KBBI | Where the Sound Meets the Sea

This Week in Bycatch - June 18

By jlockwood • 8 hours ago

The National Marine Fisheries Service reports a total halibut bycatch for the first two weeks of June of 506,747 pounds in all groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands management areas, excluding the halibut and sablefish longline fisheries. Total halibut mortality for the month so far is 460,457 pounds for a mortality rate of just under ninety-one percent.

Sugt'stun Word of the Week – June 16, 2019

By Alma Moonin • 12 hours ago

Pakiutentut - They are busy

Pakiutentut kiagmi.

Translation:
They are busy during the summer.

Q&A with UAA chancellor

By Renee Gross • Jun 17, 2019

The University of Alaska Anchorage hired a new chancellor late last year. Cathy Sandeen was in town for the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference and talked with KBBI’s Renee Gross on Monday about her priorities for the university system.

For Homer residents with disabilities, accessibility is a waiting game

By Renee Gross • Jun 15, 2019

The Homer City Council recently adopted an American with Disabilities Act Transition Plan to make Homer more accessible. Legally, the city should have implemented a plan years ago but because of lack of oversight, it’s just now accomplishing that goal.

Tess Dally is trying to hoist herself onto a wheelchair accessible trail near Bishops Beach. At least, it’s supposed to be accessible.

The Coffee Table - June 12, 2019

By Renee Gross • Jun 13, 2019

Finding affordable housing in the Homer area can be difficult. This week on the Coffee Table, we discussed how the housing and rental market has been changing, the impact of vacation rentals on our town and what changes we can expect to see in the future. Our guests are Mark Romick, deputy director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Gina Pelaia with Bay Realty and James Baisden and Brandi Harbaugh with the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Borough plans to crack down on short-term rentals flying under the radar

By Renee Gross • Jun 12, 2019

The vacation rental market on the Kenai Peninsula is booming, but some say the fledgling industry is going unregulated. There’s concern that apps like AirBnB and VRBO are contributing to housing shortages in popular tourist destinations like Homer and Seward, but the cities on the peninsula and the borough itself are more concerned that the owners of those properties aren’t remitting sales tax.

Sugt'stun Word of the Week – June 9, 2019

By Alma Moonin • Jun 12, 2019

Putunguaq - Sad

Putungurlartua eillqat taqutaqat.

Translation:
It makes me sad when the fireweed dies.

Council declines to sell downtown lot, postpones vote on providing water outside of city limits

By Carey Restino • Jun 11, 2019

The Homer City Council declined to put a parcel of city-owned land in Homer’s central business district back on the market Monday. The 1.3 acre parcel could have been the future home of Grace Ridge Brewing, but opponents of the move say the property could serve the city in the future.

The city had considered building the new Homer Public Library on the site, but after the city went another direction, the land sat on the market until 2018.

Homer Foundation considers restructuring grant program as more nonprofits apply

By Renee Gross • Jun 7, 2019

More nonprofits are applying for Homer Foundation grants. And since the foundation funds all eligible nonprofits that apply, its contributions to each organization has shrunk. But at a listening session Thursday with the Homer Foundation, nonprofits said even small contributions were critical to their work.

The Homer Foundation receives most of its grant money through an annual allocation from the City of Homer and endowment funds from the city as well as neighboring Kachemak City.

City works with state and Army Corps to battle erosion on the spit

By Aaron Bolton • Jun 7, 2019

The Homer Spit’s future as an iconic tourist attraction is in danger of washing away. Erosion along the spit’s sea walls is not a new problem. City officials are working with state and federal agencies to find a lasting solution.

Driving onto the four-mile-long Homer Spit, you’ll notice a majority of the Sterling Highway is shielded by boulders. But as you approach the numerous restaurants and businesses that attract thousands of tourists here each year, that shield against erosion.