News

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ron Lazenby and his caped grandson Koebryn Lazenby examine the memorial to wounded military veterans dedicated on Saturday by Soldotna's Chapter 830 of the Order of the Purple Heart in Soldotna Creek Park.

Purple Heart monument dedicated in Soldotna Creek Park

Editor's note: This article has been changed to correct the position of Military Order of the Purple Heart member Ron Siebels. A former State and… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ron Lazenby and his caped grandson Koebryn Lazenby examine the memorial to wounded military veterans dedicated on Saturday by Soldotna's Chapter 830 of the Order of the Purple Heart in Soldotna Creek Park.

Alaska residents rank 3 state services as low priority

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — State services like the pioneers’ home, the aerospace corporation and the agriculture division are among Alaska’s least important, according to participants… Continue reading

  • Jun 7, 2015
The Rock ferris wheel allows riders to spin inside of their cage as the wheel turns during the Golden Wheel Amusements carnival in Kenai, Alaska.

Photos: The golden ticket

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  • Jun 8, 2015
The Rock ferris wheel allows riders to spin inside of their cage as the wheel turns during the Golden Wheel Amusements carnival in Kenai, Alaska.

State cuts reflected in school meals

The effects of state funding cuts will crop up in student meals across the Kenai Peninsula during the upcoming school year. The Alaska Division of… Continue reading

  • Jun 7, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Greg Landeis, owner of Black Spruce Studios, talks about a heart-shaped wooden frame that he is designing for a client's wedding on Saturday May 6, 2015 in Sterling, Alaska. Landeis carved the heart shape out of the wood and into smaller pieces that can be signed by wedding guests before being set back into the frame and affixed permanently into the piece.

Sterling carver finds his niche

Greg Landeis is a woodcarver working amidst contradictions. Despite a lifelong, unrelenting allergy to his medium, he has spent decades carving and producing from his… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Greg Landeis, owner of Black Spruce Studios, talks about a heart-shaped wooden frame that he is designing for a client's wedding on Saturday May 6, 2015 in Sterling, Alaska. Landeis carved the heart shape out of the wood and into smaller pieces that can be signed by wedding guests before being set back into the frame and affixed permanently into the piece.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Volunteer Andy Wakeman (center) prepares to crimp an anchor cable binding a cluster of spruce debris to the bank of the Kenai River with assistance from intern Grant Humpreys (left) and coordinator Lisa Beranek of the Kenai Watershed Forum on Saturday on the shore of the Kenai River near the end of Funny River Road.

Volunteers rehabilitate the Kenai River

At 9 a.m on Saturday ­— a drizzly, overcast morning — Kenai Watershed Forum Stream Watch coordinator Lisa Beranek gathered 17 volunteers on a bank… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Volunteer Andy Wakeman (center) prepares to crimp an anchor cable binding a cluster of spruce debris to the bank of the Kenai River with assistance from intern Grant Humpreys (left) and coordinator Lisa Beranek of the Kenai Watershed Forum on Saturday on the shore of the Kenai River near the end of Funny River Road.

Murkowski: Arctic issues about more than Alaska

For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, there aren’t many topics hotter than the Arctic these days, especially as the U.S. steps into the chairmanship role of the… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By CHARLES L. WESTMORELAND

Walker requests acceleration on AK LNG talks

Gov. Bill Walker said May 29 he’s about “half-way” through a 45-day review of the Alaska LNG Project partnership terms and said he’s pleased at… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By Tim Bradner
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.

Rents rise at Vintage Pointe

When the residents of Kenai’s Vintage Pointe Manor senior housing pay their rents for the month of July, it will cost them up to $35… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.
Clarion file photo The Kenai Peninsula Borough is appropriating $3.2 million to equip an 88,000 square-foot specialty clinics expansion at Central Peninsula Hospital. Equipment that was originally denied to the hospital by the state's Department of Health and Social Services, but has since been approved, is included in that funding request.

