News

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. 

Check the Pantry takes a road trip to Soldotna to meet Vincent and Jessica Johnson at the Schnitzel Bomber to talk about schnitzel and spaetzle. Plus, host Jeff Lockwood roasts a pork loin using the once-common technique of larding. 

Produced at the KBBI studios in Homer, Alaska.  First aired 01/12/20. 

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.

Susan B. English School in Seldovia, is unexpectedly without its food service provider.
The school sent a letter to parents yesterday.
The letter reads:
"Due to lack of food service substitutes, after today, school lunch at Susan B. English School will not be available until further notice."

The Friends of Kachemak Bay State Parks has a year’s worth of celebrations and outreach planned beginning Tuesday, January 7 at 7 p.m. with an event at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center.

Roger McCambell worked in the park for 31 years.He retired five years ago and is now coordinating the celebration for the park through The Friends, a non-profit that organizes volunteers and fundraises for park maintenance, equipment and educational programs.
MacCambell is leading off the presentation:
Kachemak Bay State Park: The Past 50 Years - The Next 50 Years.

Scientists and educators from 17 different countries are on a project in the central Arctic, embedding a German research vessel, the Polarstern, in the Arctic sea ice for a year.

Local science educator Katie Gavenus from the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies recently returned from six weeks on the Akademik Federov, a support vessel that brought in fresh scientists and technicians, planted sensors in the ice and assisted the Polarstern in gathering and sending data. She sat down with KBBI’s Kathleen Gustafson to talk about her work.

The results are in for the 2019 Christmas Bird Count. Kachemak Bay Birders Count Coordinator, Dave Erikson sat down with KBBI’s Kathleen Gustafson on Monday for some number crunching, a bit of history, a colony of robins, and an orange-crowned warbler. 

For a complete breakdown on the 2019 Christmas Bird Count, and to find out about birding on the peninsula, go to kachemakbaybirders.org
 

Vessels all over coastal Alaska have been without their trusted source of contact with the U. S. Coast Guard for months. The Coast Guard's VHF-FM reception towers are degraded and calls on VHF-FM Channel 16 are not being received by Coast Guard communication centers.

In a nationwide survey of art organizations interested in hosting Native artists, 80% of responding organizations said they could use help with cultural education, understanding protocols, and engagement with their local Native community.

Laura Lofgren Barton and Steve Walli tell tales of homestead life in this hour-long program recorded live at the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust's annual meeting on December 12, 2019.
Homestead Kids: Tales from Stariski Creek and Diamond Ridge is a collaboration between the land trust and the Pratt Museum. It is hosted by Lynn Whitmore and recorded by KBBI's Nicole Arevalo.

Tune in to KBBI Christmas morning at nine for Homestead Kids: Tales from Stariski Creek and Diamond Ridge.

Click on the audio for a two minute preview of the hour-long program, recorded live at the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust's annual meeting on December 12, 2019.