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.
But, Councilmember Barbara Howard explained, on behalf of the committee, that they were put in a difficult spot trying to keep it on the list of projects to be funded with the revenue bond-grants.
“We wanted to keep it on, but it was not eligible for matching funds. It was the committee’s wishes to only bond for the amount that we could get matching funds.”
Buffering the harbor entrance against erosion also was removed for the same reason.
The council agreed to allow the city administration to prepare grant applications and sell bonds for the four main projects:
The Ramp 3 gangway and approach
A harbor float replacement
System 5 upgrades
Load and launch ramp
The bond debt would be serviced by an increase in fuel wharfage, moorage, ice and dockage fees. The projected amount based on use is to raise $496,590 over two years. The new fees are: fuel wharfage is now .02 per gallon. Moorage increased 15 percent. Large ship dockage is now 100 percent similar to Anchorage rates.

Kachemak Drive bike trail
An enthusiastic contingent of commuter and recreational cyclists testified on the need to build a bike trail on Kachemak Drive. Bumpo Bremicker, the chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, talked about funds already set aside specifically for trails that would be available to get the project started.
“The only trail I’ve heard a lot of vocal support for is the Kachemak Drive Trail. Its connectivity benefits is that it connects the two biggest trails we have now: The Homer Spit and the East End Road trails,” Bremicker said.
The group estimated it would cost about $1 million to build the four miles of trail. Bremicker said he was told that in using trail funds, the city could leverage a revenue stream. Volunteers could help build it.
Beth Cummings, a former member of the Parks and Recreation Committee, advocated for a route that would avoid a need for approval from all the property owners on Kachemak Drive. It would include three portions, one through the marine industrial area and two on government-owned lands.
Lindianne Sarno told the council a trail has both safety and economic benefits.
“Surveys emphasized (the public) wanted a path to be separate from the road. We live there, and we see up to 50 bicycles go by every day. It has increased a lot … we (speculate) because the Arctic bike technology has grown,” she said. The scenic ride on Kachemak Bay is made dangerous because it lacks a shoulder for bikes. “The funds are there. This is not a huge project figure. We figure it can be built in one year. When bikes are put in, business access increases. A bike path is a long, safe park.”
But when it came to voting on a resolution that would approve getting started on the trail – or at least supporting the concept – the council turned it down.
Councilmember Howard said she had five reasons to vote it down. The idea wasn’t passed through the Transportation Advisory Committee. She wasn’t convinced this trail carries more priority over other city trail desires. A financial plan isn’t far enough along to consider annual maintenance costs, she said. “And there’s the legal costs for acquiring the right way through moose habitat, wetlands.”
Councilman David Lewis said he supports putting a trail in.
“Through the years, I’ve been running on it, walked it, biked it. It’s a lousy (route). It’s dangerous,” he said. But, he too wanted to strike the endorsement to construct it just yet, until more of the funding questions are answered.
The group was advised to work with the Transportation Advisory Committee. Councilmember Beth Wythe also recalled the difficulty of working with homeowners on that stretch when it came to gaining easements for water and sewer line installations. Not all homeowners would agree.
“We need to know the costs associated with it, and have answers to access issues before a package for construction can actually be put forward,” Wythe said.
If both the water-sewer line easement and the trail could be tied together, it could answer both matters at once, Roberts said.
Councilman Beau Burgess expressed support, but wanted to know more about what the price tag is before “signing the dotted line.”
Bremicker told the council they will pursue the plans based on the council’s requests for more information.
• The Homer Boys and Girls Club has until December to retain its lease on the old Homer Intermediate School, the council agreed in a new resolution signed Monday night. Kelly Cooper, who is working on a task force devising financial solutions for a permanent home, asked the council to carry the lease through December. That way they could apply for capital funding and grants, Cooper said.
One plan is to share the building with the city’s Community Parks and Rec program. It could then become a community center for a variety of healthy family activities.
• Passed: The council agreed to spend $900,000 on repaving roads in Homer. The money comes from the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails Program.

