The badge for the Kenai Police Department
The badge for the Kenai Police Department
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

Cases trending up as school year approaches

The state is also seeing a shift in the age range of people testing positive for COVID-19, according to state health officials.

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)
Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.

SeaLife Center rescues abandoned otter pup from Seldovia

A family camping on a Seldovia beach found the otter stranded there.

Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.
Council member Dave Carey attends a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna reinstates mask requirement in city buildings

The new policy, which was authorized by the Soldotna City Council during the council’s Wednesday night meeting, takes effect on Monday, Aug. 16 and applies to all city facilities.

Council member Dave Carey attends a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Ravn customers now able to use Alaska Airlines miles

Customers will have the option to choose Alaska Airlines as a loyalty program option when booking Ravn flights.

This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Shari Conner, a coalition coordinator for Change 4 the Kenai, adjusts a box of Narcan kits on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 at Freedom House in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Save someone’s life’

Narcan kits assembled at workshop on preventing opioid overdoses.

Shari Conner, a coalition coordinator for Change 4 the Kenai, adjusts a box of Narcan kits on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 at Freedom House in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Zink: We’ve reached a really hard point in the pandemic

The virus has mutated into a more transmissible strain while health care capacity is dwindling and the public is exhausted with mitigation efforts.

A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
(Clarion file photo)

Ending summer with a brew

The Soldotna Rotary Club’s beer fest returns

(Clarion file photo)
Homer City Council met in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers on Monday to discuss numerous ordinances and resolutions. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Nippin’ it in the bud

Marijuana consumption ordinance fails at city council.

Homer City Council met in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers on Monday to discuss numerous ordinances and resolutions. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Borough sales tax revenue higher than anticipated

The borough said it planned conservatively in anticipation of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

3 killed in car wreck last month identified

Two Kenai residents and one Florida visitor died in the wreck.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Juniors get hooked fishing the Kenai

The annual event teaches kids about summer river recreation, fish habitat and water safety.

Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)

Peninsula records 8% of state’s new cases

The Kenai Peninsula is second to last for vaccine rollout, only above the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s 37.2% inoculation rate.

COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)
A sign at North Kenai Beach warns pedestrians away from the eroding bluffs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

‘This project is actually going to get done’

Federal infrastructure bill bodes well for bluff erosion

A sign at North Kenai Beach warns pedestrians away from the eroding bluffs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Bridge Access pedestrian pathway to move forward

The pathway would run 1.2 miles from the intersection of Beaver Loop Road to the Kenai Spur Highway.

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

258 new COVID cases, 33 locally

22.5% of all hospitalizations in the Gulf Coast — which includes the Kenai Peninsula — were COVID-related as of Tuesday.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.

$1 trillion infrastructure plan passes Senate

Efforts to advance the legislation were spearheaded by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
To avoid accidental 911 calls, Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency advises a number a measures, including not putting smartphones in vehicle cup holders. (File)

Emergency management seeks to reduce accidental 911 calls

According to OEM, 98% of accidental 911 calls are the result of smartphone and smart device technology.

To avoid accidental 911 calls, Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency advises a number a measures, including not putting smartphones in vehicle cup holders. (File)
Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough seeks to change planning commission selection process

Traditionally, cities have advertised for their vacant seat on the commission, with applications forwarded to the city council for review

Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Suspected foodborne illness outbreak under investigation in Homer

DHSS is investigating an outbreak after 70 hospital employees experience gastrointestinal illness.

Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)