Homer gasline approved

Gov. Sean Parnell approved funding for the South Peninsula Natural Gas Pipeline Monday, leaving intact the entire $8,150,000 request in the 2013 Capital Budget.
The governor said it made a difference that customers along the Enstar line would help pay for construction through the $1 tariff. “That is what I had requested and I was glad to see it was followed through. I will be glad the people of the Southern Kenai Peninsula will have access to natural gas,” Parnell said during a press conference explaining his budget …

Brown bear spotted on Greer Road

A brown bear is the suspected culprit of a chicken coup raid and of seriously damaging a spring garden after ripping into a high tunnel off Greer Road, nine miles East End Road in the Fritz Creek area. The bear has also wreaked havoc on Yukon Road before Greer.
Adam Green found all his plantings ruined – carrots, beats, potatoes, greens.
“All trampled,” he said Monday. “The bear came along and put his paws on it and pushed in all the sides every four feet. He ripped …

Tiglax gets tied up in first sign of federal budget cuts

In a difficult cost-cutting move, the research vessel the M/V Tiglax will sit tied to the Homer dock for two weeks this summer.
The Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge owns the famed research ship, built in 1987 especially for difficult work in the stormy Aleutians. Refuge Manager Steve Delehanty said the move will save the refuge $80,000.
“This will be the most noticeable cut in terms of the public, because the ship will be tied up at the dock for two weeks in the prime of the season,” Delehanty …

HoPP recruiting volunteers all week

HoPP will be recruiting building volunteers and helpers for its Karen Hornaday Park Playground Project starting Sunday and running through to May 27.
The old Karen Hornaday playground was taken down by the City of Homer this weekend, leaving open ground for creating the ambitious nature-themed playground for Homer’s children.
Organizer Miranda Weiss said the Sunday-to-Sunday building schedule still needs to be filled in with people geared toward one of three tasks.
“There are three ways to help out: On building, helping with child care or …

‘Good Dog’ weds science, music

What happens when a science educator and a music teacher write songs together? The result is “another angle on learning” taken by Good Dog to educate children about marine life.
On Friday, Good Dog is performing “original nature songs aimed at teaching basic ocean literacy” said co-founder Jim Pfeiffenberger.
Good Dog uses scientific accuracy, “one guitar and two voices” to illustrate the adaptations of maritime mammals, birds, and fish.
Trained vocalist Liesl Davenport-Wheeler and Jim Pfeiffenberger formed Good Dog over a dozen years ago in …

Shorebird Festival: 20 birds for 20 years

In honor of its special 20th anniversary, the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival presents “20 Birds for 20 Years,” original watercolor paintings by Homer artist Carla Stanley, exhibited at the Homer Council on the Arts for the month of May.
“20 Birds for 20 Years” paintings will then be available for bidding during a silent auction that runs May 4-12, and during the live auction event “The Big Year, The Big Night,” on May 12. The exhibit opens with two receptions: Friday 5-7 p.m. for locals …

Homer heavy hitters still focused on that ‘next pitch’

Hannah Larue is having a good week; at least from a softball point of view.
The Lady Mariner junior is batting .564, with 10 doubles, one triple and one home run so far this season. She has driven in 23 runs.
Oh — and she threw a no-hitter against Bartlett on Saturday.
“It was my first no-hitter, and I actually had no idea it was a no-hitter until Coach told me a couple hours after the game,” Larue said. “It had been a long weekend and I was just focused …

Baseball comes home after long stint on the road

The Homer Mariner baseball team returned for games at home after going 1-2 on the road over the past week in Kenai and Kodiak.
The M’s opened play on Thursday, traveling to Kenai to play the Kardinals in a conference match-up. Homer fell 1-4 in the game. Mariner sophomore Brian Rowe scored the lone run for Homer in the first inning, while sophomore Zack Haning, freshman JJ Sonnen and senior Tayler Downes each produced hits for the team. Downes’ success came in the form of a double in …

Sports Briefs – May 16

Lady Mariner soccer ends season

The Homer Lady Mariner Soccer team ended its 2012 season last week with a 0-1 loss to the Lady Bulldogs in Nikiski on Saturday.
The Bulldogs scored an early goal and maintained a strong defensive pressure on the Lady M’s to hold Homer scoreless for the match.
The Lady …

Mariners remain undefeated going into post-season play

Homer junior Konstantin Reutov netted a hat trick in the Mariners’ 8-1 road win over Nikiski on Saturday. The M’s remain undefeated at 9-0-2 for the season as they head into Regional play this weekend.
Homer fell behind for the first time this season when the Bulldogs scored early in the contest.
But Reutov and team were having none of that. The Mariner offense kicked things up a notch, punching in five goals before the half.
“After I scored two goals, I just tried to stay aggressive,” Reutov said …

Soldotna second-annual cattle drive

Motorists along College Loop Road typically have to keep their eyes peeled for a moose just around the bend, but it was an entirely different hoofed animal that motorists saw moving en masse down the curvy road Sunday during the Soldotna Equestrian Association’s second annual cattle drive.
The SEA roped in even more riders than the inaugural event in 2011, and had roughly four horseback riders to every cow in the herd of a dozen animals, which also included a feisty young bull and two wide-eyed calves that …

Shorebird festival attracts record number of people

The 20th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival was broadly attended this year, attracting 1,900 people who registered.
Attendance was up by 9 percent from last year, said organizer Christina Whiting.
Some 80 attendees were Alaskan. Of those 55 percent came from Homer, 35 percent from Anchorage, and others came from Seward, Fairbanks, Kenai/Soldotna, Trapper Creek and Talkeetna.
The furthest-attending was a couple who traveled from Australia and another pair from England. A caravan of birders from Texas/Mexico came to Alaska just for this festival, Whiting said.
“Our …