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.
Energizer booths and group rides are happening coast to coast, with Homer building on that tradition. Monday morning saw 22 bikers pass through the Energizer Booth at WKFL Park. Treats from Two Sisters were a welcome boost at the start of the work week.
Mayor Hornaday made a proclamation at City Council, declaring that for the City of Homer, May is Bike Month, 14-18 is Bike to Work Week and Friday the May 18 is Bike To Work Day.
Tuesday evening was a Bike Movie and Social evening. We screened “Ride The Divide,” an award-winning feature film about the world’s toughest mountain bike race, which traverses over 2700 miles along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. “The film weaves the story of three characters’ experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border,” the summary states.
Afterward, Heidi Herzog and Andrew Peter shared more stories and slides from their bike trip in Central Asia.
It’s not too late to join in the Bike Week fun.

On Friday, Bike to Work Day: Swing by the Energizer Booth at WKFL Park between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., there’ll be treats, juice and coffee, served with a big portion of camaraderie. There are sign in sheets for recording miles biked at the booth, and at various locations around town. New this year is online mileage recording, available on our website. Membership renewal is also available online.
A group ride kicks off the final celebrations for the week. Bicyclists will gather at WKFL Park after work on Friday, with the ride starting at 5:30 p.m. The ride will be at a pace designed for cyclists of any experience level to participate. As a primary focus of HCC is safety, helmets are mandatory! We will ride around town, ending at the Beluga Lake Lodge in time for the second Annual Meeting of the Homer Cycling Club. Paid up members of HCC will vote for the Board of Directors, which is one of the final hurdles in preparing to apply for 501c3 non-profit status.
The purpose of the HCC is to improve conditions for bicyclists at the local level, to establish bike routes and mountain bike trails, host group rides, organize events such as races and promote bicycling as environmentally friendly, healthy and enjoyable.
Monthly meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month in Room B103 at Homer High School at 6:30 p.m.
Further information available at homercyclingclub.com.

Catriona Lowe is a local biking enthusiast and mother who contributes recreational and cultural ideas to Homer life.

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.
Just over a year after an earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan is facing power shortages as it heads into the summer without the source of energy that had provided nearly 30 percent of the nation’s electricity. As the country works to make up for lost capacity, natural gas is the obvious choice.
Enter the United States. With the recent discoveries of vast shale deposits of natural gas around the country, energy companies are scrambling to build gas-export terminals nationwide. Because of its location, Alaska has emerged as the likeliest supplier to Japan.
For four decades, the state has been sending small quantities of liquified natural gas to Japan from a ConocoPhillips export facility on the Kenai Peninsula. The facility’s export license is good for another year of small-scale exports, but as interest grows in larger exports to the Asia-Pacific, Alaskan officials are looking to develop the rich natural-gas resources on the North Slope.
Most of the ConocoPhillips exports to Japan have come from the Cook Inlet basin, but production there has slowed, and much of that gas goes to fulfill the high winter demand in the local market. The bigger opportunity is in northern Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay and Thompson Point, which together contain an estimated 35 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.
Alaska needs Japan as much as Japan needs natural gas. No pipeline transports gas from Alaska to the lower 48, and the economics—near-record-low prices for gas combined with the shale boom across the country—don’t support building one. In fact, the state recently directed pipeline builder TransCanada to focus on expanding an existing pipeline built for exports, diverting attention from an alternative that would have brought natural gas through Alberta, Canada, down to markets southward.
Meanwhile, profits are far higher in Asia than in Europe and the United States. Asian LNG prices hover around $14 to $16 per million British thermal units, while the U.S. surplus has brought domestic prices down to $2 to $3 per MBtu. This stark disparity means that no viable market for Alaska’s gas exists in the rest of the U.S., but the Japanese government is the perfect customer, because it badly needs the fuel and is willing to pay above the market price.
Although Tokyo is still evaluating its energy policy, public opinion remains largely opposed to nuclear power, and a permanently nuclear-free Japan remains highly possible, leaving the country more dependent on energy imports as a result.
That likely future has Japan’s government closely watching the debate in Washington about the impact of exports on domestic natural-gas prices, says Jane Nakano, a fellow in the energy and national-security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Nakano adds that the Japanese are also following the administration’s licensing decisions for new export facilities and its moves to regulate hydraulic fracturing, the extraction process that has created the shale boom.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during his visit to Washington in late April. “An LNG line from the North Slope could deliver long-term, stable energy supplies to Japan at a reasonable price,” Murkowski said.
She and others believe that Alaska could serve Japan’s needs while also ensuring that local customers don’t suffer. A pipeline from northern Alaska to export terminals in the south could have distribution points along the way to provide for the state’s energy needs, they say.
For the U.S., the benefits of exporting natural gas to Japan are also clear. Not only would it help reduce the $63 billion bilateral trade deficit, but an energy partnership could also have a strategic value as the U.S. pivots its foreign policy toward Asia.
And Washington may want to move quickly. Tokyo has also been weighing a pipeline from Russia, which holds the world’s largest natural-gas reserves, and expansion of its renewable-energy portfolio. But both options are problematic. Japan is wary about entering the fray of Russian pipeline politics that has been plaguing surrounding nations for decades. Expanding renewable energy, meanwhile, is a long-term and costly prospect, and it remains a less tangible resource than natural gas.
Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said he is not sure that natural-gas exports will do much to alter the thorny U.S.-Japan trade relationship, citing U.S. companies’ limited access to Japanese markets. “It’s not a particularly open economy,” he said.
Reinsch noted, however, that if America shies away from natural-gas exports, it risks isolating itself like China has. Possessing more than 90 percent of the global rare-earth mineral supply, Beijing has kept a tight lid on exports, infuriating the rest of the world. “We would not want to end up like the Chinese on rare earths, trying to keep control of the commodity,” he said of America’s vast natural-gas resources. “I would hate to see us fall into the same trap.”

