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In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

Voting bill collapses, Democrats unable to change filibuster

The outcome was a stinging defeat for President Joe Biden and his party

In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)
The Homer Electric Association office is photographed in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

HEA accepting nominations for board of directors

The HEA board of directors election is from April 4 through May 3.

The Homer Electric Association office is photographed in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this month a $500,000 grant to regional development corporation Southeast Conference to help design a processing facility on Prince of Wales Island to aid the mariculture industry there. The planned facility will help small mariculture farms, like this oyster farm north of Juneau seen in a February 2019 file photo, to process and ship their products. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)

USDA grants $500,000 for mariculture facility on Prince of Wales

Facility meant to aid small growers, boost mariculture industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this month a $500,000 grant to regional development corporation Southeast Conference to help design a processing facility on Prince of Wales Island to aid the mariculture industry there. The planned facility will help small mariculture farms, like this oyster farm north of Juneau seen in a February 2019 file photo, to process and ship their products. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

New COVID cases skyrocket; total deaths top 1,000 statewide

The average number of statewide daily cases over the past week was 2,099.7 per 100,000 people

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion Buildings are perched above eroding bluffs on North Kenai Beach on Wednesday. The City of Kenai is receiving federal funds to address coastal erosion along sections of the bluff through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

‘A long time coming’

Infrastructure act provides millions for Kenai bluff stabilization

Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion Buildings are perched above eroding bluffs on North Kenai Beach on Wednesday. The City of Kenai is receiving federal funds to address coastal erosion along sections of the bluff through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
FILE - Former Alaska lawmaker Jason Grenn holds an Alaska Division of Elections brochure explaining ranked choice voting at his office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld as valid a voter-approved election system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked choice voting in general elections. A brief order released Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, affirmed a lower court ruling from last year. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Alaska high court upholds ranked choice voting system

The voter-approved election system would end party primaries in the state

FILE - Former Alaska lawmaker Jason Grenn holds an Alaska Division of Elections brochure explaining ranked choice voting at his office in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld as valid a voter-approved election system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked choice voting in general elections. A brief order released Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, affirmed a lower court ruling from last year. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
A map shows the location of a safety corridor project along the Sterling Highway between Sterling and Soldotna. (Photo courtesy of DOT&PF)

Sterling highway project to have limited environmental impact, assessment finds

The stretch highway to be improved reaches from Fred Meyer in Soldotna to the bridge over Moose River in Sterling

A map shows the location of a safety corridor project along the Sterling Highway between Sterling and Soldotna. (Photo courtesy of DOT&PF)
Donated blood is prepared for storage and eventual transport at the Blood Bank of Alaska’s Juneau location. There is a statewide shortage of donated blood. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

‘National blood crisis’ presents challenges in Alaska

Donation centers contend with COVID, weather and other disruptions as they work to stock hospitals.

  • Jan 18, 2022
  • By Keenan Miller For the Juneau Empire
  • State News
Donated blood is prepared for storage and eventual transport at the Blood Bank of Alaska’s Juneau location. There is a statewide shortage of donated blood. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters alongside, from left, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., during a press conference regarding the Democratic party’s shift to focus on voting rights at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Big voting bill faces defeat as 2 Dems won’t stop filibuster

This is the fifth time the Senate will try to pass voting legislation this Congress

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters alongside, from left, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., during a press conference regarding the Democratic party’s shift to focus on voting rights at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)
Members of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce listen to a briefing by Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan during a joint luncheon at the Soldotna Sports Complex on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Sullivan reports in from D.C.

The senator touched on infrastructure, voting rights, defense spending and the pandemic

Members of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce listen to a briefing by Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan during a joint luncheon at the Soldotna Sports Complex on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska State Capitol building seen on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022 in Juneau, Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

State lawmakers face proposed salary hike, allowance limits

A commission voted 3-1 to raise the base salary from $50,400 a year to $64,000

The Alaska State Capitol building seen on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022 in Juneau, Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, gave a stern warning about decorum to members of the Alaska House of Representatives on the first day of the legislative session on Tuesday, Jan 18, 2022. Last year the Legislature was so divided it took a full regular session and four special sessions before work was completed.

1st day of session brings familiar tensions to Legislature

The session opened with calls for bipartisanship, but tensions were evident

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, gave a stern warning about decorum to members of the Alaska House of Representatives on the first day of the legislative session on Tuesday, Jan 18, 2022. Last year the Legislature was so divided it took a full regular session and four special sessions before work was completed.
Karl Danielson, a 2018 graduate of Kenai Central, races to victory in the Under-18 and over men's 10-kilometer interval start classic at Besh Cup 4 on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. The Besh Cup races are mostly used to select skiers for Junior Nationals, but also give younger and older skiers a chance for top-notch racing. It took over 50 volunteers to put together the two days of races, which had over 200 skiers each day.

Kenai grad Danielson sweeps Besh Cup weekend at Tsalteshi

Tsalteshi Trails hosted the Besh Cup on Saturday and Sunday.

Karl Danielson, a 2018 graduate of Kenai Central, races to victory in the Under-18 and over men's 10-kilometer interval start classic at Besh Cup 4 on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. The Besh Cup races are mostly used to select skiers for Junior Nationals, but also give younger and older skiers a chance for top-notch racing. It took over 50 volunteers to put together the two days of races, which had over 200 skiers each day.
Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries

Statewide shellfish meeting rescheduled

This comes after the board bumped back its Southeast and Yakutat shellfish meeting

Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries
A State of Alaska epidemiology bulletin can be found at https://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/pages/default.aspx.

State updates STI protocol after reported drop

The state has been experiencing an outbreak since 2017

A State of Alaska epidemiology bulletin can be found at https://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/pages/default.aspx.
The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Police identify remains found in burned car

Kenai Police and Fire departments responded to a car fire at Beaver Creek in Kenai on Jan. 7

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy addresses members of the press on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)

Dunleavy talks upcoming session, lambasts media

In a press conference Monday, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy discussed his goals for the upcoming legislative session and took aim at what he claimed was… Continue reading

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy addresses members of the press on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Chair of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Board of Trustees Craig Richards answers questions from the members of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee on Monday. The committee called Richards and other members of the board to answer questions about the December firing of former APFC CEO Angela Rodell, who has claimed her termination was politically motivated.

Permanent Fund Corp. board members defend CEO firing

A tense start to session.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Chair of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Board of Trustees Craig Richards answers questions from the members of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee on Monday. The committee called Richards and other members of the board to answer questions about the December firing of former APFC CEO Angela Rodell, who has claimed her termination was politically motivated.
Terri Carter’s class celebrates the National Blue Ribbon award after their assembly at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Friday, Jan 14, 2022. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

A ‘pathway to a brighter and fulfilling future’

Soldotna Montessori Charter School celebrates national achievement

Terri Carter’s class celebrates the National Blue Ribbon award after their assembly at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Friday, Jan 14, 2022. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Courtesy photo / Juneau Raptor Center This golden eagle was rescued by the Juneau Raptor Center over the summer after being found weak and thin.

Rescue center, birdwatchers look back on 2021

Juneau Christmas bird count was way down this year.

Courtesy photo / Juneau Raptor Center This golden eagle was rescued by the Juneau Raptor Center over the summer after being found weak and thin.