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Ashlyn O'Hara

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Ryan Anderson (left) answers questions from state senators during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

News

State officials working to meet Friday deadline for revised transportation plan

The federal government rejected the plan on Feb. 9, citing numerous deficiencies.

Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, presides over a mostly empty House chamber at the end of an hourslong recess over education legislation on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empure)

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Tie vote kills early House debate on education funding

Lawmakers spend much of Monday in closed-door negotiations, plan to take up bill again Tuesday.

Jennifer Medley (left) practices literacy skills with students at Fireweed Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, in Homer, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

From Hope to Homer, how one school district is adjusting to Alaska Reads Act

Implementing the standards outlined by the legislation is not a one-size-fits-all approach

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

State Board of Education bars trans girls from girls’ high school sports teams

Alaska becomes 24th state to impose such restrictions.

A plane sits in brush on Fontaine Avenue at around 5:45 p.m. after a crash on Thursday, May 11, 2023, near Sterling, Alaska. (Courtesy Photo / Alisha Joe)

News

No injuries reported after Sterling plane crash

Alaska State Troopers were notified of the crash at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, left, addresses constituents during a town hall event on Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Nikiski senator’s bill ‘lumbers’ toward governor’s desk

Senate Bill 87 aims to make locally milled lumber more widely available for the construction of housing in…

Apayauq Reitan, the first transgender woman to participate in the Iditarod, tells the House Education Committee on March 30, 2023, why she opposes a bill restricting sex and gender content in schools. A second meeting for public testimony is scheduled Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

News

Peninsula voices among ‘parental rights’ debate in Juneau

People who spoke in opposition outnumbered those who spoke in support by three to one

Former Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor and current Alaska gubernatorial candidate Charlie Pierce speaks at a “Get Out the Vote” rally hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Republican Women at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Kenai Borough to pay more than $237K to settle sexual harassment suit

As part of the settlement, the borough is not admitting any wrongdoing

The badge for the Kenai Police Department

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Police seek information on woman found dead in Kenai

The woman was found Friday near Haller Street and the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai

Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on March 28 in Juneau. Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire) Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

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House bill aims to boost Alaska Performance Scholarship use

The scholarship is awarded to support education after high school graduation

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks during a meeting of the House State Affairs committee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Kenai area lawmakers set sights on financial fixes

KENAI — The central Kenai Peninsula’s representatives in the Alaska House of Representatives have their eyes on state…

Office Max at the Nugget Mall in the Mendenhall Valley advertised Permanent Fund dividend sales in July 2020. Alaskans have until the end of the month to apply for the PFD. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

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PFD application deadline is next week

Amount in flux as state revenue forecasts lower than expected.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor-elect Peter Micciche testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Former Senate president now Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor

Peter Micciche is the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s new mayor.

Signs supporting Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral candidates Peter Micciche and Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings are staked in the snow at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling highways on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Former state Senate president leads in Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor race

A runoff is still possible with 1,700 ballots uncounted.

Bob Bird (left) and Lisa Parker (right) participate in a Constitutional Convention Forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Constitutional convention debate comes to Kenai

Alaskans will be asked on the Nov. 8 general election ballot: “Shall there be a constitutional convention?”

Alaska gubernatorial candidates Bill Walker, left, and Les Gara participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Gara and Walker face off at forum

The two, who found common ground on some issues, took aim at Dunleavy

Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Murkowski, Sullivan throw support behind Alaska LNG Project

The project would move gas from the North Slope through an 800-mile pipeline to a liquefaction plant in…

Alaska SeaLife Center Animal Care Specialist Savannah Costner releases a 1-year-old female elephant seal back to the ocean on March 24, 2022, after the animal was admitted as a patient to the ASLC Wildlife Response Program. The 320-pound animal was released near Lowell Point in Seward, Alaska. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)

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SeaLife Center rehabs baby elephant seal

The seal is the first mammal admitted to the center’s Wildlife Response Program this year

A teapot holds crocheted sunflowers at Already Read on Thursday, March 31, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

In Kenai, crocheted sunflowers raise money for Ukrainian refugees

The flowers are sold in multiple businesses around the central peninsula

State Rep. Ron Gillham speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kenai Municipal Airport on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Kenai area rep introduces raft of education-focused bills

One bill targets critical race theory; another would create state scholarships for private schools.