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Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, step outside the House chambers on Monday to discuss a message from the Senate. Lawmakers entered their fourth special session Monday, with a resolution to hold committee meetings remotely.

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4th special session gets off to a slow start

Lawmakers discuss making legislative work remote

Central Peninsula Hospital as seen March 26, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion file)

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Nurses from Lower 48 arrive at Central Peninsula Hospital

Additional staff are aimed at alleviating strain from COVID-19 surge.

file

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Anchorage FBI office launches hate crime reporting program

The program was launched across various digital, print and radio advertisements, as well as on public transportation in…

Courtesy photo/ Alaska Court System Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Daniel Winfree spoke with the Empire about Alaska’s court system and its judicial selection process. Winfree is the first Chief Justice to be born in Alaska, and spent 25 years in private practice before joining the court.

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Chief Justice: Cases decided on merit, not politics

Merit-based system.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Hibbert is running unopposed for the Kalifornsky seat, which he has held since 2017. (Photo via Kenai Peninsula Borough)

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Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Brent Hibbert

Election 2021

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski attends a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Murkowski campaign updates paperwork to continue to allow fundraising

Murkowski has not yet stated whether or not she intends to run for reelection in 2022.

Kenn Carpenter is running for reelection to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (Courtesy photo)

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Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Kenn Carpenter

Election 2021

Angelique Ramirez, chief medical officer at Foundation Health Partners in Fairbanks, poses for a photograph in front of the emergency entrance at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Friday, Oct. 1, said it activated the Crisis Standards of Care policy because of a critical shortage of bed capacity, staffing and monoclonal antibody treatments, along with the inability to transfer patients to other facilities. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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3rd Alaska hospital invokes crisis care mode in COVID spike

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital said Friday it activated the Crisis Standards of Care policy

Soldotna High School is photographed on Sept. 2, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

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SoHi, Skyview go to universal indoor masking Monday

As of Friday, nine KPBSD schools — not including schools in “small communities” — were operating, or were…

Cindy Ecklund is running for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (courtesy photo)

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Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Cindy Ecklund

Election 2021

(Image courtesy CDC)

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State COVID-19 cases continue surge

Alaska remains the state with the highest number of new cases per capita in the country.

Demonstrators march through Soldotna as part of the national Women’s March “Rally for Abortion Justice” on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

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‘I cannot believe that this has been threatened’

Soldotna demonstrators join national Women’s March in support of abortion rights

State health officials urged pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an urgent health advisory. (File)

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‘Urgent’ CDC advisory recommends pregnant people get vaccinated against COVID-19

In August, 22 pregnant individuals died of COVID in the United States, officials said.

Christine Hill cuts out yellow Stars of David before an Anchorage Assembly meeting where the body heard public testimony from people about a proposed mask mandate on Wednesday in Anchorage. Hill, who is opposed to a mask mandate, had printed out the stars at home and was handing them out for others to wear during the meeting. She said she wore a star as a comparison to the oppression and genocide of Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson apologized Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, for his comments supporting some residents’ use of Holocaust imagery to liken a proposed citywide mask mandate to the oppression of Jewish people in Nazi Germany. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

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Bronson apologizes for backing use of Holocaust imagery

He defended the use of the yellow stars, with the words “Do not comply,” worn by some attendees…

KPEDD Executive Director Tim Dillon sits in his office on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 north of Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Building opportunity from the ground up

Development district works with local operations to hone goals, find funding.

Version 3 of the Alaska Redistricting Board’s proposal for the Kenai Peninsula keeps intact most of District 31, now called District 6, but puts the Fritz Creek and Fox River areas into a new District 5 that includes the southern shore of Kachemak Bay and Kodiak Island. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Redistricting Board)

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Board seeking input on maps redrawing state, peninsula legislative districts

The Alaska State Redistricting Board will collect public input on six maps.

(Image courtesy CDC)

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State reports dwindling monoclonal antibody supply

Some shipments on backorder started to arrive Thursday, but supplies are still limited.

Elia Samuelson, left, of Bethel is announced as the winner of a $49,000 scholarship for the third week of the “Give AK a Shot” COVID-19 vaccine incentive program. His mother Carol also won $10,000 cash. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

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Fairbanks man, Bethel teen win this week’s vaccine lottery

“Give AK a Shot” awards funds to one newly vaccinated adult resident and one newly vaccinated child resident.

The very first FreeWire ultrafast Electric Vehicle charger in Alaska was installed at AJ's Steakhouse last week. The charging station is the first of nine EV charging stations that will connect Homer to Fairbanks. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

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Fast-charging station for electric vehicles installed at AJ’s OldTown Steakhouse

New charging station installed with grant support from Alaska Energy Authority.

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Students struggle to hit 50% proficiency locally, statewide

Yearly standardized testing results for Alaska’s third through ninth grade students show higher overall proficiency rates in math…