Ben Boettger

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HEA shoots for 2018 solar project completion

Homer Electric Association is hoping to have its small-scale solar project online by the end of the 2018 construction season, said HEA Director of Power,… Continue reading

A lynx looks out of the mural that artist Suzie Shrivener finished painting on Saturday over a store-front window at the Peninsula Center Mall, photographed on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Shrivener, who began painting about two years ago after an injury, did the latex paint and airbrushed mural — her first — after setting up a display of her work in the mall’s nearby showcase. She offered the mural to the mall for free to get experience in window painting. “Painting’s relatively new to me, so to work on something that big, I didn’t know how it would turn out,” Shrivener said. “I didn’t know what would happen, but I thought it was a good opportunity.” (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Mural finished at Peninsula Center Mall

This Tuesday photograph shows the mural that artist Suzie Shrivener finished painting Saturday over a store-front window at the Peninsula Center Mall in Soldotna. Shrivener,… Continue reading

A lynx looks out of the mural that artist Suzie Shrivener finished painting on Saturday over a store-front window at the Peninsula Center Mall, photographed on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Shrivener, who began painting about two years ago after an injury, did the latex paint and airbrushed mural — her first — after setting up a display of her work in the mall’s nearby showcase. She offered the mural to the mall for free to get experience in window painting. “Painting’s relatively new to me, so to work on something that big, I didn’t know how it would turn out,” Shrivener said. “I didn’t know what would happen, but I thought it was a good opportunity.” (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Bankruptcy court strikes down $6 million oil and gas bond

A dispute over the cost of cleaning up unused Cook Inlet hydrocarbon wells was settled by a bankruptcy court, which ordered state regulators to reconsider… Continue reading

Aircraft diverted by fog from flights to Anchorage or Kodiak — including a trio of Ravn Alaska DeHaviland Dash Eights, two of which are pictured here — sit in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport terminal on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Fog throughout the Cook Inlet region has been hampering flight schedules all week — on Monday and Tuesday it grounded planes at the Kenai airport; shifting northward later in the week, it has prevented landings in Anchorage. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Fog brings traffic through Kenai airport

Fog rolling up and down the Cook Inlet region has been keeping flights on the ground this week, both at the Kenai Municipal Airport and… Continue reading

Aircraft diverted by fog from flights to Anchorage or Kodiak — including a trio of Ravn Alaska DeHaviland Dash Eights, two of which are pictured here — sit in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport terminal on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Fog throughout the Cook Inlet region has been hampering flight schedules all week — on Monday and Tuesday it grounded planes at the Kenai airport; shifting northward later in the week, it has prevented landings in Anchorage. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to record work sessions

Kenai’s city government will now make audio and video recordings not only of official council meetings, but also the less-formal discussions called work sessions. The… Continue reading

Comment period nearing end for first Hilcorp North Slope development

Hilcorp project manager Mike Dunn solicited support for his company’s Liberty project — which would drill wells from an 9.3-acre artificial gravel island six miles… Continue reading

Alaska sees decline in military draft registration

All men ages 18 to 25 are required to register for a possible military draft lottery, but according to a press release from the Selective… Continue reading

Homer Electric Association General Manager Brad Janorschke gives an update on the utility cooperative’s renewable energy projects on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

HEA considers diversifying electricity

Most electricity used on the Kenai Peninsula has one source. Gas turbines, burning natural gas produced from Cook Inlet, make about 90 percent of the… Continue reading

Homer Electric Association General Manager Brad Janorschke gives an update on the utility cooperative’s renewable energy projects on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenaitze Tribal Council Vice-Chairperson Bernadine Atchison and Gov. Bill Walker, fourth from left, sign the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact during a ceremony Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Davidson and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott celebrate the moment. The government-to-government agreement will make it possible for participating tribes and tribal organizations to provide child welfare services that would otherwise be provided by the Alaska Office of Children&

Kenaitze to take services for Native children from state

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe signed a government-to-government agreement to take over child welfare activities from the state on Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives… Continue reading

Kenaitze Tribal Council Vice-Chairperson Bernadine Atchison and Gov. Bill Walker, fourth from left, sign the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact during a ceremony Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Davidson and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott celebrate the moment. The government-to-government agreement will make it possible for participating tribes and tribal organizations to provide child welfare services that would otherwise be provided by the Alaska Office of Children&
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Local Bahá’í to celebrate bicentenary of founder’s birth

Local members of the Bahá’í religion will gather Saturday at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the… Continue reading

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Solar passes wind in HEA home renewable electricity

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the Regulatory Commission of Alaska's limits on net metered generation.  Though the Kenai Peninsula’s wind feels… Continue reading

Llamas graze in the pasture of Diamond M Ranch Resort on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 near Kenai, Alaska. Three calves were born this summer to the herd that Diamond M owners Ronna and Blair Martin have kept since the 1990s. Though members of the Martin family have made yarn and felt hats from llama wool, taken them as pack animals on camping trips, and occassionally harvested one for meat, the llamas are mostly “exotic lawn ornaments,” Ronna Martin said.

