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South Peninsula Hospital launched a pilot training program Monday to combat a shortage of certified nursing assistants on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

Unseasonable weather has cut Alaska’s hay harvest in half and sent the price of feed soaring, making it difficult for both farmers livestock producers who already were struggling with high fuel and fertilizer prices. State and federal experts are advising Alaska farmers to expect continued unusual weather, and they’ve scheduled workshops next month to help farmers plan for the new normal.

The fifth annual event is a collaboration between local non-profits and concerned citizens, and happens in conjunction with the Kenai Peninsula Project Homeless Connect which holds similar events in Soldotna and Seward.

An invasive species with the potential to wreak havoc on important commercial and subsistence fisheries have been found in Alaska for the first time. Biologists with Metlakatla Indian Community say they’ve found the first evidence of European green crabs on Annette Island, near the southern tip of Southeast Alaska.

Fishing for kings on the Kenai River is again off limits this month. It’s the third year in a row the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the fishery early amid low king salmon counts.The closure also means set-netters who fish the east side of Cook Inlet are no longer allowed to fish this season. Their fishery closes when king counts are down.

Hospital spokesperson Bruce Richards said many patients hospitalized with COVID aren’t even there for COVID-related reasons — they’re in the hospital for other medical issues and then test positive once they’re admitted.

For the first time, kindergarten and first-grade students in Anchor Point are learning how to play the violin at school. That’s thanks to the nonprofit Homer OPUS, which expanded its violin program to Chapman Elementary school last month with help from grants from Carnegie Hall, the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Rasmuson Foundation.

The state Division of Public Assistance said in an interview in early March, it’s hired more staff to help address the months-long delay, and is making changes to improve the assistance program. In early February, the federal government took note, and wrote to formally express “grave concerns” at how Alaska was handling SNAP applications. But for now, that is little consolation for Alaskans currently trying to make ends meet without essential food assistance.

Last week, the refrigerated egg section of Homer’s Save-U-More grocery store was lit, but completely bare. Sitting in the deli, manager Mark Hemstreet described a situation that is becoming familiar around Alaska — there simply aren’t any eggs. It’s the result of a nationwide outbreak of avian influenza.

In response to concerns about culture, transportation and enrollment, among others, parents of the small Kenai Peninsula community say they’d like to see a charter school up and running next fall. But the district says they're too late.