Ashlyn O'Hara

American Legion Post 20 Cmdr. Ron Homan, center, is joined onstage by Past Cmdr. Dave Segura and Chaplain Mike Meredith while speaking during a Veterans Day celebration at the American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai OKs discount for veterans buying city land

Eligible veterans include those who are at least 18 years old and have lived in Alaska for at least one year immediately prior to the sale

American Legion Post 20 Cmdr. Ron Homan, center, is joined onstage by Past Cmdr. Dave Segura and Chaplain Mike Meredith while speaking during a Veterans Day celebration at the American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign directs voters on March 5, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Local field for 2024 state elections takes shape

Kenai Peninsula voters next November will cast ballots in one Alaska State Senate race and in four Alaska House of Representative races

A sign directs voters on March 5, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Wife of arrested Soldotna police officer pleads not guilty to theft, witness interference

Samantha Bower, 45, of Soldotna, was indicted by a Kenai grand jury last month

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Amanda Adams leads a session during an in-service at Skyview Middle School on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board briefed on role of AI in education

While there may be consequences to further incorporating AI use in schools, there may also be consequences for not doing so

Amanda Adams leads a session during an in-service at Skyview Middle School on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Signs direct visitors at the City of Seward’s city hall annex on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021 in Seward, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Seward council considers electricity rate hike

A resolution considered at Monday’s council meeting would increase rates by $0.06 per kWh for all customers

Signs direct visitors at the City of Seward’s city hall annex on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021 in Seward, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The borough’s welcome sign greets drivers as they enter the Kenai Peninsula on Milepost 75 of the Seward Highway, on Sunday, May 5, 2019, near Turnagain Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough to include cities in tourism promotion materials

Borough code doesn’t allow the borough to promote city-specific tourism without entering into a partnership with that city

The borough’s welcome sign greets drivers as they enter the Kenai Peninsula on Milepost 75 of the Seward Highway, on Sunday, May 5, 2019, near Turnagain Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A firefighter from Cooper Landing Emergency Services refills a water tanker at the banks of the Kenai River in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Aug. 30, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
A firefighter from Cooper Landing Emergency Services refills a water tanker at the banks of the Kenai River in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Aug. 30, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information to school board members during the third installment of the district’s “Budget 101” information series on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Screenshot)

‘Budget 101’: School district savings accounts

The series aims to inform the general public about how the KPBSD budget process works

KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information to school board members during the third installment of the district’s “Budget 101” information series on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Image via Amazon.com

Off the Shelf: Alaska rom-com is a not-so-guilty pleasure

From the start, the story has the same allure of a Hallmark Christmas movie

Image via Amazon.com
A sign welcoming people to the City of Soldotna stands near the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Kenai River on May 1, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Proposed Soldotna bed tax gets 1st public hearing

The ordinance, brought forward by Soldotna Vice Mayor Lisa Parker, would apply to people making lodging reservations within the city

A sign welcoming people to the City of Soldotna stands near the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Kenai River on May 1, 2019, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Adam Bertoldo testifies in opposition to a resolution only permitting certain chaplains to deliver invocations before Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly OKs changes to borough invocation policy

The new policy says only chaplains may give assembly invocations

Adam Bertoldo testifies in opposition to a resolution only permitting certain chaplains to deliver invocations before Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Graphic via health.alaska.gov

School board briefed on e-cigarette use by SoHi assistant principal

Results from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that one in four students said they currently used an electronic vaping product

Graphic via health.alaska.gov
Illustration of GameTime’s “Inclusive Seesaw.” (Image via City of Kenai)

Kenai to purchase inclusive playground equipment

The city hopes to install the seesaw next summer

Illustration of GameTime’s “Inclusive Seesaw.” (Image via City of Kenai)
The Seldovia archway is one of the first landmarks visitors see when stepping off the boat. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Seldovia receives $2.3M to replace Jakolof Bay dock

The project is one of seven in Alaska funded through the department’s Port Infrastructure Development Program,

The Seldovia archway is one of the first landmarks visitors see when stepping off the boat. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
Hope School K-5 teacher Jeremy McKibben assists third grade students with reading skills part of CKLA’s “How Does Your Body Work?” unit on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

From Hope to Homer, KPBSD adjusts to Alaska Reads Act

Implementing the standards outlined by the legislation is not a one-size-fits-all approach

Hope School K-5 teacher Jeremy McKibben assists third grade students with reading skills part of CKLA’s “How Does Your Body Work?” unit on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
An arch marks the entrance to the Church of St. Nicholas on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
An arch marks the entrance to the Church of St. Nicholas on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Photo via Amazon.com

Off the Shelf: Majestic landscape marred by narrow perspective

John Muir’s classic “Travels in Alaska” juxtaposes beauty with a writer’s disconcerting bias

Photo via Amazon.com
Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council considers bed tax

The ordinance would impose a 4% lodging tax on all reservations made within the City of Soldotna

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle and Alaska Department of Revenue Deputy Commissioner Fadil Limani discuss Cook Inlet oil and gas shortages during a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy the Office of the Governor)

Dunleavy looks to lower Cook Inlet oil and gas royalties

The governor said he plans to introduce legislation lowering the rate

From left, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle and Alaska Department of Revenue Deputy Commissioner Fadil Limani discuss Cook Inlet oil and gas shortages during a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy the Office of the Governor)
Sockeye salmon are caught in a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly calls for economic disaster declaration for east side setnet fishery

The resolution is in response to this year’s unprecedented closure of the fishery by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Sockeye salmon are caught in a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)