News

Former councilmember Tom Stroozas' suit against the City of Homer dismissed

By • Dec 19, 2019
City of Homer

The City of Homer issued an official statement on Thursday, announcing that the lawsuit brought by former Homer City Councilmember Thomas Stroozas against the City of Homer and Homer City Council was dismissed by Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday, December 18.

Coffee Table: Salmon Science - Dec. 18, 2019 LIVE from Homer Middle School

By • Dec 19, 2019
KBBI

Recorded live in the library at Homer Middle School, science teacher Jen Booz, a raft of 8th grade salmon scientists and Syverine Bentz from the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve talk about clean water, erosion, microplastics and hatchery fry and their effects on local salmon.
 

Stevedores picket over non-local labor

By & Carey Restino • Dec 18, 2019
KBBI

Local dockworkers formed a picket line Tuesday at the deep water dock on Homer Harbor. At issue is the 22,000 metric tons of sulfur in 10,000 bags sitting on the harbor to be loaded on the Marine Vessel Iberian Bulker.

Meet new Homer Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brad Anderson

By Christina Whiting • Dec 17, 2019
Homer Chamber of Commerce

The Homer Chamber of Commerce has a new Executive Director. Brad Anderson’s first day on the job was last Monday and he stopped by the KBBI studio to sit down with Christina Whiting.

Anderson and his family moved from California to Homer a year and a half ago, but the move was actually years in the making.

Homer City Council: December 16, 2020

By • Dec 17, 2019
City of Homer

Homer City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday. The meeting began with a closed session to discuss former councilmember Tom Stroozas’ suit against the city and the council. 

At the public portion of the meeting, the council accepted public comment on the proposed repeal of the ban on personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay State Park and adopted a resolution asking the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to extend the public comment period to 90 days instead of 30, and to provide more information about the repeal. 
 

Assembly approves emergency funding

By • Dec 13, 2019
KPB Office of Emergency Management

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly held a special meeting on Friday afternoon. Assembly President Kelly Cooper, called the meeting to appropriate borough funds for weather-related emergencies throughout the borough.

State park advisory board hears comments on repealing the ban on personal watercraft.

By • Dec 13, 2019
Alaska Department of Natural Resources

The Kachemak Bay State Park Advisory Board held their regular meeting on Wednesday night at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in Homer.

The board opened the meeting by taking public comment on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s proposal to repeal its ban on personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay and Fox River Flats Critical Habitat Area. Currently there is a boundary from Anchor Point to Point Pogibshi which personal watercraft may not cross . 

Former councilmember's request for injunction denied in suit against the city

By • Dec 12, 2019
KBBI

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.

Hospital signs 10 year agreement with Borough Offers Stop the Bleed training

By Christina Whiting • Dec 12, 2019
Christina Whiting

At the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly last week, the borough passed a 10-year operating agreement effective January 1, 2020 with South Peninsula Hospital Incorporated, the nonprofit that provides the care in the facility that the borough owns. It was also approved by the City of Homer who owns the land.

The hospital recently received certification as a Level 4 trauma center, offered several Stop the Bleed trainings for both medical professionals and community members and received statewide recognition for staff of the Physical Therapy Department.

Homer City Council recap: December 9, 2019 Budget passes, City Manager resigns

By • Dec 10, 2019
City of Homer

The Homer City Council passed the city’s 2020/2021 budget last night at their regular meeting. This is the first two-year budget for the city. 

ADF&G's Rick Green on lifting the ban on personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay

By • Dec 10, 2019
State of Alaska

  

The ban on personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay and Fox River Flats is up for public comment until January 6, 2020. Personal watercraft have been banned from Kachemak Bay and Fox River Flats  since 2001.

Public comments are all directed through one person, Rick Green, appointed by Governor Dunleavy to serve as Special Assistant to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Comminssioner Doug Vincent-Lang.
KBBI’s Kathleen Gustafson spoke to Green about the proposed repeal.
 

ADF&G seeks to allow jet skis in Kachemak Bay

By • Dec 10, 2019
Creative Commons: CC_by_sa

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game proposes to repeal the ban on personal watercraft use in Fox River Flats and Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Areas.
The ban was enacted in 2001. 

Robert Archibald is the chair of The Kachemak Bay State Park Citizens Advisory Board.  Their next meeting is on Wednesday, December 11 at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in Homer. Archibald says the watercraft repeal is going on the agenda.

"We will be discussing that as a board, whether to pass a resolution for or against that," said Archibald.

Borough recap: Tuesday, December 3, 2019

By Shaylon Cochran & KathleenGustafson • Dec 5, 2019
KPB

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. 

Coffee Table: Earthquake Redux - Dec 4 , 2019

By • Dec 5, 2019
USGS

On this week's Coffee Table,
Dan Nelson and Bud Sexton from the Kenia Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management review the lessons of the past year from the November 30, 2018 earthquake and tsunami warning through the many fires that burned on the peninsula this summer.

For information on preparedness on the peninsula and to sign up for CERT training and KPB Alerts, go to kpboem.com
 

Candidate Alyse Galvin campaigns in Homer

By • Dec 3, 2019
KBBI

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.
 

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