Olga Belogolova is a writer for Nationaljournal.com

Big Brothers Big Sisters would like to thank the Homer Foundations’ Youth Advisory Committee and the Ashley J. Logan and Sheldon Youth-to-Youth funds for awarding our program an activity grant. These funds will be used by our Bigs and Littles to attend activities such as outdoor programs, sports and art classes that would otherwise be cost prohibitive.  Thank you, YAC for Starting Something Big and supporting mentoring in our community.
Jenny Martin
Big Brothers Big Sisters

Check index to check oil facts

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association has been running ads stating “Alaska has the highest oil tax in North America.” As seen in an Index to Oil Taxes Around the World, Texas and Alaska are tied for fourth and fifth place among North American oil tax regimes.
AOGA’s statement is false, and they know it, but they’re seldom confronted – so they do it anyway.
According to the U.S. Department of Interior, the worldwide average tax on a barrel of oil is $79 and Alaska’s oil tax is 3 percent below the international average. (For conformation, google: “Average Government Take, PI, and IRR Indicator” and view pages 60 and 62 of the government report.) BP produces Iraq’s largest oil field and Iraq pays BP less than $2 per barrel for the service. BP, Exxon and Conoco report making 10 times as much profit for producing Alaska’s oil and they complain.
Why would any Alaskan believe an industry that has been repeatedly caught lying about oil taxes and repeatedly caught bribing legislators to lower them? Ten years ago, there were over a million barrels per day coming through the pipeline but, because Alaska’s tax on oil was a tiny fraction of the world’s norm, Alaska’s budget was in the red. In 1999, to head off looming deficits, deficits that might have caused Alaskans to demand their fair share, Veco spent over $700,000 on advertising, a proposal to tap your PFD and shackle you with an income tax. Accepting that we started getting our fair share in 2007, not much has changed. Many of the people who hit the speaking trail for Veco then, are hitting the speaking trail for Parnell today. Lower taxes didn’t work then and it won’t work today.  If you value your Permanent Fund Dividend, and don’t want to be hit with a big fat tax, you better be asking your candidates where they are getting their money and where they stand on this issue.
Ray Metcalfe, chairman
Citizens for Ethical Government

