News

Budget cuts threaten Sea Grant programs

Budget cuts in Washington, D.C., could dismantle a longtime oceanic research and education program nationally. Sea Grant has 33 outposts in coastal communities around the… Continue reading

A Connections Home School graduate sports a decorated cap at her graduation ceremony Thursday at the Soldotna High School auditorium. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Connections celebrates graduates

The Soldotna High School auditorium was filled with graduates who have never walked a hall together, but who celebrated their graduation from Connections Home School… Continue reading

A Connections Home School graduate sports a decorated cap at her graduation ceremony Thursday at the Soldotna High School auditorium. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
An Outdoor View: Consequences

An Outdoor View: Consequences

“You’re OK,” I told myself over and over again, a mantra more wish than fact. I was not OK, in fact. I was hanging off… Continue reading

An Outdoor View: Consequences
Volunteers clear vegetation in Kachemak Bay State Park in summer 2016. This year, volunteers will have the opportunity to cross the bay and volunteer to clear trails on Saturday, June 3, as part of National Trails Day, or can volunteer for work parties on every Saturday throughout the summer through the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. (Courtesy Christina Whiting/Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation)

Clearing the way across the bay

The quiet forests of Kachemak Bay State Park carry magic for Kathy Sarns. After moving to Homer in 2008, she began visiting the park on… Continue reading

Volunteers clear vegetation in Kachemak Bay State Park in summer 2016. This year, volunteers will have the opportunity to cross the bay and volunteer to clear trails on Saturday, June 3, as part of National Trails Day, or can volunteer for work parties on every Saturday throughout the summer through the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. (Courtesy Christina Whiting/Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation)
Students in Kenai Central High School’s graduating class of 2017 toss their caps in the air at the end of their commencement ceremony Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Beth Ulricksen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central High School students exit stage left

Kenai Central High School’s six graduating valedictorians had more than 171,000 English words to choose from to describe their class. The one they chose? “Procrastination.”… Continue reading

Students in Kenai Central High School’s graduating class of 2017 toss their caps in the air at the end of their commencement ceremony Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Beth Ulricksen/Peninsula Clarion)
Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday, May 20, 2017 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday in Anchor Point. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fishing report: Hail to the kings

There were plenty of anglers on the Anchor River’s opening day this year, but king salmon were in shorter supply. The river on the southern… Continue reading

Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday, May 20, 2017 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday in Anchor Point. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Alt graduates look forward

The graduates of Kenai Alternative High School’s class of 2017 were celebrated at Monday night’s commencement in the Kenai Alternative High School gym surrounded by… Continue reading

Ambiguities remain in advertising regulations for cannabis businesses

There’s a lot of confusion around what exactly some of the marijuana business regulations mean in Alaska, leading to missteps and accidental violations. As marijuana… Continue reading

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking lot in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai Rotary Club has hosted the derby for ten years and aims to empower local youth through hard work and creativity in designing and building cars, the spirit of competition on race day and sportsmanship and comradery. The derby is the only Soap Box Derby race in Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Derby days

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking… Continue reading

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking lot in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai Rotary Club has hosted the derby for ten years and aims to empower local youth through hard work and creativity in designing and building cars, the spirit of competition on race day and sportsmanship and comradery. The derby is the only Soap Box Derby race in Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Double trouble

A mother moose feeds her two calves Saturday, May 20, 2017 on a trail off of Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska. With calving season well… Continue reading

Elijah Newbern, left, Ellimarie Bravo-Moe and Shelby Noel sing “I Have Been Blessed” at their graduation ceremony on Friday, May 19, 2017 at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai, Alaska. Newbern and Bravo-Moe are graduates of the Wings Christian Academy. Noel is a home school graduate. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Wings Christian Academy graduates 3 students

Each of the three graduates at Wings Christian Academy’s graduation and awards program spoke to three points as they celebrated the end of their schooling… Continue reading

Elijah Newbern, left, Ellimarie Bravo-Moe and Shelby Noel sing “I Have Been Blessed” at their graduation ceremony on Friday, May 19, 2017 at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai, Alaska. Newbern and Bravo-Moe are graduates of the Wings Christian Academy. Noel is a home school graduate. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
This map shows the newly formed Eastern Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area, which authorizes the Kenai Peninsula Borough to provide emergency services along the Sterling and Seward Highways, where thousands of drivers pass through largely empty land on their way to the peninsula every day. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Assembly forms eastern peninsula highway service area

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has taken the first step toward providing a safety net of emergency services for scarcely-population potions of the eastern peninsula… Continue reading

