There’s a large slate of candidates running for the three open seats on the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors this year.
On the Central Kenai Peninsula, there are four candidates are running for the District 1 seat, to represent Kenai, Nikiski and part of Soldotna. They are Mike Chenault, Erik Hendrickson, Wayne Ogle and Joseph Ross.
Two candidates are on the ballot for District 2, which represents Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof. Those candidates Ed Schmitt and Robert Wall.
The Kenai Peninsula has been a key player in Alaska’s budding cannabis industry since the state legalized recreational marijuana use six years ago.
There are now over 70 licenses in play for active and operating peninsula-based marijuana businesses, according to documents from the state’s Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office. That includes both cultivators and retailers.
Supermarket chain Three Bears Alaska is opening another store in Sterling.
The Wasilla-based company purchased several lots on the Sterling Highway next to the Sterling Post Office and plans to open a store before the end of the year, said Marketing Director Jim Kolb. He said the property will include a full-size grocery store, liquor store, gas station and Ace Hardware.
The Summit Lake area of the Seward Highway is a cell desert. Like much of Turnagain Pass, it’s also an area that’s prone to accidents, particularly in the winter.
“And so right now what happens is people might get in a horrible car accident, and then they have to rely on people who drive by to see the accident and then get to a location where there is cell service and call 911," said Michelle Weston, fire chief at Girdwood Fire and Rescue.
Trappers and recreationists have long been at odds over trapping restrictions in Cooper Landing.
Tensions came to a head several years ago when the Alaska Board of Game quashed a proposal to ban trailside trapping, citing a lack of compromise between activists on either side.
Now, several Cooper Landing residents are reigniting the conversation. They’ve surveyed locals on where they’d like to see trapping setbacks and will use the data to craft a proposal for the Board of Game and the Federal Subsistence Management Board.
