Ashlyn O'Hara

Tyson Cox, left, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Tyson Cox, left, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Former Alaska Governor and current Congressional hopeful Sarah Palin speaks with attendees at a meet and greet event outside of Ginger’s Restaurant on Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

AP: Palin, Begich and Gross to head to special election

The candidate order has not changed since Saturday, though Palin’s share of votes dropped slightly

Former Alaska Governor and current Congressional hopeful Sarah Palin speaks with attendees at a meet and greet event outside of Ginger’s Restaurant on Saturday, May 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna revisits field house project

City council members and administrators convened last week to talk about the project

A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A roll of “I voted” stickers await voters on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Juneau. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

Hundreds of peninsula special primary ballots rejected

The peninsula’s roughly 2% rejection rate is on par with other regions in the state

A roll of “I voted” stickers await voters on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Juneau. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
The Kasilof River can be seen in June 2019. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Sport Fish announced on Monday a new wave of fisheries closures affecting fisheries in Ninilchik, Kasilof and Cook Inlet beginning this week. (Clarion file)

New wave of peninsula fisheries closures announced

Division of Sport Fish said that king salmon runs are not showing signs of improvement

The Kasilof River can be seen in June 2019. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Sport Fish announced on Monday a new wave of fisheries closures affecting fisheries in Ninilchik, Kasilof and Cook Inlet beginning this week. (Clarion file)
Former Alaska Gov. and current congressional hopeful Sarah Palin speaks with attendees at a meet and greet event outside of Ginger’s Restaurant on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

2022 Special Primary Election live updates: Palin takes early lead

As of 10 p.m., Sarah Palin, Nick Begich, Al Gross and Mary Peltola were in the top 4

Former Alaska Gov. and current congressional hopeful Sarah Palin speaks with attendees at a meet and greet event outside of Ginger’s Restaurant on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Fay Herold of Seward holds a sign during a demonstration opposing gun violence on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The local protest was part of a nationwide call to action issued by the nonprofit organization March for Our Lives, which was formed after a 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and aims to end gun violence. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Protesters call for ‘common-sense’ gun reform

The protest was one of many that took place in communities throughout the United States as part of a second March for Our Lives event

Fay Herold of Seward holds a sign during a demonstration opposing gun violence on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The local protest was part of a nationwide call to action issued by the nonprofit organization March for Our Lives, which was formed after a 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and aims to end gun violence. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)

Fishing report: King salmon fishing closed on Kenai amid poor run

June 8 fishing report outlined opportunities for anglers in the north Kenai area

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Larry Zarella, left, and Danielle Aslanian of Denali Cooks performs at the 2022 Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

River Fest returns

The festival, which runs through Sunday, features live music, food booths, a wine and beer garden, a “Kids Zone” and the “Run for the River” race event

Larry Zarella, left, and Danielle Aslanian of Denali Cooks performs at the 2022 Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign describing bluff erosion is seen on Kenai North Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai, borough look to extract rock for bluff stabilization

In moving hard rock out of Seldovia, the borough could kill a few birds with one stone

A sign describing bluff erosion is seen on Kenai North Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska, on May 7, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Storm knocks out power for 10,000 HEA customers

The outage was caused by a possible lightning strike

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska, on May 7, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
A spruce bark beetle rests on the photographer’s thumb on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Cantwell, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Division of Forestry: Spruce bark beetles are on the move in Southcentral

People are urged not to harvest live spruce or create fresh spruce slash

A spruce bark beetle rests on the photographer’s thumb on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Cantwell, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Traffic is backed up on the Sterling Highway following a vehicle collision on Thursday, June 9, 2022, near Cooper Landng, Alaska. (Photo by Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Vehicle collision shuts down Sterling Highway for hours Thursday

The collision occured near the Russian River Ferry landing

Traffic is backed up on the Sterling Highway following a vehicle collision on Thursday, June 9, 2022, near Cooper Landng, Alaska. (Photo by Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Landslide debris surrounds part of Lowell Point Road on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Seward, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Work on Lowell Point landslide to end Friday

The announcement comes more than a month after a slide wiped out Lowell Point Road

Landslide debris surrounds part of Lowell Point Road on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Seward, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, is seen here in this June 16, 2021, file photo. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, is seen here in this June 16, 2021, file photo. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Signs are placed on Lowell Point Road ahead of the road opening in Seward, Alaska, May 27, 2022, following the May 7 Bear Mountain landslide. (Photo and caption courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Lowell Point Road reopens after landslide

Locals have relied on water taxi service since the May 7 slide

Signs are placed on Lowell Point Road ahead of the road opening in Seward, Alaska, May 27, 2022, following the May 7 Bear Mountain landslide. (Photo and caption courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Demonstrators rally in support of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District teachers and staff outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Overworked and underpaid’

Rally calls for support for KPBSD staff, teachers

Demonstrators rally in support of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District teachers and staff outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A spruce bark beetle is seen on the underside of a piece of bark taken from logs stacked near Central Peninsula Landfill on Thursday, July 1, 2021, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Emergency harvest of beetle-killed spruce trees approved

The move comes amid an infestation that has spread across Southcentral Alaska

A spruce bark beetle is seen on the underside of a piece of bark taken from logs stacked near Central Peninsula Landfill on Thursday, July 1, 2021, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Wood is piled near the entrance to Centennial Park on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The campground was closed for most of May while the city worked with contractors to remove trees infested with spruce bark beetles from the property. Southcentral Alaska’s current spruce beetle outbreak has already affected 1.6 million acres of land, including 21,000 acres managed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna beetle-kill efforts boosted by $150K grant

The city has focused recent mitigation efforts on city campgrounds

Wood is piled near the entrance to Centennial Park on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The campground was closed for most of May while the city worked with contractors to remove trees infested with spruce bark beetles from the property. Southcentral Alaska’s current spruce beetle outbreak has already affected 1.6 million acres of land, including 21,000 acres managed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, stands in the Peninsula Clarion offices on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche will not seek reelection

His announcement comes a week after the end of the 32nd Alaska Legislature

Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, stands in the Peninsula Clarion offices on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)