City pursues $5 million port-harbor revenue bond
Fees will increase to help pay for a backlog of neglected harbor maintenance after the Homer City council passed a measure Monday night to pursue matching grant funding with a $5 million revenue bond.
The Port and Harbor Improvement Committee recommended four main areas to target for fixes with $9 million. Of that, $4.7 million would come from revenue bonds and the rest from grants, including two Denali Grants totaling nearly $1 million.
One noticeable absence from the list was the Homer Harbormaster’s Office, a building that has caught fire twice, and dates back to the early 1980s in a cobbling together of three other buildings. Council member Francie Roberts asked why it was taken off the list. A replacement building has been on a town priority list for nearly 30 years.
“It always ends up getting removed for some reason,” said Mayor Jim Hornaday.
Homer’s 7th annual bike to work week
National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, get involved in Bike Month in your city or state — and help get more people in your community out riding, too.
Somehow we’re already into the thick of Bike To Work Week, and by the time this goes to press several events have already concluded. On May 13, there was a group Spit ride which was open to riders of all ages and abilities. The afternoon was blustery, but still people showed up and enjoyed a mellow bike out to Coal Town Coffee for treats before the ride back. Even blustery snow showers could not stop the fun.
Japan’s nuclear loss is Alaska’s natural gas gain
Japan’s decision to walk away from nuclear power has it scrambling for natural gas, giving the U.S. a chance to be a large-scale energy exporter.
A week ago, Japan pulled the plug on the last unit of the Tomari nuclear plant, leaving the country without nuclear energy for the first time since May 1970. Just across the Pacific a few days earlier, Alaska approved a plan for a pipeline to move natural gas from the North Slope to the coast for liquefaction and export.
The two seemingly unrelated events mark the beginning of an emerging strategic energy partnership, built around the United States’ growing glut of natural gas, that could reduce its trade deficit with Japan and strengthen its bond with the world’s third-largest economy.
Letters – May 16
Click for full listing
Take time to build healthy women
Starting on Mother’s Day, National Women’s Health Week runs May 13–19, and is a time to encourage making health a priority in the lives of women. This is a week to raise awareness among all of us about the simple commitments we can each make to work healthy doses of exercise, nutrition and sleep into [...]
It takes a community to build a park
When we first moved to Homer last summer, finding a playground was at the top of my kids’ to-do list. Not only are playgrounds a good place to run off the extra energy that kids seem to continuously exude, they are also important for meeting new friends and developing social skills.
The closest playground to our house is at Karen Hornaday Park, less than a mile away and a nice walking distance. We made only one trip to that playground last summer, because once was enough to see that it just wasn’t a fun place for small kids to play. Many structures were missing pieces or just not built for little legs to climb (heck, I even had a hard time climbing up some of the ladders). It was also very dirty, even by Alaska standards, with the base set in gravel and sand.
Should BOG include wildlife spectators too?
What cheats Alaska hunters of more moose: Wolves and bears, or insects and hares?
I am always amused by people who support America’s mission to establish democracies around the world, yet who are determined to subvert democracy here at home. I am likewise amused by people who protest against government coercion, yet who revel in tyrannizing anyone who doesn’t see the world their way.
According to our state Constitution, the Board of Game is supposed to represent the interests of all Alaskans. Its members should include representatives from all major “interest” groups. It should not be monolithic. Each member should strive to find ways to meet the needs of all interest groups, instead of trying to hog all the wildlife for just one interest — harvest.
Letters – May 9
Update on Homer surfbirds On Thursday, I submitted a report where I said that I saw no surfbirds on the Homer harbor jetty, even though I saw at least 150 there the day before. Last Friday was another turnabout. I was at the harbor about an hour and a half after high tide and a large [...]
Doing it for the birds
The birds arrived on schedule. Now all we need is the celebration and that too is on the way. The 20th Anniversary of the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival opens this week, a first glimpse at the summer tourism season ahead. Let’s hope the weather meets us all half-way. It doesn’t have to be superstar California [...]
Emergency response funding faces better future
Roughly 250 people have been trained on the Kenai Peninsula as Community Emergency Response Team volunteers. Each of us has invested considerable time, effort and devotion to learning how to minimize the havoc wreaked by disasters big or small.
We haven’t been paid for our time or expenses. Rather, we have donated them, asking in return only that our community reciprocate by providing needed equipment, supplies and training, both in the classroom and through exercises like the tsunami drill and Alaska Shield.
To achieve this, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management has applied far and wide for grants. Small amounts have trickled in here and there over the past few years. But we haven’t hit any jackpots until a few months ago. The borough was finally offered five state Homeland Security Program grants.
