Victoria Petersen

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks during a hearing with Energy Secretary Rick Perry on the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2020 on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky | Associated Press)

Murkowski gets federal funds for fight against spruce bark beetle

U.S. Forest Service would be transferring $2 million in carryover funds

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks during a hearing with Energy Secretary Rick Perry on the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2020 on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky | Associated Press)
Volunteers and clients enjoy hot meals together during Project Homeless Connect at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

More than 200 students enrolled in homeless assistance program

Homelessness among students is comparable to previous years

Volunteers and clients enjoy hot meals together during Project Homeless Connect at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District administration, members from the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association meet at a collective bargaining session to continue contract negotiations for employees who have been without contracts for a year, on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

School district, employee associations continue contract talks

The district rejected one proposal from two employee associations and is analyzing another

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District administration, members from the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association meet at a collective bargaining session to continue contract negotiations for employees who have been without contracts for a year, on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
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Schools briefs for the week of May 13, 2019

What’s happening this week

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Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2018. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Residents react to mayor’s veto of education funding

Impassioned testimony came from residents who both opposed and supported the veto

Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2018. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
The borough’s welcome sign is back on the road and ready to greet drivers as they enter the Kenai Peninsula on Milepost 75 of the Seward Highway, on Sunday, May 5, 2019, near Turnagain Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Refurbished welcome sign back on highway

The sign was refurbished for weather-related wear and tear.

The borough’s welcome sign is back on the road and ready to greet drivers as they enter the Kenai Peninsula on Milepost 75 of the Seward Highway, on Sunday, May 5, 2019, near Turnagain Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough introduces bed tax ordinance

The 12% bed tax would affect temporary lodging across the borough

The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson testifies before state senators during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Juneau. (Becky Bohrer | Associated Press)

Attorney general: $20 million schools appropriation unconstitutional

Although the money has not been distributed, many districts have already budgeted the funds.

Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson testifies before state senators during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Juneau. (Becky Bohrer | Associated Press)
A group of nursing graduates from Kenai Peninsula College’s Kenai River Campus get ready to walk the stage and receive their degrees on Thursday, May 9, 2019, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Walking toward a bright future

Kenai Peninsula College graduates 150 students

A group of nursing graduates from Kenai Peninsula College’s Kenai River Campus get ready to walk the stage and receive their degrees on Thursday, May 9, 2019, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District administration, members from the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association meet at a collective bargaining session to continue contract negotiations for employees who have been without contracts for a year, on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Employee associations reject school district contract proposals

The rising cost of health care has been a key sticking point in the negotiations.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District administration, members from the Kenai Peninsula Education Association and the Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association meet at a collective bargaining session to continue contract negotiations for employees who have been without contracts for a year, on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Community members, parents, staff and students concerned about the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s potential plan to consolidate Soldotna High School and Soldotna Prep School gathered in the Soldotna High School Auditorium to get more information about how that consolidation would affect them, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi, SoPrep to consolidate

Ninth graders will be joining the 10th, 11th and 12th grade students at the Soldotna High campus.

Community members, parents, staff and students concerned about the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s potential plan to consolidate Soldotna High School and Soldotna Prep School gathered in the Soldotna High School Auditorium to get more information about how that consolidation would affect them, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Students wait to graduate at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s spring commencenet ceremony on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

UAA graduates some of the school’s last teachers

504 students were enrolled in School of Education, 363 of them are affected by accreditation loss

Students wait to graduate at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s spring commencenet ceremony on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael O’Brien, owner of O’Brien Gardens and Trees, on his farm on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

A day to buy local

USDA census shows growth in peninsula agriculture in time for Alaska Agriculture Day

Michael O’Brien, owner of O’Brien Gardens and Trees, on his farm on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Pierce vetoes $2.5 million for schools

The Borough Assembly passed an ordinance April 16 increasing the FY 2019 funds by $2,423,955.

Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Amanda Reynolds and Melissa Williams, a mother-daughter duo, have opened Plus by Design, a business focused on providing clothing and accessories for larger-sized women in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, April 29, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Fashioning a new business

Shop Talk: Plus by Design

Amanda Reynolds and Melissa Williams, a mother-daughter duo, have opened Plus by Design, a business focused on providing clothing and accessories for larger-sized women in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, April 29, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Bruce jaffa waits in line to speak to Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly against closing Moose Pass School, on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly to discuss Moose Pass School’s future

If Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget passes, it could result in the closure of six schools.

Bruce jaffa waits in line to speak to Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly against closing Moose Pass School, on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly seeks to lift borough hiring freeze

11 vacancies at the borough are “increasingly impacting remaining personnel.”

The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge receives land donation from conservation group

Refuge receives land donation from conservation group

The land comprises an area around the Killey River

Refuge receives land donation from conservation group
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his plan for a fiscally sustainable budget at the first event of his budget roadshow at the Cannery Lodge Monday, March 25, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Education advocacy group suing Dunleavy

Lawsuit asserts the governor violated constitution by impounding $20 million in education funds.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his plan for a fiscally sustainable budget at the first event of his budget roadshow at the Cannery Lodge Monday, March 25, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his plan for a fiscally sustainable budget at the first event of his budget roadshow at the Cannery Lodge Monday, March 25, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

House committee hears public testimony on Dunleavy’s constitutional amendments

A legal memo casts doubts on whether or not Dunleavy constitutional amendment is really a revision

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his plan for a fiscally sustainable budget at the first event of his budget roadshow at the Cannery Lodge Monday, March 25, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)