Borough set appropriate $3.2 million to outfit CPH clinics, state reverses course on equipment denial

A specialty clinic space at Central Peninsula Hospital will soon be outfitted with more than $3.2 million in equipment, including some that the state previously… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Clarion file photo The Kenai Peninsula Borough is appropriating $3.2 million to equip an 88,000 square-foot specialty clinics expansion at Central Peninsula Hospital. Equipment that was originally denied to the hospital by the state's Department of Health and Social Services, but has since been approved, is included in that funding request.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Dean Bartsch, of Nikiski, talks to a room full of people about a potential law enforcement area on Thursday June 4, 2015 at the Nikiski Community Center in Nikiski, Alaska.

Nikiski debates better police protection

It has been a decade since Nikiski voters rejected paying for a police service area. Now, after a rash of property thefts and what many… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Dean Bartsch, of Nikiski, talks to a room full of people about a potential law enforcement area on Thursday June 4, 2015 at the Nikiski Community Center in Nikiski, Alaska.

Judge: Parts of lawsuit vs. EPA over Pebble Mine can proceed

JUNEAU — A federal judge on Thursday decided to allow portions of a lawsuit brought against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by the group behind… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer

Walker seeks input to balance budget

Pick your poison: State income tax? State sales tax? A “cap” on Permanent Fund dividends? Draconian cuts to public services? A hike in oil taxes?It’s… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Tim Bradner
Juneau Symphony conductor candidate Troy Quinn meets with locals during a meet-and-greet at the Baranof Hotel in November 2014.

Troy Quinn is ready to wow the Juneau audiences

Following an extensive nationwide search, the Juneau Symphony has selected a new music director and conductor to lead its orchestra: Troy Quinn of Los Angeles.… Continue reading

Juneau Symphony conductor candidate Troy Quinn meets with locals during a meet-and-greet at the Baranof Hotel in November 2014.

‘On-behalf’ payments swell school district budget numbers

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s budget for the 2015 fiscal year has nearly doubled, but residents aren’t footing the bill. The nearly $108 million… Continue reading

  • Jun 3, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Mike Matheny, of Kasilof, reacts after a 20-pound king salmon surprised him by hooking itself on his line as he fished on the Kasilof River after catching it on Tuesday June 2, 2015 near Crooked Creek in Kasilof, Alaska.

Photo: Fish on?

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  • Jun 3, 2015
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Mike Matheny, of Kasilof, reacts after a 20-pound king salmon surprised him by hooking itself on his line as he fished on the Kasilof River after catching it on Tuesday June 2, 2015 near Crooked Creek in Kasilof, Alaska.
(AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, Rashah McChesney) An investigator marks a stump within a parameter set up on Sunday March 22, 2015 between Borgen Avenue and Alpine Drive where Kenai Police have what they believe to be the remains of a family who have been missing from their Kenai, Alaska home for more than 10 months. The remains were found fewer than 2 miles from the family's home.

Police believe remains of four found in Kenai field to be a murder-suicide

Police believe a mother and her two children found dead in a field in Kenai were killed by a man whose body was found nearby.… Continue reading

  • Jun 3, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
(AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, Rashah McChesney) An investigator marks a stump within a parameter set up on Sunday March 22, 2015 between Borgen Avenue and Alpine Drive where Kenai Police have what they believe to be the remains of a family who have been missing from their Kenai, Alaska home for more than 10 months. The remains were found fewer than 2 miles from the family's home.

Assembly supports schools, dings marketing and K-Beach flooded area

After months of planning and nearly two hours of last-minute wrangling, the Kenai Peninsula borough has a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Borough Assembly… Continue reading

  • Jun 3, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Kim Haskell watches over Kenzie, a 2-year-old Newfoundland, that she hoped would make a good service dog for her.

Good dog, bad dog: What happens when a service dog doesn’t work out?

Kim Haskell, a 55-year-old Juneau woman whose medical issues require her to use a wheelchair to get around, was excited to pick up her new… Continue reading

Kim Haskell watches over Kenzie, a 2-year-old Newfoundland, that she hoped would make a good service dog for her.
Annual Spill Drill tests response for virtual Cook Inlet scenario

Annual Spill Drill tests response for virtual Cook Inlet scenario

While folks were preparing their barbeque grill for Memorial Day celebrations, Tesoro and CISPRI (Cook Inlet Spill Response Inc.) were preparing and testing equipment and… Continue reading

Annual Spill Drill tests response for virtual Cook Inlet scenario