Barton's mother, Kim Garrettson, in Kenai. The Kenai City Council announced Thursday that Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major in Kenai in exception to city code, a permission previously denied by Kenai's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Emotional support horse permitted in Kenai

Kenai resident Kim Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major, a horse that serves as an emotional support animal for her autistic daughter, Cristal Barton,… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton touches the shoulder of her horse Major on Thursday, Jan. 7 at the home of Barton's mother, Kim Garrettson, in Kenai. The Kenai City Council announced Thursday that Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major in Kenai in exception to city code, a permission previously denied by Kenai's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Kenai wastewater plant may get an unlikely million

Despite the scanty state spending expected in 2016, this year’s state capital budget may provide funding for long-deferred upgrades to Kenai’s wastewater treatment plant. Built… Continue reading

Birdsong returns after Card Street Fire

This article has been changed to correct the species of a bird and to identify the US Fish and Wildlife Service as the agency Mariah… Continue reading

Protest of alleged spice sales organized

On Sunday afternoon demonstrators bearing signs with slogans such as “morals before money” and “no poison for profit” will gather in front of Tobacco Distress,… Continue reading

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Brenna Belluomini and Kayla White take pictures in the makeup room before their first performance in Vergine's Dance Studio Annual Recital Saturday, May 23, 2015 at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska.

With her studio all grown up, Vergine says goodbye

A local dance instructor is stepping down after almost 30 years teaching dancers in Soldotna. Vergine (pronounced “Vair-geen-ay”) had her studio in an empty storefront… Continue reading

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Brenna Belluomini and Kayla White take pictures in the makeup room before their first performance in Vergine's Dance Studio Annual Recital Saturday, May 23, 2015 at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A plastic Christmas tree stands in the main cafeteria of the Wildwood Correctional Complex as yellow-suited inmates line up for dinner on Friday, Dec. 25.

Wildwood inmates see acts of kindness, charity on holiday

For the 200 or so people living in Kenai’s Wildwood Correctional Complex, the Christmas season began with visits from community groups and ended with dinner… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A plastic Christmas tree stands in the main cafeteria of the Wildwood Correctional Complex as yellow-suited inmates line up for dinner on Friday, Dec. 25.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Candle merchants Lucas and Jessica Loggins stand in a row of simulated market booths in the College Hieghts Baptist Church recreation of Biblical Bethlehem on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna. The church's Bethlehem Revisited exhibit will be open nightly until Dec. 21.

O little town of Bethlehem

Members of College Heights Baptist Church tried to bring a bit of first-century Judea to 21st century Soldotna when it opened its recreation of Biblical… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Candle merchants Lucas and Jessica Loggins stand in a row of simulated market booths in the College Hieghts Baptist Church recreation of Biblical Bethlehem on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna. The church's Bethlehem Revisited exhibit will be open nightly until Dec. 21.

Woman missing in Kenai

Kenai police are searching for 34-year-old Iva “Mitzi” Berninger, a Kenai resident reported missing by a neighbor from her Gill Street apartment, where she was… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the chin of her 35-year-old horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. On Tuesday Garretson appealled the Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission's denial of her permit to keep Major on her property in exception to Kenai's livestock code. The Kenai City Council, acting as a board of adjustment, will issue a decision within 30 days.

Kenai considers therapy horse in city

On Tuesday Kenai city council members heard the case for allowing a horse on a Kenai lot in exception to zoning code for an autistic… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the chin of her 35-year-old horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. On Tuesday Garretson appealled the Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission's denial of her permit to keep Major on her property in exception to Kenai's livestock code. The Kenai City Council, acting as a board of adjustment, will issue a decision within 30 days.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Longtime pilot Dave Cochran glances out of a window while talking to a reporter on Friday Dec. 4, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. Cochran was given the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during a ceremony at the Soldotna airport. He has flown more than 22,000 miles in the 70 years since he became a licensed pilot.

Pilot receives Wright Brothers award

Pilot and mechanic David Cochran has spent the majority of his long life in aviation. On Friday Cochran was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Longtime pilot Dave Cochran glances out of a window while talking to a reporter on Friday Dec. 4, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. Cochran was given the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during a ceremony at the Soldotna airport. He has flown more than 22,000 miles in the 70 years since he became a licensed pilot.

Kenai gets stricter junk car code

To avoid being defined as junk, vehicles in Kenai now need to meet conditions including having registration within the past six months. Although the Kenai… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the neck of her horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission denied Garretson a conditional use permit needed to legally keep Major in Kenai; she will appeal the decision on Dec. 8. Because Barton is autistic and the horse is prescribed as treatment, denying the permit may be discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

Disabled Kenai resident, neighbors, city fight over horse kept in neighborhood yard

Editor's note: This story has been changed to state that the Disability Law Center of Alaska will represent Garretson in her Dec. 8 appeal to… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the neck of her horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission denied Garretson a conditional use permit needed to legally keep Major in Kenai; she will appeal the decision on Dec. 8. Because Barton is autistic and the horse is prescribed as treatment, denying the permit may be discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Clarion file photo In this Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, Charlie Martizens, Chriss Luttrell and Noe Marquez, all of Hillburn Builders Inc., work on the building that holds CINGSA's compressors. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has ruled that the company can sell 2 billion cubic feet of the gas it discovered in its undergound storage facility. The profit will be divided between CINGSA and the four utility companies that use it for storage.

CINGSA to sell its newly discovered gas

Editor's note: this story has been changed to correct imprecise wording. On Friday, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska ruled that Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage… Continue reading

Clarion file photo In this Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, Charlie Martizens, Chriss Luttrell and Noe Marquez, all of Hillburn Builders Inc., work on the building that holds CINGSA's compressors. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has ruled that the company can sell 2 billion cubic feet of the gas it discovered in its undergound storage facility. The profit will be divided between CINGSA and the four utility companies that use it for storage.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Crash the reindeer nibbles on a hay bale while Tim Navarre (in red, with false beard) hands the reins of his sleigh to a visiting child outside Alaska First Insurance on Saturday, Dec. 5 in Soldotna.

Santa, reindeers stop off in Soldotna

Soldotna got jolly this Saturday with not one, but two visits from Santa Claus — one in the afternoon outside of First Alaska Insurance, where… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Crash the reindeer nibbles on a hay bale while Tim Navarre (in red, with false beard) hands the reins of his sleigh to a visiting child outside Alaska First Insurance on Saturday, Dec. 5 in Soldotna.