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Trooper recruits hit the streets

Trooper recruits hit the streets

Three recruits will be in Soldotna for their field training.

Trooper recruits hit the streets
Erin Thompson / Peninsula Clarion file A rescued dog is pictured at the Kenai Animal Shelter on May 17, 2018.

Both Kenai and Soldotna approve shelter agreement

The city of Soldotna will pay $42,000 to Kenai for the care of 150 animals.

Erin Thompson / Peninsula Clarion file A rescued dog is pictured at the Kenai Animal Shelter on May 17, 2018.
State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, speaks in favor of lawmakers overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes Wednesday, Juneau. Nearly a third of lawmakers were absent from the session at the Capitol, opting to meet in Wasilla instead, leaving only 38 members meeting in Juneau. It would take 45 votes to override the vetoes. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire via AP)

Local lawmakers split on session location

Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month called a special session in Wasilla

State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, speaks in favor of lawmakers overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes Wednesday, Juneau. Nearly a third of lawmakers were absent from the session at the Capitol, opting to meet in Wasilla instead, leaving only 38 members meeting in Juneau. It would take 45 votes to override the vetoes. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire via AP)
Northwest 13 Incident Management Team A map of the Swan Lake Fire as of Wednesday.

Swan Lake Fire growth slowed by cooler weather, more humidity

The high pressure system that has caused hot and dry conditions is being pushed away by marine winds

Northwest 13 Incident Management Team A map of the Swan Lake Fire as of Wednesday.
Anchor Point responders douse vehicle fire

Anchor Point responders douse vehicle fire

Upon arrival crews put out the fully involved fire in the vehicle.

Anchor Point responders douse vehicle fire
Love, INC in Soldotna, Alaska provides homelessness prevention and housing services to people on the Kenai Peninsula.(Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Local agencies fighting homelessness fear immediate impact of budget cuts

Among Dunleavy’s 182 line-item vetoes to the budget is a cut to the Homelessness Assistance Program

Love, INC in Soldotna, Alaska provides homelessness prevention and housing services to people on the Kenai Peninsula.(Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Dipnet fishery has quiet open

Dipnet fishery has quiet open

Wednesday was windy and cloudy, and dipnetters jumped with every wave to avoid getting splashed.

Dipnet fishery has quiet open
Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, speaks against an override vote during a Joint Session of the Alaska Legislature to vote on an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes at the Capitol on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Legislators use ‘symbolic’ vote to deliver verbal smackdown to vetoes

The vote failed, but they said a lot.

Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, speaks against an override vote during a Joint Session of the Alaska Legislature to vote on an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes at the Capitol on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire House Finance Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, and Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, listen to testimony on Tuesday at the Capitol about how Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes will effect local communities around the state.

Even ‘right-leaning’ groups, bankers and builders are calling for an override

They had one message to the governor.

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire House Finance Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, and Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, listen to testimony on Tuesday at the Capitol about how Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes will effect local communities around the state.
Lawmakers meet in a gym at Wasilla Middle School, where a legislative session was held Monday, in Wasilla. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

With Legislature fractured, override vote uncertain

Dueling sessions.

Lawmakers meet in a gym at Wasilla Middle School, where a legislative session was held Monday, in Wasilla. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Photo by Michael Armstrong / Homer News Women draped in black sit down Tuesday at WKFL Park in Homer as part of a statewide art intervention to protest Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a $2.8 million state appropriation to the Alaska State Council on the Arts. They also supported a general override of Dunleavy’s vetoes that will affect funding for the University of Alaska, public radio and other programs.

Homer artists protest Dunleavy veto

About 10 people draped in black a sculpture by artist Sean Derry in front of the Kachemak Bay Campus

Photo by Michael Armstrong / Homer News Women draped in black sit down Tuesday at WKFL Park in Homer as part of a statewide art intervention to protest Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a $2.8 million state appropriation to the Alaska State Council on the Arts. They also supported a general override of Dunleavy’s vetoes that will affect funding for the University of Alaska, public radio and other programs.
Scoop the Oilers mascot helps the police direct traffic during the 2019 July 4th parade in Kenai. The city hit an all-time high of 89 degrees. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Fourth of July heat breaks records in Kenai

The previously recorded all-time high for Kenai was 87 degrees.

Scoop the Oilers mascot helps the police direct traffic during the 2019 July 4th parade in Kenai. The city hit an all-time high of 89 degrees. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Central Emergency Services respond to the scene of a drowning on the Moose River Monday evening in Sterling . (Photo courtesy Sonya Childs)

Woman drowns in Moose River Monday night

The woman was seen disappearing under the water near the Izaak Walton Campground in Sterling.

Central Emergency Services respond to the scene of a drowning on the Moose River Monday evening in Sterling . (Photo courtesy Sonya Childs)
Flying over western Alaska, home to numerous Yup’ik communities, April 15, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Budget cuts leave Village Public Safety Officer Program on shaky ground

On June 28, the same day U.S. Attorney General William Barr declared a law enforcement emergency in rural Alaska, and made more than $10 million… Continue reading

Flying over western Alaska, home to numerous Yup’ik communities, April 15, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Students, Claira and Aliya, put their robot to the test in one of the many challenges in the Lego robotics UAA College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academies, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Local students learn robotics with Legos

The camp offers a series of weeklong, hands-on instructional sessions for students.

Students, Claira and Aliya, put their robot to the test in one of the many challenges in the Lego robotics UAA College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academies, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula

Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula

After a brief period of slowed growth, the Swan Lake Fire flared up again on Monday — reaching 99,086 acres, according to an update from… Continue reading

Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula
A map shows the extent of the Swan Lake Fire as of Monday, July 8, 2019, which has grown to 96,889 acres on the Kenai Peninsula. (Courtesy Northwest Incident Management Team)

Swan Lake Fire expansion slows over weekend

The fire is 96,889 acres and moving into higher elevations.

A map shows the extent of the Swan Lake Fire as of Monday, July 8, 2019, which has grown to 96,889 acres on the Kenai Peninsula. (Courtesy Northwest Incident Management Team)
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Ron Lumba, of the Alaska State Capitol’s maintenance staff, adds the Majority Leader plate to the front of the office of Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.

Special session starts with a manic Monday

All roads — and planes — may lead to Wednesday.

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Ron Lumba, of the Alaska State Capitol’s maintenance staff, adds the Majority Leader plate to the front of the office of Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Hundreds attend a rally in front of the Capitol calling for an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.

“Override! Override! Override!’ Hundreds turn out in Juneau to protest Dunleavy’s vetoes

The response was overwhelming.

  • Jul 8, 2019
  • By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
  • State News
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Hundreds attend a rally in front of the Capitol calling for an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.
A Pacific sleeper shark is being held at the Alaska SeaLife Center while a research team studies the bottom-dwelling fish, in Seward , Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska)

Alaska SeaLife Center brings in Pacific sleeper shark for studying

The shark is a close relative of the Greenland shark, which can live hundreds of years.

A Pacific sleeper shark is being held at the Alaska SeaLife Center while a research team studies the bottom-dwelling fish, in Seward , Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska)