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Sharilyn Erickson

Business news

■ The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon today at Froso’s Restaurant in Soldotna. A presentation by Carmen Triana, event director for Relay… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2015
Sharilyn Erickson
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, and Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, hosted a legislative town hall meeting on Saturday March 21, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. Residents asked them to balance the budget responsibly, carefully consider marijuana regulations and to look into Medicaid expansion.

Community talks marijuana, agriculture, film and tax cuts during town hall

Distilled down to a few concepts, community members told their local legislators that they’d like to see the state spend more responsibly — maybe with… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, and Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, hosted a legislative town hall meeting on Saturday March 21, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska. Residents asked them to balance the budget responsibly, carefully consider marijuana regulations and to look into Medicaid expansion.

Military code, gas line appointments things to watch

JUNEAU, Alaska — A state House committee plans to hear legislation this week aimed at updating the state’s military code of justice.Alaska’s code was written… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer

Battle flag at center of Supreme Court free speech case

WASHINGTON — Texas commemorates the Confederacy in many ways, from an annual celebration of Confederate Heroes Day each January to monuments on the grounds of… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2015
  • By Mark Sherman

Starbucks barists stop writing ‘Race Together’ on cups

NEW YORK — Starbucks baristas will no longer write “Race Together” on customers’ cups starting Sunday, ending a visible component of the company’s diversity and… Continue reading

  • Mar 23, 2015
  • By CANDICE CHOI and TOM KRISHER
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A National Guard Pave Hawk helicopter lands at Central Peninsula Hospital during a disaster preparedness exercise on Friday, March 20.

Central Peninsula Hospital performs drill

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the names of Captain Bill Keller and Central Peninsula Hospital external affairs manager Bruce Richards, and… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A National Guard Pave Hawk helicopter lands at Central Peninsula Hospital during a disaster preparedness exercise on Friday, March 20.

Legislative Information Office teleconference schedule for March 23

Monday 9:00 a.m.The Senate Finance Committee will sponsor a public hearing to discuss SB 64 School Bond Debt Reimbursement, SB 15 Life Insurance Policy Premium… Continue reading

  • Mar 22, 2015

Kenai Peninsula College: Around Campus

There will be a nursing information and advising session for current and prospective students at 9 a.m. on March 27 in room 107 at the… Continue reading

Fair director sees huge support after crash

While one Kenai Peninsula woman is having a rough year, members of the community are doing their best to ensure she has a smooth recovery.… Continue reading

  • Mar 21, 2015
  • By IAN FOLEY
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2010 file photo, a wood bison bull recovers from testing as Mike Miller, right, and others protect the animal from other bulls at Miller's Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Alaska. Alaska wildlife officials are preparing to release North America's largest land mammal into its native U.S. habitat for the first time in more than a century. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Sunday, March 22, 2015, plans to begin moving wood bison from a conservation center south of Anchorage to the village of Shageluk, the staging area for the animals' release into the Innoko Flats about 350 miles southwest of Fairbanks. A hundred wood bison will be released after they're acclimated in a few weeks. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Erik Hill, File) THE MAT-SU VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN OUT

Alaska prepares for wood bison return after a century

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska wildlife officials are preparing to release North America’s largest land mammal into its native U.S. habitat for the first time in… Continue reading

  • Mar 21, 2015
  • By Dan Joling
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2010 file photo, a wood bison bull recovers from testing as Mike Miller, right, and others protect the animal from other bulls at Miller's Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Alaska. Alaska wildlife officials are preparing to release North America's largest land mammal into its native U.S. habitat for the first time in more than a century. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Sunday, March 22, 2015, plans to begin moving wood bison from a conservation center south of Anchorage to the village of Shageluk, the staging area for the animals' release into the Innoko Flats about 350 miles southwest of Fairbanks. A hundred wood bison will be released after they're acclimated in a few weeks. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Erik Hill, File) THE MAT-SU VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN OUT
In this May 18, 2014 file photo Ted Nichols, 12, of Chugiak, goes digging for clams at the Whiskey Gulch beach access in Anchor Point, Alaska. Alaska's Board of Fisheries took up several proposed regulatory changes to Cook Inlet razor clam fisheries.