E-Recycling saw great cooperation

Cook Inletkeeper would like to thank all the participants of the Seventh-Annual Electronics Recycling Event and congratulate them on yet another successful collection effort. More than 100 households and 30 businesses and nonprofits demonstrated their commitment to protecting and preserving our environment by keeping unwanted electronic items out of our local landfills. We collected more than 18,000 pounds of e-waste this year, an effort that included the second year of participation from the villages of Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek. Over 112,000 pounds have been collected since electronics recycling first started in Homer.
Cook Inletkeeper would also like to thank the dozens of individuals and businesses that make this popular annual event possible. Special thanks to our underwriter partners: Total Reclaim, Kenai Peninsula Borough, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Spenard Builders Supply — as well as to all of our financial and in-kind sponsors and supporters — Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Fat Olives, HEA, Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, Kar-a-Van Transfer, Loopy Lupine, Mako Haggerty, Safeway, Save-U-More, Spencer Allen, Tech Connect, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, and Two Sisters Bakery.  And, last but certainly not least, to the most dedicated and hardworking crew of volunteers, a huge thank you and cheers to another great year.
Dorothy Melambianakis
Community Outreach assistant
Cook Inletkeeper

Homer Foundation benefits nonprofits

Recently, the Homer Foundation administered the City of Homer Grants Program and awarded funds to nine Homer non-profits to support operating expenses.
Non profits are guided by a mission and driven by the passion to sustain or improve our quality of life, whether it is about protecting the environment, feeding the hungry, building a playground, providing health care or opportunities to participate in the arts. This community demands a quality of life that has created a large non-profit sector. We rely on grants, sponsorships, donations, memberships, fundraisers, and endless hours of staff and volunteer time to meet our missions. Without all of this, the cost of projects, classes, and events would be exclusive if not prohibitive. Many services would not be available.
Homer Council on the Arts would like to thank the City of Homer and The Homer Foundation for their support and the recognition that the arts are as important to the health and vitality of our community as the Food Bank, Hospice, the environment, our land and the trails to enjoy our land.  All of these facets of our community meet the many needs of Homer and support a quality of life that we cherish.
Gail Edgerly
Executive director

Appreciation on behalf of Rosana

Friends of Rosana and Charles Moyer, together with Kachemak Kids Early Learning Center, held a Children’s Art Show and Silent Auction to help them pay for medical costs while fighting breast cancer.
Rosana, a preschool and art teacher extraordinaire, is fighting the battle with so many others. As Homer is known for doing, the community came out in full support. We would like to thank the business’s and artist who contributed: Sasquatch Alaska Adventure Co., Don Henry, Fresh Catch Cafe, Darcy Mueller, Diane McBride, Bunnell Street Gallery, Fireweed Gallery, Ptarmagin Arts, Pam Nustvold, Karin Holbrook, Blackberry Bog, Northwind, Jan Peyton, Beverly Macy, Renee Janke, Jean Steele, Christine Kulcheski, Kari Multz, Susannah Webster, Hanna Johnson, Shelly Fraley  Pratt Museum, Bob McEchern, Rosemary Welz, Yolanda Ochoa, and Min Hui Cui.
If you would like to donate to support the Moyer’s, a donation account at Wells Fargo is open. For questions, contact KKELC at 235-2205.
Emilie Otis
  

Rural students helped by YAC

I am writing to offer our thanks to the Homer Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) with funding support from YAC’s generous donors and the Ashley J. Logan and Sheldon Youth to Youth funds for their contribution on behalf of our 2012 Summer Institute and Middle School-High School Bridge programs. These programs will run concurrently in May and June in Homer. 
YAC’s donation will be of great help as we welcome students from seven rural GRAD schools, who will participate in activities designed to enhance their educational experience and prepare for the transitions from middle school to high school and from high school to college.  Summer Institute allows GRAD students to be on campus and get a feel for challenging and enriching curriculum in a nurturing environment. 
We appreciate YAC being a part of the support base as we work to assist students in achieving a rewarding and successful educational experience. 
Mike Petersen
Executive director
     

