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RN Rachel Verba (right) administers a dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Chris Michelson on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Bruce Richards/CPH)

Several hundred vaccination slots still open

Appointments are available at multiple central peninsula clinics.

RN Rachel Verba (right) administers a dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Chris Michelson on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Bruce Richards/CPH)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

DHSS: 210 new cases

Affected peninsula communities include Kenai with three cases and Soldotna with one case.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Ninilchik is seen in November of 2020. (File)

Ninilchik clinic offers innovative addiction treatment

As part of its MAT program, the clinic offers monthly injections of buprenorphine to people struggling with addiction.

Ninilchik is seen in November of 2020. (File)

More large vaccine clinics planned for the central peninsula

As of Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., there were multiple large-scale vaccine clinics planned on the central peninsula.

Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer) in the Alaska Capitol on Feb. 11, 2021 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)

Public pushback puts pause on DMV proposal

Lawmakers shutter plan to close six rural DMVs

Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer) in the Alaska Capitol on Feb. 11, 2021 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)
Sens. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, left and Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, questioned acting Attorney General Treg Taylor about the administration’s approach to legal matters at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 23, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Sens. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, left and Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, questioned acting Attorney General Treg Taylor about the administration’s approach to legal matters at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 23, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Jesse Bjorkman speaks at a borough work session on Tuesday, March 2 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

KPBSD to save teaching positions with federal funds

Through the federal CARES Act, the district received about $2.3 million in original ESSER funds.

Jesse Bjorkman speaks at a borough work session on Tuesday, March 2 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Eric Pederson, principal of Paul Banks Elementary School, stands with his family outside the school in this undated photo in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Eric Pederson)
Eric Pederson, principal of Paul Banks Elementary School, stands with his family outside the school in this undated photo in Homer, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Eric Pederson)
A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

1 in 5 eligible borough residents fully vaccinated

More than half of peninsula seniors are fully vaccinated.

A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
James Baisden (left), Charlie Pierce (middle) and Jesse Bjorkman (right) attend a joint work session with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Baisden to retire, step down as chief of staff

Baisden has served as borough Mayor Charlie Pierce’s chief of staff since 2018.

James Baisden (left), Charlie Pierce (middle) and Jesse Bjorkman (right) attend a joint work session with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion
Todd Duwe hands a food box to Brad Nyquist as Mark Larson looks on Dec. 22, 2020, at Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna. The church volunteers were distributing food from the United States’ Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program, delivered by the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. The food bank saw a surge in demand last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Looming benefit loss causes food security concerns

Two bills are being considered to keep increased food stamp benefits.

Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion
Todd Duwe hands a food box to Brad Nyquist as Mark Larson looks on Dec. 22, 2020, at Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna. The church volunteers were distributing food from the United States’ Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program, delivered by the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. The food bank saw a surge in demand last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Seward advances with new city manager candidate

The council voiced their unanimous support for Janette Bower on Monday

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)

White House drops Interior nominee after Murkowski objects

Biden is expected to name Tommy Beaudreau, another former Obama-era Interior official, to be deputy secretary.

  • Mar 23, 2021
  • By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

DHSS: 178 new COVID-19 cases

The state also reported 11 new hospitalizations and two new deaths among Alaska residents.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

1 in 4 eligible Alaskans are fully vaccinated

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, just over one in five residents over the age of 16 — 21.2% — are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and… Continue reading

A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
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First, dial 9-0-7

Alaskans will need to start dialing 907 when placing local phone calls

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Volunteers with the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network perform a necropsy on a beached humpback whale on Kuzof Island on Thursday, March 18, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network)

Beached humpback provides rare opportunity for scientists

Volunteers led by UAS researchers dissect whale near Sitka.

Volunteers with the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network perform a necropsy on a beached humpback whale on Kuzof Island on Thursday, March 18, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network)
In this June 9, 2016, file photo shows then-Alaska Marijuana Control Board member Brandon Emmett at the board’s meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Regulators amid much fanfare in early 2020 approved the first cannabis lounges in Alaska. It was a milestone for the state’s legal marijuana industry. Then the pandemic hit. An owner of one of the shops hopes to open later this year. An owner of the other said his shop opened briefly last fall before having to hit pause amid a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state. Emmett, a former member of the Marijuana Control Board who strongly advocated for rules to allow onsite use, said he thinks the number of cannabis lounges or cafes in the state will be limited “for at least a couple years.” (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Pandemic puts pause on on-site use for pot shops

Records show a small number of other shop owners have filed paperwork signaling plans to seek approval for consumption hangouts.

  • Mar 22, 2021
  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • Coronavirus
In this June 9, 2016, file photo shows then-Alaska Marijuana Control Board member Brandon Emmett at the board’s meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Regulators amid much fanfare in early 2020 approved the first cannabis lounges in Alaska. It was a milestone for the state’s legal marijuana industry. Then the pandemic hit. An owner of one of the shops hopes to open later this year. An owner of the other said his shop opened briefly last fall before having to hit pause amid a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state. Emmett, a former member of the Marijuana Control Board who strongly advocated for rules to allow onsite use, said he thinks the number of cannabis lounges or cafes in the state will be limited “for at least a couple years.” (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Kaitlin Vadla, Kenai regional director of Cook Inletkeeper, facilitates the final community Drawdown: Climate Series event, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

DIY save the planet: Cook Inletkeeper unveils ‘Climate ActionKit’

The kit is an all-in-one guide to saving the planet through community action

Kaitlin Vadla, Kenai regional director of Cook Inletkeeper, facilitates the final community Drawdown: Climate Series event, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

DHSS: 52 new cases

The borough is considered to be at intermediate risk level.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)