Fish board to take up Cook Inlet clams

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the clam harvest numbers on Kenai Peninsula beaches from 2004-2013. Cook Inlet clams on are on… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
In this May 18, 2014 file photo Ted Nichols, 12, of Chugiak, goes digging for clams at the Whiskey Gulch beach access in Anchor Point, Alaska. Alaska's Board of Fisheries took up several proposed regulatory changes to Cook Inlet razor clam fisheries.

Community rallies to help with medical expenses

The Nikiski community is rallying and raffling in support of resident Myron McGahan, 38, who is battling a trio of diagnoses. McGahan’s 10-year-old Chron’s disease… Continue reading

  • Mar 19, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo contributed by J&J Smart Charters The haul from a 2013 clamming trip on the west side of Cook Inlet.

Cook Inlet clams up for grabs

A remote beach on the west side of Cook Inlet has seen an uptick in traffic as clammers hitch rides with charter boat captains or… Continue reading

  • Mar 19, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo contributed by J&J Smart Charters The haul from a 2013 clamming trip on the west side of Cook Inlet.

Kenai manages money

Kenai managed its money this week, making several purchases and fund transfers. At its Wednesday meeting the Kenai City Council performed some funding actions unanimously,… Continue reading

In this June 4, 2008 file photo, puffins sit above murrs on the cliff on St. Paul Island, Alaska. The number of seabirds, including gulls, puffins and auklets, has dropped significantly in the Gulf of Alaska and northeast Bering Sea, a possible consequence of warmer waters, according to a preliminary federal analysis of nearly 40 years of surveys. U.S. Geological Survey experts found the seabird population density declined 2 percent annually from 1975 to 2012 in the northeast North Pacific.

Feds document seabird loss in North Pacific waters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The number of seabirds, including gulls, puffins and auklets, has dropped significantly in the Gulf of Alaska and northeast Bering Sea, a… Continue reading

  • Mar 19, 2015
  • By Dan Joling
In this June 4, 2008 file photo, puffins sit above murrs on the cliff on St. Paul Island, Alaska. The number of seabirds, including gulls, puffins and auklets, has dropped significantly in the Gulf of Alaska and northeast Bering Sea, a possible consequence of warmer waters, according to a preliminary federal analysis of nearly 40 years of surveys. U.S. Geological Survey experts found the seabird population density declined 2 percent annually from 1975 to 2012 in the northeast North Pacific.
Game board authorizes cow, roadside hunts for parts of peninsula

Game board authorizes cow, roadside hunts for parts of peninsula

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to add the general season dates for moose hunting that the Board of Game reconvened to set, and… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Game board authorizes cow, roadside hunts for parts of peninsula
Photo courtesy Craig Humphries Dr. Craig Humphries performs spinal surgery on a patient in January of 2015 at the Care International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya.

Spinal medicine from the Kenai to Kenya

In the course of his medical career, spine surgeon Dr. Craig Humphreys of Kenai Spine Center performed aid work in India, Lithuania, and St. Lucia,… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Craig Humphries Dr. Craig Humphries performs spinal surgery on a patient in January of 2015 at the Care International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya.
Several types of traps sit on display for trapping hopefuls during a class for people seeking permits to trap on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday Oct. 25, 2014 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Game board spikes Kenai Peninsula trapping restrictions

After facing a series of restrictions that could have virtually eliminated trapping in certain areas of the central Kenai Peninsula, trappers were told by the… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Several types of traps sit on display for trapping hopefuls during a class for people seeking permits to trap on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday Oct. 25, 2014 in Soldotna, Alaska.
Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion poses with his lead dogs Hero, left, and Reef in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska. (AP Photo/Alaska Dispatch News, Loren Holmes)

Seaveys take top spots in Nome

NOME — If ever there was uncertainty about the outcome of the world’s most famous sled dog race, it was this year. Warm weather and… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2015
  • By Mark Thiessen
Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion poses with his lead dogs Hero, left, and Reef in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska. (AP Photo/Alaska Dispatch News, Loren Holmes)

Students experience jobs up close

Experience was the best teacher for many Kenai Central High School students this week.On Wednesday, more than 100 juniors from KCHS were sent out to… Continue reading

  • Mar 18, 2015
  • By IAN FOLEY