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Me working in the Alaska House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

Out of the Office: Juneau

It was kind of happenstance that I spent the last month living and working in Juneau. I’d heard of the Alaska Center for Excellence in… Continue reading

Me working in the Alaska House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: No Alaska governor has ever so boldly held schools and students as political hostages

‘Star Trek’ reference looks past real argument for school funding

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Promotional photo courtesy Sony Pictures Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Celeste O’Connor appear in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”

On the Screen: New ‘Ghostbusters’ struggles to balance original ideas and nostalgia

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” picks up right where “Afterlife” left off, and it also succumbs to a lot of the same problems

Promotional photo courtesy Sony Pictures Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Celeste O’Connor appear in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
Terri Zopf-Schoessler and Donna Shirnberg rehearse “The Odd Couple: The Female Version” at the Kenai Performers’ Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Iconic, classic comedy’

Kenai Performers debuts “The Odd Couple: The Female Version”

Terri Zopf-Schoessler and Donna Shirnberg rehearse “The Odd Couple: The Female Version” at the Kenai Performers’ Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Eggplants, garlic, lemon juice and tahini make up this recipe for baba ghanouj. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

When making a good example is hard to swallow

Preparing baba ghanouj despite a dislike of eggplant

Eggplants, garlic, lemon juice and tahini make up this recipe for baba ghanouj. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Photo provided by Sara Hondel Sara Hondel stands with a leprechaun during Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Soldotna on Sunday. Green, leprechauns and Nugget the Moose poured down the streets for the 34th annual parade hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Under cloudy skies — but fortunately no precipitation — a procession of viridescent celebrants representing businesses and organizations brought festivities to an array of attendees lining Redoubt Avenue.

Go green or go home

Soldotna turns out for St. Patrick’s Day parade

Photo provided by Sara Hondel Sara Hondel stands with a leprechaun during Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Soldotna on Sunday. Green, leprechauns and Nugget the Moose poured down the streets for the 34th annual parade hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Under cloudy skies — but fortunately no precipitation — a procession of viridescent celebrants representing businesses and organizations brought festivities to an array of attendees lining Redoubt Avenue.
William Raymond “W.R.” Benson (front row, far right) poses along with the rest of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Albion College in Michigan in about 1908. Despite a lifetime spent in the public eye, Benson was apparently seldom captured on film. This image is one of the few photos of him known to exist. (photo from the 1908 Albion College yearbook via ancestry.com)

Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 1

W.R. Benson was a man almost constantly in motion

William Raymond “W.R.” Benson (front row, far right) poses along with the rest of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Albion College in Michigan in about 1908. Despite a lifetime spent in the public eye, Benson was apparently seldom captured on film. This image is one of the few photos of him known to exist. (photo from the 1908 Albion College yearbook via ancestry.com)
Will Morrow (courtesy)

Obsolete?

As it turns out, I still use a whole lot of “obsolete” things

Will Morrow (courtesy)
Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Point of View: Some state lawmakers need to embrace reality, not PFD political theater

State revenues minus public services do not leave enough in the checkbook to pay an oversized dividend

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
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Minister’s Message: In search of your heavenly place

There is a heavenly place that is real and not just figurative

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Dancers rehearse the all-company jazz routine “Steamed Heat,” from the Broadway musical “The Pajama Game.” (Photo provided by Forever Dance Alaska)

Forever Classical

‘A Night with the Classics’ channels old Hollywood with a ‘red carpet awards night’ vibe

Dancers rehearse the all-company jazz routine “Steamed Heat,” from the Broadway musical “The Pajama Game.” (Photo provided by Forever Dance Alaska)
A YCC crew constructs a reroute on Skyline trail. (Photo by USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Youth Conservation Corps: Hard work has never been more fun

If you’re a regular visitor to the trails, cabins and campgrounds of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, chances are you’ve seen a cluster of students… Continue reading

A YCC crew constructs a reroute on Skyline trail. (Photo by USFWS)
Tantanmen, a 30-minute ramen dish, doesn’t sacrifice flavor or wholesomeness for speed. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Ramen that satisfies

Tantanmen features a milky, nutty broth and can be on the table in under 30 minutes

Tantanmen, a 30-minute ramen dish, doesn’t sacrifice flavor or wholesomeness for speed. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
In the early 2020s, the extended Keeler clan continues on the southern Kenai Peninsula, with (far right) Vikki, the daughter of Ina (Keeler) and Spek Jones, her son Brad and his infant son Hugh. At left is Spek Jones and his mother Nelda Jones. Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection.

Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 8

Three siblings from the Keeler family of Oregon came to the Kenai Peninsula to live between 1947 and 1951

In the early 2020s, the extended Keeler clan continues on the southern Kenai Peninsula, with (far right) Vikki, the daughter of Ina (Keeler) and Spek Jones, her son Brad and his infant son Hugh. At left is Spek Jones and his mother Nelda Jones. Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection.
Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: March madness is not all about basketball

I’m not quite sure why the foreshadowing of intensifying winds and weather chaos maxed me out on the Sourdough Grump Scale but it did

Nick Varney
Sandra Hüller portrays Sandra Voyter in “Anatomy of a Fall.” (Promotional photo courtesy Neon)

On the Screen: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is dense, rapturous

I’m disappointed I had to wait so long to get the opportunity to see this film

Sandra Hüller portrays Sandra Voyter in “Anatomy of a Fall.” (Promotional photo courtesy Neon)
An Alaska Native man walks towards an Orthodox church in a screenshot from “Sacred Alaska.” (Promotional image courtesy Simon Scionka)

Church to screen film exploring Orthodox connection to Alaska Native cultures

“Sacred Alaska” screening will be held at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center and start at 6 p.m.

An Alaska Native man walks towards an Orthodox church in a screenshot from “Sacred Alaska.” (Promotional image courtesy Simon Scionka)
Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion A cheesecake is ready to be served.

Making a cheesecake that’s all it’s cracked up to be

Sometimes, even if you do everything right, your dish will fail

Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion A cheesecake is ready to be served.
Floyd “Pappy” Keeler, standing in 1951 in front of his cabin on the homestead of his son Jack, is holding a girl who is likely Barbara Sandstrom, while her sister Rhoda, standing by a truck, looks on. Ray Sandstrom photo courtesy of the KPC historical photo archive.

Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 7

Speculation was rife after the younger brother of Floyd Nelson Keeler went missing

Floyd “Pappy” Keeler, standing in 1951 in front of his cabin on the homestead of his son Jack, is holding a girl who is likely Barbara Sandstrom, while her sister Rhoda, standing by a truck, looks on. Ray Sandstrom photo courtesy of the KPC historical photo archive.
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Minister’s Message: Ending Well

I have a deep sense of sorrow, when I see someone not ending life well because they ignored living a life of faith or by failing in integrity or in faithfulness

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