Quilters grateful for participation

Thanks to everyone who attended our 28th annual Kachemak Bay Quilters’ quilt show last weekend. We had great attendance and lots of appreciation for our works of art. This was our first year to participate in the Shorebird Challenge, an opportunity to create a wall hanging depicting birds in and around Kachemak Bay.  Alice Krivitsky’s sandhill cranes wall hanging, Mrs. Kramden and Sprout, was voted first place; Kathy Pankratz’ Chickadees took second place in the challenge, and Ellen Halseth’s flying geese migration, North with the Sun, took third place.
Voting by attendees at the quilt show determined all our awards.  The Best of Show award winner was Nebula, a swirling wall quilt designed and created by Beth Christensen. 
Bed quilt winners were first place:  Mirage in colors of green, red, and black by Carol Renfrew; Pam Troughton’s Glacier Star in shades of brown featuring the American Beauty pattern, second place; and Peggy Parson’s interpretation of sea life in Under the Sea was awarded third place. 
Attendee votes for wall hangings selected first place:  Pam Troughton’s Christmas Celebration in magenta with a round star in the middle of the hanging; second place Fractl designed by Beth Christensen using, among other embellishments, copper wire;  and third place Barb Steckel’s My Lone Star in shades of greens and blues.
In the “Other” category, which included wearable art, table runners, and anything that was not a wall hanging or a bed quilt, viewer votes awarded first place to Enid Keyes for her table cover Sunny Morning in My Kachemak Bay Kitchen, second place to Linda Tennison for her blue jacket and cap, and third place to Ellen Halseth’s Fiesta! table topper.
We would especially like to thank Merry Gregg at Ulmer’s and Neline VanDyke at Sewciable Quilts for their continued support of our quilt show. 
Margaret Lau
Kachemak Bay Quilters
 

Coming soon

The Builderburg meets again at the end of this month. I suppose they’ll decide who Mitt Romney’s running mate will be. It was not long ago that no one believed there was such an organization making America’s agendas/wars behind closed doors. Hilary and Obama attended one year. 
New news for political dissidents: there are new leaked memos about the Government Re-education Camps planned for Americans. America is being set up like pre-World War II Germany. I hope you all are paying attention. Ron Paul is drawing crowds of thousands, growing delegates, too, despite obvious media blackout.
Other news: there’s a giant sunspot happening these days. Fukashima may be about to blow again, even worse. Small farmers are really taking a beating around the nation. Some small farmers face millions in fines for chicken and rabbit offenses or three years in jail for selling raw milk. 
Rev. Richard Olson

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. But the location is amazing – views of the bay and mountains, and right next to the hospital so kids can watch the helicopter come and go. After emptying the gravel out of their shoes, my kids begged to go back to “the big Groton playground” that we used to frequent near our previous home in Connecticut.  Um, that’s 5,000 miles away. Sorry, kids. Instead, we made do with the tiny Bayview Park because, although it was really meant for toddlers, it is the only park in town that feels safe and clean.
We went to the Homer Street Faire later in the summer and were so excited when we discovered a fabulous group of community members there who were trying to raise funds for a new playground. They sucked us in with tables full of bubbles and play dough and then told me all about their vision while the kids were occupied. What a wonderful idea, especially for a town like Homer that has such a sense of community and is brimming with creativity.  
The Homer Playground Project (HOPP for short) raised funds all fall and winter, and on the last day of April they topped the $250,000 mark. What a huge accomplishment for a town of this size, in this economy. Thanks to the organization and guidance from Deb Cox and Miranda Weiss, donations of time and money from all corners of Homer, and beyond, started as a trickle and have now become something akin to a spring-breakup-fueled river.
I must admit, my real involvement in HoPP, aside from ordering a picket for the park fence engraved with my kids’ names, didn’t really begin until the past month. A core group of nearly frazzled people has been tirelessly organizing and fundraising behind the scenes, and I finally managed to make it to one of their now-weekly meetings to see what I could do to help. Build Week is just a couple of weeks away, May 20-27. That’s right, a completely volunteer workforce, made up of Homer residents just like you, is building the entire playground in one week. Thanks to the playground firm Play By Design, HOPP has Build Week down to a science, from knowing how many hammers are needed to arranging volunteers for childcare (who will even be background-checked for safety) to securing food donations for the volunteers.  
Now is the time that they need the rest of us to step in and do our part. Do you have a few minutes to gather friends or co-workers to commit to working a building or childcare shift? How about a couple of hours to bake up some snacks for the workers? Do you own a Homer-area business that can donate a meal during a build shift? There are three build shifts per day, with 100 volunteers needed per shift. If you’re into math, that comes out to 2,400 openings to fill for builders alone. Anyone over the age of 14 can take part in the building, and the jobs range from carrying wood and hammering nails to more skilled tasks involving power tools, all under the guidance of Build Captains. Each shift will receive a meal and snacks, as well as the satisfaction of being able to say, “Hey, I helped make this happen!”
When the project is complete, a visit to Karen Hornaday Park will be more than just an hour at the playground. It will be the chance to show your kids and grandkids what Homer can accomplish when we work together to better our town. What better way to teach our younger generations the importance of investing in their community than by doing the same ourselves?
For more information on Build Week and to sign up for building, childcare, or food donations, visit www.homerplaygroundproject.org. You may also call Deb Cox at 299-1516.

