Camille Botello

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)

State releases northern Kenai fishing report

Kasilof River steelhead fishing is beginning and expected to improve over the next few weeks

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Bunny Swan performs at Soldotna Creek Park on July 3, 2019, as part of the Levitt Amp Soldotna Music Series. The series returns June 1 in Soldotna Creek Park. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna summer serenades are back

The free concert series — put on by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce — will kick off on June 1 at Soldotna Creek Park

Bunny Swan performs at Soldotna Creek Park on July 3, 2019, as part of the Levitt Amp Soldotna Music Series. The series returns June 1 in Soldotna Creek Park. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
A beach on the eastern side of Cook Inlet is photographed at Clam Gulch, Alaska, in June 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Board of Fisheries sets new shellfish regs

Fisheries for hardshell clams, both butter and littleneck clams, are closed in all Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast waters

A beach on the eastern side of Cook Inlet is photographed at Clam Gulch, Alaska, in June 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
The Soldotna Elementary School kindergarten class runs into Kaladi Brothers Coffee on South Kobuk Street in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, April 8, 2022, to look at their art show. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Making ‘beautiful things’

Kindergartners show off work at Kaladi Brothers Coffee shop

The Soldotna Elementary School kindergarten class runs into Kaladi Brothers Coffee on South Kobuk Street in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, April 8, 2022, to look at their art show. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Community members participate in the Kenai Peninsula Job and Career Fair at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Job fair connects employers, those seeking work

Community members explored various sectors either offering employment, education or training services

Community members participate in the Kenai Peninsula Job and Career Fair at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID hospitalizations down from last week

Officials recommend all eligible Alaskans be up to date on their COVID vaccines to minimize the impact on communities

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
The commerical fishing fleet is seen from Pacific Star Seafoods in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish votes no on Proposal 283

The proposal would have loosened restrictions for set gillnetters in a part of Cook Inlet

The commerical fishing fleet is seen from Pacific Star Seafoods in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Gina Keith, with Kachemak Electric, speaks with job seekers at the 2017 Kenai Peninsula Job Fair (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion file)

Job fair returns to Soldotna on Thursday

More than 50 vendors will be at the Sports Complex

Gina Keith, with Kachemak Electric, speaks with job seekers at the 2017 Kenai Peninsula Job Fair (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion file)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Bail hearing set for Soldotna murder suspect

Soldotna resident Nathan Penrod is charged with first-degree murder and third-degree assault

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Peninsula Hospital to get new CEO this summer

Shaun Keef will replace outgoing CEO Rick Davis, who plans to retire June 30

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
A participant seeks probation services at the Kenai Peninsula Re-Entry Coalition simulation at the Old Carrs Mall in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. The event was intended to give community members an understanding of the challenges faced by those leaving incarceration. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Life after incarceration

Simulation walks community members through re-entry challenges

A participant seeks probation services at the Kenai Peninsula Re-Entry Coalition simulation at the Old Carrs Mall in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. The event was intended to give community members an understanding of the challenges faced by those leaving incarceration. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
A health care professional prepares to administer a COVID-19 test outside of Capstone Clinic in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Uncertainty for uninsured as COVID-19 funding runs out

Uninsured peninsula residents will still be able to get free tests and vaccines from some providers

A health care professional prepares to administer a COVID-19 test outside of Capstone Clinic in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Boats are moored near the Kenai boat launch in Cook Inlet on Friday, June 18, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

New processor enters Cook Inlet market

The move follows the exit of Copper River Seafoods

Boats are moored near the Kenai boat launch in Cook Inlet on Friday, June 18, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A hiker rests near the peak of Near Point Trail in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 20, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

The pitch for Anchorage

My first time on the Kenai Peninsula was a solo trip in the late fall of 2020. When I told people I was living in… Continue reading

A hiker rests near the peak of Near Point Trail in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 20, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Soldotna man arrested on murder, assault charges

Troopers allege the suspect shot a man “several times” with a handgun

Alaska State Troopers logo.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

State officials report cases leveling off

CDC updated its COVID booster information Tuesday, and authorized additional doses for certain groups

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Loretta Knudson-Spalding, left, and Regional Director of the Office of the Governor Jill Schaefer, right, pose next to the Soldotna Senior Center’s new cars in Soldotna on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Senior meals program gets a lift

Soldotna Senior Center uses federal rescue funds for new Meals on Wheels vehicles

Loretta Knudson-Spalding, left, and Regional Director of the Office of the Governor Jill Schaefer, right, pose next to the Soldotna Senior Center’s new cars in Soldotna on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016, near Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Salmon runs projected to be weaker than average

A run of around 4.97 million sockeye is projected to return to Upper Cook Inlet

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016, near Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
The City of Kenai Boat Launch into Cook Inlet is photographed May 14, 2020. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Copper River Seafoods halting Kenai operations this salmon season

The company salmon cited the fisheries management plan, rising production costs and the poor forecast

The City of Kenai Boat Launch into Cook Inlet is photographed May 14, 2020. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

2 killed in head-on crash in Kasilof

Both vehicles received “disabling damage,” troopers reported

Alaska State Troopers logo.