Simon Lopez

A missing hiker sparked a two day search effort in Kachemak Bay State Park earlier this week; an Anchorage man is dead after he was found floating in the Kenai River near Bing’s Landing just north of Sterling; and a fire has caused “irrecoverable damage” to a rocket that was initially expected to launch this summer from Kodiak’s Pacific Spaceport Complex.

As sockeye salmon counts begin to climb, fishing is in full swing on the Kenai Peninsula. A popular access point for anglers is Sportsman’s Landing, where the Kenai and Russian Rivers converge; and dock users at Kodiak’s biggest boat harbor are being urged to keep an eye out for eagles in the area, as several attacks have been reported in the last week.

Musicals are returning to the Homer Spit this summer as Pier One Theatre presents “The Addams Family"; and the Homer Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire last Monday.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the state’s budget on Friday; and the City of Kenai recently unveiled a new piece of inclusive playground equipment at Kenai Municipal Park. Paid for by the Marathon Corporation, the seesaw has several inclusive features designed to accommodate children of all ages and abilities.

Allie Ostrander won’t run for Team USA in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris; the Youth Conservation Corps is a nationally recognized summer work initiative for teens interested in outdoor recreation and environmental education. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a recipient of the program, and recently trained local youth to assist in maintenance projects; Alaska Department of Fish and Game released an advisory this morning for the Lower Cook Inlet Salmon Fishery; and this morning (06/28), a cruise ship weighed anchor in Kachemak Bay and began shuttling passengers to the Homer Spit.

On the Summer Solstice, Homer Senior Citizens held a fashion show for seniors and the community; and there’s long been talk about how to make the highway between Kenai and Soldotna safer, but residents along the road have clashed with the state over the best way to do that.

Homer’s planning commission is going to reconsider a housing project for South Peninsula Hospital after narrowly approving it at their Wednesday [June 19] meeting; and several years after two crab fisheries disasters occurred in the Norton Sound and Bering Sea, millions in relief funds are finally available to impacted fishermen.

A Homer man was convicted on multiple counts of sexual assault last week; and the fate of a bed tax ballot question remains in limbo after Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.

A Homer man was convicted on multiple counts of sexual assault last week; and the fate of a bed tax ballot question remains in limbo after Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.