Llama mamas

By Ben Boettger Peninsula Clarion… Continue reading

Llamas graze in the pasture of Diamond M Ranch Resort on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 near Kenai, Alaska. Three calves were born this summer to the herd that Diamond M owners Ronna and Blair Martin have kept since the 1990s. Though members of the Martin family have made yarn and felt hats from llama wool, taken them as pack animals on camping trips, and occassionally harvested one for meat, the llamas are mostly “exotic lawn ornaments,” Ronna Martin said.
The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is planning to widen the launch ramp at the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch, seen here on Monday Oct. 16, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Work at the site — which also includes dredging the area around the ramp and adding a floating dock and barriers to protect the surrounding wetland — will take place during the winter and next spring. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

State to renovate Eagle Rock boat launch

By next July the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch on the Kenai Spur Highway will have a wider ramp with dredged launch space, a floating… Continue reading

The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is planning to widen the launch ramp at the state-owned Eagle Rock boat launch, seen here on Monday Oct. 16, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Work at the site — which also includes dredging the area around the ramp and adding a floating dock and barriers to protect the surrounding wetland — will take place during the winter and next spring. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski incorporation effort pauses for thought

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct inaccuracies about effects on the Kenai Peninsula Borough's tax base if Nikiski incorporated with the proposed… Continue reading

Kenai Potters Guild member Judy Brandt loads a gas-fired kiln with cups and bowls made by Guild members on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017 at the group’s studio in Kenai. The Potters guild is preparing for a busy winter with weekly classes, a “Clay on Display” art show presently sitting in the Kenai Fine Art Center gallery, and a new kind of kiln which they’ll be experimenting with this weekend. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Loading the kiln

Kenai Potters Guild member Judy Brandt loads a gas-fired kiln with cups and bowls made by Guild members on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017 at the… Continue reading

Kenai Potters Guild member Judy Brandt loads a gas-fired kiln with cups and bowls made by Guild members on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017 at the group’s studio in Kenai. The Potters guild is preparing for a busy winter with weekly classes, a “Clay on Display” art show presently sitting in the Kenai Fine Art Center gallery, and a new kind of kiln which they’ll be experimenting with this weekend. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Student nurse Jana Cooper gives a flu shot through the window of a truck during Central Peninsula Hospital’s annual free drive-through flu vaccine clinic on Wednesday in Soldotna. Normally held in the Central Peninsula Hospital parking lot, this year’s event was down the street at Soldotna’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, due to paving work in the hospital lot. In past years, student nurses have given over 400 shots at the clinic, and this year’s turnout seemed similarly large. Before the event began at 3 p.m, cars were lined up down the block as far as Rockwell Lane. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Vaccination drive-thru

Student nurse Jana Cooper gives a flu shot through the window of a truck during Central Peninsula Hospital’s annual free drive-through flu vaccine clinic on… Continue reading

Student nurse Jana Cooper gives a flu shot through the window of a truck during Central Peninsula Hospital’s annual free drive-through flu vaccine clinic on Wednesday in Soldotna. Normally held in the Central Peninsula Hospital parking lot, this year’s event was down the street at Soldotna’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, due to paving work in the hospital lot. In past years, student nurses have given over 400 shots at the clinic, and this year’s turnout seemed similarly large. Before the event began at 3 p.m, cars were lined up down the block as far as Rockwell Lane. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

BlueCrest to drill at least one well in 2018

Oil producer BlueCrest Alaska Operating intends to drill at least one new well in 2018 from its onshore pad between Anchor Point and Ninilchik, according… Continue reading

BlueCrest answers questions on oil fracking

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the height of BlueCrest's drill rig. The rig's platform is 30 feet tall; the derrick mounted on… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Stranded beluga calf recovering in Seward

A male beluga calf, estimated between two and four weeks old, became the first member of Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga population under human care after… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Visiting author looks at Alaska-Russian relations

Central Kenai Peninsula residents may not be able to see Russia from their homes, but on Thursday they’ll have a chance to see and hear… Continue reading