News

CES fire marshal arrested for alleged assault

The Central Emergency Services Fire Marshal was arrested over the weekend for allegedly choking and punching an adult family member inside a vehicle in the… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ready, set, skid

Exhaust plumes toward the sky and engines rev, clattering against the icebound trees and windblown snow around the frozen lake. Drivers in refitted older cars,… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Dellan Vanbuskirk in a 2016 mug shot. (Photo courtesy Homer Police)

Troopers catch theft suspect after 4-hour standoff in AP

A four-hour standoff in Anchor Point on Tuesday night that involved Alaska State Troopers and a Special Emergency Response Team ended without incident when troopers… Continue reading

Dellan Vanbuskirk in a 2016 mug shot. (Photo courtesy Homer Police)
123rf.com Stock Photo

Quiet wires: Alaska illegally fails to report its wiretaps to public

The Alaska Department of Law is failing to disclose when it taps the phone of an Alaskans, the Empire has learned through a public records… Continue reading

123rf.com Stock Photo
Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

CIAA director looks back at career

Out in the Alaska wilds, it’s easy to miss the subtler goings on: a wolverine passing through the underbrush, the sound of a bear snuffling… Continue reading

Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

You know, someone once told Don Lockwood “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all,” but it wasn’t true in 1952’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’… Continue reading

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’
Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

EAGLE RIVER (AP) — Armed and angry, Chugiak-Eagle River residents say it’s time to get tough on crime. “I feel safer in some Asian countries… Continue reading

  • Jan 21, 2018
  • By Matt Tunseth
  • Crime
Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

Alleged boat thief indicted

A man was indicted last week in the Kenai Superior Court for allegedly stealing an aluminum fishing boat from a Kenai residence in May 2017.… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Stranded beluga will remain in captivity

Tyonek, a Cook Inlet beluga that has been under 24/7 care from experts at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, will not be released back… Continue reading

  • Jan 21, 2018
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Lack of drilling leads to lease default for Furie

A Cook Inlet natural gas extractor that relied heavily on state tax credits — and which partially blamed undrilled wells over the past two years… Continue reading

A warm Alaska brings trouble

A warm Alaska brings trouble

ANCHORAGE — Winter is off to a late start in parts of the nation’s largest — and usually coldest — state. Months of higher-than-normal temperatures… Continue reading

  • Jan 21, 2018
  • By RACHEL D’ORO
A warm Alaska brings trouble
Marching for justice, again

Marching for justice, again

As hundreds of thousands of people in cities around the world rallied this weekend on the anniversary of the 2017 presidential inauguration, local residents turned… Continue reading

Marching for justice, again
Ban the bag

Ban the bag

A plastic shopping bag is used for minutes, but will impact the environment for a lifetime — in some cases, hundreds of lifetimes. At least… Continue reading

Ban the bag
Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors

Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors

As Kenai’s city government more actively attempts to make the summer dipnet fishery a boost to the local economy, beach vendors may be getting some… Continue reading

Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, left, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott wait for a joint session of the Alaska Legislature to convene Thursday in Juneau. In Walker’s annual State of the State address, he told lawmakers Alaska’s prosperity hinges on solving Alaska’s multibillion dollar budget deficit. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Walker: State’s prosperity hinges on deficit fix

JUNEAU — In his fourth year in office, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is looking for a major win on an issue that has vexed him… Continue reading

  • Jan 18, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, left, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott wait for a joint session of the Alaska Legislature to convene Thursday in Juneau. In Walker’s annual State of the State address, he told lawmakers Alaska’s prosperity hinges on solving Alaska’s multibillion dollar budget deficit. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Salmon habitat advocates submit signatures for ballot item

ANCHORAGE (AP) — Supporters of a proposed ballot measure aimed at protecting Alaska salmon habitat near development projects have submitted about 50,000 signatures to the… Continue reading

  • Jan 18, 2018
In this Tuesday photo, Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican, sits at a desk on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives in Juneau. A special panel on Thursday recommended the removal of Eastman from the legislative ethics committee for allegedly disclosing to a member of the public the existence of a complaint that was considered confidential. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Panel recommends Eastman removal from ethics committee

JUNEAU — A freshman Alaska legislator faces a second possible censure after a legislative panel said he disclosed the existence of a complaint that was… Continue reading

  • Jan 18, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
In this Tuesday photo, Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican, sits at a desk on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives in Juneau. A special panel on Thursday recommended the removal of Eastman from the legislative ethics committee for allegedly disclosing to a member of the public the existence of a complaint that was considered confidential. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Alex Douthit, pictured in his office on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska, founded Kenai Peninsula Driving Instruction in November 2016 with his wife Sarah Douthit. It took them more than a year to obtain all the permits and approvals they needed to officially begin commercial driver’s license instruction, which they are now focusing on. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

After permitting struggle, couple opens CDL training program on peninsula

When Alex Douthit started the ball rolling for a commercial driving instruction school in Kenai, he had no idea what he was getting into. The… Continue reading

Alex Douthit, pictured in his office on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska, founded Kenai Peninsula Driving Instruction in November 2016 with his wife Sarah Douthit. It took them more than a year to obtain all the permits and approvals they needed to officially begin commercial driver’s license instruction, which they are now focusing on. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly approves ordinance allowing volunteers to serve on service area boards

Volunteers for two Kenai Peninsula service areas can also now serve on the service areas’ boards. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved an ordinance allowing… Continue reading

Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anchorage, left, and Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, deliver a message to Gov. Bill Walker that the House is open for business on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Legislators returned to Alaska’s Capitol to open the Second Session of the 30th Legislature on Tuesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Guardedly optimistic, Alaska Legislature starts second regular session

After the Girl Scouts and the Juneau-Douglas High School choir, two senators walked into the chambers of the Alaska House of Representatives with an air… Continue reading

Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anchorage, left, and Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, deliver a message to Gov. Bill Walker that the House is open for business on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Legislators returned to Alaska’s Capitol to open the Second Session of the 30th Legislature on Tuesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)