This map shows the newly formed Eastern Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area, which authorizes the Kenai Peninsula Borough to provide emergency services along the Sterling and Seward Highways, where thousands of drivers pass through largely empty land on their way to the peninsula every day. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Spring in the valley In this May 13 photo, the snowy Chugach Mountains stand over Vagt Lake near Moose Pass. Though ice is still breaking up on the high alpine lakes, the lower lakes in the valleys on the eastern Kenai Peninsula are ice-free, if cold. Vagt Lake, about a mile and a half down a trail that begins just off the Seward Highway near Moose Pass, is stocked with rainbow trout every year by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Coho salmon and Arctic grayling may also be available in the lake, according to Fish and Game. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Spring in the valley

By ELIZABETH EARL Peninsula Clarion… Continue reading

Spring in the valley In this May 13 photo, the snowy Chugach Mountains stand over Vagt Lake near Moose Pass. Though ice is still breaking up on the high alpine lakes, the lower lakes in the valleys on the eastern Kenai Peninsula are ice-free, if cold. Vagt Lake, about a mile and a half down a trail that begins just off the Seward Highway near Moose Pass, is stocked with rainbow trout every year by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Coho salmon and Arctic grayling may also be available in the lake, according to Fish and Game. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough wrestles with school funding, taxes

The Kenai Peninsula Borough is facing the same budget conundrum as the state, just on a smaller scale: residents want to maintain services but raising… Continue reading

From right, Alaska Department of Fish and Game geneticist Sam Rabung, Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack and Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Acting Director Matt Weideke listen to concerns from Homer and Tutka Bay residents about a permit that would authorize Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association to move its net pens in Tutka Bay from the lagoon to the head of the bay at a meeting at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center on May 15 in Homer. (Photo/Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Park users, commercial fishermen clash over Tutka Bay net pens

HOMER — The debate over whether a Cook Inlet hatchery operator can move some net pens out into a Homer-area bay is tangled up with… Continue reading

From right, Alaska Department of Fish and Game geneticist Sam Rabung, Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack and Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Acting Director Matt Weideke listen to concerns from Homer and Tutka Bay residents about a permit that would authorize Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association to move its net pens in Tutka Bay from the lagoon to the head of the bay at a meeting at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center on May 15 in Homer. (Photo/Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A bufflehead duck flies between three drift boats of birders on Thursday, May 14, 2015 as the group tours the Kenai River during a long weekend of Kenai Birding Festival activities. (Clarion File Photo)

Birding festival takes flight May 18

Grab your binoculars, the annual Kenai Peninsula Birding Festival starts Thursday, May 18 and runs through Sunday, May 21 with different birding hot spots and… Continue reading

A bufflehead duck flies between three drift boats of birders on Thursday, May 14, 2015 as the group tours the Kenai River during a long weekend of Kenai Birding Festival activities. (Clarion File Photo)

Senate kills income tax

The Alaska Senate on Friday voted 15-4 to kill an income tax proposed by the House, all but ensuring the Alaska’s multibillion-dollar deficit will not… Continue reading

This graph, compiled by the Alaska Senate Majority, shows the state government’s spending by agency for fiscal year 2017. (Courtesy the Alaska Senate Majority) This graph, compiled by the Alaska Senate Majority, shows the state government’s spending by agency for fiscal year 2017. (Courtesy the Alaska Senate Majority)

How big can the Alaska health care bubble grow?

Alaska faces a paradox with its health care industry. In an economy sliding downhill, health care is the only sector still growing. With many jobs… Continue reading

This graph, compiled by the Alaska Senate Majority, shows the state government’s spending by agency for fiscal year 2017. (Courtesy the Alaska Senate Majority) This graph, compiled by the Alaska Senate Majority, shows the state government’s spending by agency for fiscal year 2017. (Courtesy the Alaska Senate Majority)
Nesting season on the Kenai A trumpeter swan sunbathes on an unnamed lake near Skilak Lake on Thursday on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Trumpeter swans, which mate for life, typically nest in marshes next to small lakes as early in the spring as thaw allows, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. They need between 140 and 54 ice-free days to complete a breeding cycle. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has a growing population of swans, with about 50 nesting pairs. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Nesting season

A trumpeter swan sunbathes on an unnamed lake near Skilak Lake on Thursday on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Trumpeter swans, which mate for life,… Continue reading

Nesting season on the Kenai A trumpeter swan sunbathes on an unnamed lake near Skilak Lake on Thursday on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Trumpeter swans, which mate for life, typically nest in marshes next to small lakes as early in the spring as thaw allows, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. They need between 140 and 54 ice-free days to complete a breeding cycle. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has a growing population of swans, with about 50 nesting pairs. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon makes its flight into the back of a truck on a set gillnet site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

While other species increase, salmon, herring landing values drop

The total value of commercial fisheries landings in Alaska didn’t change much between 2014 and 2015, but by species, salmon have been the millstone around… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon makes its flight into the back of a truck on a set gillnet site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)