Politics

On Tuesday night the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly joined the City of Homer and other municipalities around the state and nation in coming out against corporate personhood in the form of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission.

Only one citizen came out in support of the Citizens United Case, a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing unlimited corporate donations to political campaigns under the guise of free speech.

The deadline for collecting signatures to reset the state’s oil tax formula is less than a week away. Organizers say they already have the required 40,000 signatures to get on the ballot. As KBBI’s Jay Barrett reports, the Fair Share Act seeks to reverse declines in state revenue, even as oil prices have rebounded from their last slump.

Former Homer Rep. Paul Seaton is one of many signature-gatherers around the state supporting the initiative. He explains how the new tax regime would work if it is passed by voters.

District 31 Representative Sarah Vance held public meetings last week in  Ninilchik, at McNeil Canyon School, at the Anchor Point VFW and at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer. 

Alaska's Fair Share oil tax initiative announced on Thursday that they have collected the required 40,000 signatures to place their initiative on the ballot. The initiative aims to amend existing laws, most notably Senate Bill 21 A, to increase Alaskan's share of production revenues by increasing the gross tax rate and eliminating net tax credits.
Update:
This story has been updated to include initiative sponsor and attorney, Robin Brena.

On Monday December 9, Anchorage Superior Court denied former Homer City Councilmember Thomas Stroozas’ request that the court issue an injunction ordering the council to remove Storm Hansen-Cavasos from the Homer City Council pending resolution of his lawsuit.

Stroozas, represented by attorneys Thomas Amodio and Keri-Ann Baker, is suing the city and the city council asserting that Hansen-Cavasos was ineligible to run as a candidate because she did not meet Homer City Code's one-year residence requirement.

Correction:
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the councilmember who called for reconsideration of the material site ordinance. Councilmember Jesse Bjorkman called for reconsideration. 

Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Alyse Galvin was in Homer on Saturday and Sunday. Galvin is running as an independent.

This is her second attempt to unseat Representative Don Young who commenced his 23rd term in 2018. In that election, Galvin got 47% of the vote.

She sat down with KBBI’s Kathleen Gustafson after her appearance at KBay.
 

Governor Mike Dunleavy was in Homer on Thursday to address the  Alaska State Home Builders Association at their conference at Land’s End Resort.  KBBI's Kathleen Gustafson was there and filed this report.

On this two-part Coffee Table, first, you'll hear from incumbent candidates for Homer City Council, Shelly Erickson and Tom Stroozas. In the second half, guests are candidates Joey Evensen and Storm Hansen-Cavasos. The election is Tuesday, October 1.   Correction: In the on-air version of the show with guests Shelly Erickson and Tom Stroozas, host Kathleen Gustafson incorrectly stated that Councilmember Shelly Erickson signed the 2017 petition to recall three Homer City Council members.