Republican Governors Association reserves air time in Alaska

JUNEAU (AP) — The Republican Governors Association said it is reserving ad time in Alaska for the final weeks of this year’s governor’s race. The… Continue reading

  • Apr 9, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
Three members of the Alaska Senate majority’s leadership listen to questions during the majority’s weekly news conference on Monday in Juneau. Pictured are, from left, Senate Majority Leader Peter Micciche, Senate President Pete Kelly and Senate Finance Committee Co-chair Lyman Hoffman. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Big items remain as Alaska lawmakers seek timely session end

JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature is in its final week of a scheduled 90-day session, with budgets to complete and questions over what it will… Continue reading

  • Apr 9, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
Three members of the Alaska Senate majority’s leadership listen to questions during the majority’s weekly news conference on Monday in Juneau. Pictured are, from left, Senate Majority Leader Peter Micciche, Senate President Pete Kelly and Senate Finance Committee Co-chair Lyman Hoffman. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

After public objection, borough trims land auction list

The list of Kenai Peninsula Borough-owned parcels up for auction got significantly shorter after the borough assembly trimmed the list in response to public concern.… Continue reading

This Monday, Oct. 24, 2016 photo shows the Kenai City Dock in Kenai, Alaska. The city is seeking a new concessionaire to operate the dock’s equipment after seafood processor Copper River Seafoods did not show interest in operating the facility for the 2018 season. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Copper River to stop operating Kenai dock

Seafood processor Copper River Seafoods won’t be operating the city of Kenai’s dock this year. The company, which has operated the dock’s heavy equipment and… Continue reading

This Monday, Oct. 24, 2016 photo shows the Kenai City Dock in Kenai, Alaska. The city is seeking a new concessionaire to operate the dock’s equipment after seafood processor Copper River Seafoods did not show interest in operating the facility for the 2018 season. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Public battles over gravel pit restrictions

Public battles over gravel pit restrictions

The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s working group on gravel pits wanted public comment, and on Thursday night, they got it. Property owners and gravel pit operators… Continue reading

Public battles over gravel pit restrictions
A Municipality of Anchorage vote-by-mail drop box is seen in an undated photo. (Maria Athens | For the Juneau Empire)

After Anchorage success, state considers whether Alaska is ready for elections by mail

By the numbers alone, Anchorage’s first election held by mail has been a smashing success. Election Day was Tuesday, and almost 80,000 votes have already… Continue reading

A Municipality of Anchorage vote-by-mail drop box is seen in an undated photo. (Maria Athens | For the Juneau Empire)
In this August 2017 photo, sockeye salmon mill in the pool just below the Russian River Falls near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Salmon habitat bill still milling in House Fisheries committee

With the Legislature closing in on the final day of its regular session, the battle over a bill to tighten restrictions on permits to develop… Continue reading

In this August 2017 photo, sockeye salmon mill in the pool just below the Russian River Falls near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
A Visual Feast celebrates student art

A Visual Feast celebrates student art

Eighth-grader Jolie Widamen from Skyview Middle School can’t draw, can’t paint and is definitely not artistic, or at least that’s what she told her mom,… Continue reading

A Visual Feast celebrates student art
Homer Needle Exchange volunteer Sharon Whytal demonstrates a variety of items offered to IV drug users through the exchange program in Homer last month. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Health care providers call for syringe exchange

Pete Paquette’s addiction began the way it did for many — with a pain injury in high school and a prescription for opioids. Liking the… Continue reading

Homer Needle Exchange volunteer Sharon Whytal demonstrates a variety of items offered to IV drug users through the exchange program in Homer last month. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna City Council now accepting applications

Applications to serve on Soldotna City Council are being accepted until April 17. With the resignation of Keith Baxter in March, the city is looking… Continue reading

Kenai Council limits appeals of city decisions

At their Wednesday meeting the Kenai City Council voted to change the rules that had allowed any Kenai resident to challenge any decision by city… Continue reading

25 local vendors brought their best to the 2018 Taste of the Kenai.

Taste of the Kenai overflowing with flavor

More people had a chance to taste the Kenai than ever before at the 2018 Taste of the Kenai sponsored the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing… Continue reading

25 local vendors brought their best to the 2018 Taste of the Kenai.
This undated photo shows Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Manager Andy Loranger enjoying the Kenai Peninsula summer. Loranger was recently named 2018 national wildlife refuge manager of the year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit supporting the federal wildlife refuge system. (Photo courtesy the National Wildlife Refuge Association)

Kenai refuge manager wins national recognition

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s manager has been selected as the best refuge manager in the country for 2018. The National Wildlife Refuge Association named… Continue reading

This undated photo shows Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Manager Andy Loranger enjoying the Kenai Peninsula summer. Loranger was recently named 2018 national wildlife refuge manager of the year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit supporting the federal wildlife refuge system. (Photo courtesy the National Wildlife Refuge Association)
Catching the stuffies at Three Friends Dog park.

Stuffy, furry, fluffy, pet hunt

Since the Three Friends Dog Park opened last summer it has been a tremendous success according to canines of the central Kenai Peninsula who have… Continue reading

Catching the stuffies at Three Friends Dog park.

What’s Happening

Events and Exhibitions n The 29th annual Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Juried Student Art Show, “Visual Feast,” will be on display in April at… Continue reading

  • Apr 6, 2018
Alycia Backstrom (left) and Steven Taylor pose with infant Bailey Backstrom outside their rooms in Kenai’s new Clear Pointe six-plex — the city’s first income-restricted rental housing, constructed by the Homer-based not-for-profit Kenai Housing Initiative — on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After a roughly two-month search for a place to live, Taylor and Backstrom became Clear Pointe’s first tennants after moving in Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai’s first income-restricted housing now open

The central Kenai Peninsula’s small low-income rental housing market grew six units larger with the recent completion of Clear Pointe, the first low-income housing building… Continue reading

Alycia Backstrom (left) and Steven Taylor pose with infant Bailey Backstrom outside their rooms in Kenai’s new Clear Pointe six-plex — the city’s first income-restricted rental housing, constructed by the Homer-based not-for-profit Kenai Housing Initiative — on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After a roughly two-month search for a place to live, Taylor and Backstrom became Clear Pointe’s first tennants after moving in Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kodiak spaceport complex strives to increase launch capacity

KODIAK (AP) — The Alaska Aerospace Corporation will undergo a new environmental impact study in an effort to increase launch capacity at the Pacific Spaceport… Continue reading

  • Apr 5, 2018

Mistake invalidates ban on distilleries serving cocktails

JUNEAU (AP) — Members of the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board have been told that their January vote forbidding distilleries from serving alcoholic mixed drinks… Continue reading

  • Apr 5, 2018

Iceberg surfer triggers multi-agency emergency response

A man surfing icebergs in the Kenai River spurred a multi-agency emergency response on Thursday after onlookers mistook him for someone in distress. Emergency personnel… Continue reading

Kindergarten teacher Daniel Bowen (at podium) speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in favor of full funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District at the assembly’s meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. About 40 people attended the meeting Tuesday, many wearing red, to show their support for public education funding. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly hears tax options, postpones sales tax decision

The Kenai Peninsula Borough has a lot of options to balance its budget and fund public schools, but not everyone is on the same page… Continue reading

Kindergarten teacher Daniel Bowen (at podium) speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in favor of full funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District at the assembly’s meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. About 40 people attended the meeting Tuesday, many wearing red, to show their support for public education funding. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)