News

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the neck of her horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission denied Garretson a conditional use permit needed to legally keep Major in Kenai; she will appeal the decision on Dec. 8. Because Barton is autistic and the horse is prescribed as treatment, denying the permit may be discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

Disabled Kenai resident, neighbors, city fight over horse kept in neighborhood yard

Editor's note: This story has been changed to state that the Disability Law Center of Alaska will represent Garretson in her Dec. 8 appeal to… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton rubs the neck of her horse Major outside the house she shares with her mother Kim Garretson on Nov. 4, 2015 in Kenai. The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission denied Garretson a conditional use permit needed to legally keep Major in Kenai; she will appeal the decision on Dec. 8. Because Barton is autistic and the horse is prescribed as treatment, denying the permit may be discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Photo courtesy Shona DeVolld Anna DeVolld and her sister Sara DeVolld pose with Sen. Lisa Murkowski in front of the banner that was sent to Washington, D.C. along with the Capitol Christmas Tree, Saturday, Oct. 31, in Anchorage, Alaska.

Soldotna girl lights Capitol Christmas tree

On Anna Kathleen DeVolld’s first trip to Washington, D.C., she flipped the switch that lit the 2015 Capitol Christmas tree. But the fifth-grader’s visit wasn’t… Continue reading

  • Dec 7, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo courtesy Shona DeVolld Anna DeVolld and her sister Sara DeVolld pose with Sen. Lisa Murkowski in front of the banner that was sent to Washington, D.C. along with the Capitol Christmas Tree, Saturday, Oct. 31, in Anchorage, Alaska.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai resident Joyce Colbenson looks on as David Hartman, a painter, works on one of his handmade signs during the Annual Auxiliary Holiday Bazaar on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015 at Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska. Money raised at the bazaar went to the Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship fund.

Signs of the season

… Continue reading

  • Dec 7, 2015
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai resident Joyce Colbenson looks on as David Hartman, a painter, works on one of his handmade signs during the Annual Auxiliary Holiday Bazaar on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015 at Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska. Money raised at the bazaar went to the Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship fund.

State considers reused medical equipment

Medicaid patients in Alaska may soon be able to get recycled wheelchairs and walkers. The Alaska State Legislature and the Alaska Department of Health and… Continue reading

Keeping it close to home

Soldotna native Dan Grimes has returned home after a lengthy career in Fairbanks as Central Emergency Services’ new deputy chief. When former Chief Chris Mokracek… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre speaks at the Kachemak Bay Rotary Club meeting on Dec. 3 at the Bidarka Inn in Homer.

Navarre to Homer: Health care process has just started

Speaking like a doctor advising a patient with high blood pressure to lose weight and exercise, in a talk to the Kachemak Bay Rotary Club… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre speaks at the Kachemak Bay Rotary Club meeting on Dec. 3 at the Bidarka Inn in Homer.

Adventure show star charged with Alaska hunting violations

ANCHORAGE — A former beauty queen who hosts an Outdoor Channel adventure show illegally shot an Alaska grizzly bear and conspired to cover up the… Continue reading

  • Dec 7, 2015
  • By Dan Joling
Clarion file photo In this Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, Charlie Martizens, Chriss Luttrell and Noe Marquez, all of Hillburn Builders Inc., work on the building that holds CINGSA's compressors. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has ruled that the company can sell 2 billion cubic feet of the gas it discovered in its undergound storage facility. The profit will be divided between CINGSA and the four utility companies that use it for storage.

CINGSA to sell its newly discovered gas

Editor's note: this story has been changed to correct imprecise wording. On Friday, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska ruled that Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage… Continue reading

Clarion file photo In this Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, Charlie Martizens, Chriss Luttrell and Noe Marquez, all of Hillburn Builders Inc., work on the building that holds CINGSA's compressors. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has ruled that the company can sell 2 billion cubic feet of the gas it discovered in its undergound storage facility. The profit will be divided between CINGSA and the four utility companies that use it for storage.

KRC Brockel Building up for improvements

As part of a strategic process to improve and optimize the academic effectiveness of KPC’s Kenai River Campus, the Brockel Building will undergo a renewal… Continue reading

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Second grader Noah Kalugin glues the roof onto his birdhouse during the Bites for Birds event, where Title I students were invited to learn how to make birdhouses with their parents after school Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at Mountain View Elementary School in Kenai, Alaska.

Title I families build birdhouses, skills

Some showed up for the fun, some, to use hammers, and some to help the universe. Room 5 at Mountain View Elementary was full long… Continue reading

  • Dec 6, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Schools
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Second grader Noah Kalugin glues the roof onto his birdhouse during the Bites for Birds event, where Title I students were invited to learn how to make birdhouses with their parents after school Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at Mountain View Elementary School in Kenai, Alaska.

E-cigarettes get trade organization

The e-cigarette industry is getting organized. Clear the Air Alaska, a trade association representing retailers in Alaska, announced its creation on Thursday. In a statement,… Continue reading

  • Dec 6, 2015
  • By Morris News Service - Alaska
  • State News

Legislators postpone decision on Anchorage offices

The Alaska Legislature’s Legislative Council has postponed a decision on its expensive Anchorage offices. In a presentation Friday, Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak and chairman of… Continue reading

While job growth lifts most of US economy, oil patch suffers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The falling oil and gasoline prices that for months have coincided with strong U.S. hiring have helped most Americans.But they’ve come at… Continue reading

  • Dec 6, 2015
  • By JOSH BOAK
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Crash the reindeer nibbles on a hay bale while Tim Navarre (in red, with false beard) hands the reins of his sleigh to a visiting child outside Alaska First Insurance on Saturday, Dec. 5 in Soldotna.

Santa, reindeers stop off in Soldotna

Soldotna got jolly this Saturday with not one, but two visits from Santa Claus — one in the afternoon outside of First Alaska Insurance, where… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Crash the reindeer nibbles on a hay bale while Tim Navarre (in red, with false beard) hands the reins of his sleigh to a visiting child outside Alaska First Insurance on Saturday, Dec. 5 in Soldotna.

Anchorage’s spice problem outlined in new report

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A new state report on Anchorage’s spice problem confirms that spice-related emergency calls have spiked in the past year and that… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2015

Walker didn’t want to delay vote while seeking Exxon pledge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Bill Walker said Friday that he didn’t want to hold up a vote to continue work on a major gas… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer

State stops requiring annual phone books

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska telephone companies will not have to produce annual phone books starting in 2016.A regulation signed by Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2015
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/The Peninsula Clarion Tina Minster, a health care insurance navigator at Peninsula Community Health Services, handles the outreach and enrollment in the community. She regularly travels around and "sets up wherever they'll let me," she said.

PCHS health insurance navigator sets up shop around community

Tina Minster carries her MiFi and laptop with her everywhere she goes so she can answer questions about health insurance whenever they come up. In… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/The Peninsula Clarion Tina Minster, a health care insurance navigator at Peninsula Community Health Services, handles the outreach and enrollment in the community. She regularly travels around and "sets up wherever they'll let me," she said.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Several people flip through books during the the Soldotna Public Library's book sale in the basement of the library on Thursday Dec. 3, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. More than 80 community members had stopped into the sale by 4:30 p.m.

Photo: Bookworms

… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Several people flip through books during the the Soldotna Public Library's book sale in the basement of the library on Thursday Dec. 3, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. More than 80 community members had stopped into the sale by 4:30 p.m.

Small rural school may close due to low enrollment

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The only school in the small rural Interior Alaska community of Beaver is facing closure due to low enrollment, forcing some… Continue reading

  • Dec 3, 2015