Christy Newell is involved in HoPP.

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.
Say what you will about people needing moose and caribou to eat. I know what need means first-hand. I have lived deep in the bush where we would have starved if we had failed to bag a moose in the autumn. Now, by contrast, eating moose and caribou is not a need but a luxury for me, one which I enjoy but don’t pretend is still a matter of survival. It costs many Alaskans more money to harvest wild game than to buy meat in a supermarket — at least if harvest requires a rifle worth a couple of thousand bucks, a $10,000 4-wheeler, trailer, pickup truck, or chartering or owning an airplane.
Furthermore, much of the push for “Intensive Management” comes from the hunting guide industry and the businesses that guided hunters support (sporting goods stores, ATV dealers, firearms, air taxi, etc.) That is fine. Perfectly legitimate. But so is the wildlife viewing industry.
According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, viewing contributes an estimated $700 million per year to Alaska’s economy – much more than hunting does. At least viewing did before “Intensive Management” was shoved down our throats. I have yet to see even a hint that the Board of Game was seriously trying to understand the needs of the wildlife viewing industry, much less to find ways to sustain that industry. Why torpedo one industry to favor another, especially when careful planning would allow them to coexist? Why deny Alaskans one form of recreation in favor of another, when both forms could coexist?
Coexistence? Is that really possible? Easily. Most needs of wildlife viewers, whether viewing is done for profit or pleasure, could be met by tailoring management for viewing in just a miniscule portion of Alaska, leaving rest of our State lands to be managed for hunting. Yet the Board has never, to my knowledge, offered to sit down with viewers and work out a plan.
Of course, viewers are welcome to submit proposals. Some of us have. Only to see them treated with blatant contempt.
Those of us involved in wildlife viewing, especially “predator” viewing, have been stonewalled whenever we try to discuss this issue with board members. They aren’t there to serve Alaskans in all our diversity, but only that small segment of Alaskans belonging to groups such as the Outdoor Council. “Winner take all” politics at its most venal.
Recall the old saying, “Man cannot live by bread alone.” Nor can we live by meat alone, not in the modern world. Think about this: Do you reap benefits from any business supported by the wildlife viewing industry — for instance do you own or work in a restaurant, gas station, lodge/hotel/motel/B&B, grocery store, sporting goods store, etc.? If so, the Board of Game’s fanatical focus on maximizing moose and caribou numbers to the exclusion of all other benefits from wildlife could eventually be taking money out of your pocket. It could be depriving you of a variety of other benefits too.
It’s long past time for our Legislature to refuse to seat any new member on the Game Board who does not represent the wildlife viewing industry. In fact, it should flush the entire existing board and replace it with a whole panel of new members who represent the whole spectrum of interests dear to the heart of Alaskans, as well as deep knowledge about wildlife biology and ecology.
Meanwhile, the existing Board should abandon its comic-book biology approach to wildlife management, and learn enough science to understand what it really takes to sustain game populations in perpetuity.
No, Gov. Parnell, privatizing Alaska’s wildlife is not the answer; and giving kickbacks to hunting organizations that provide your campaign contributions is anything but ethical, even when kickbacks take the form of an organization being able to auction off special hunting opportunities. Graft and corruption aren’t confined to extractive industries.

Stephen F. Stringham, Ph.D., is director of the Bear Viewing Association, a consulting wildlife biologist and president of WildWatch LLC.

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 flock of shorebirds landed on the outside jetty.  I counted about 350 surfbirds, 64 Dunlin, and one Black Turnstone. It was truly amazing. 
Wanting to get some good photos of this, I walked past the security fence and went out on the Deep Water Dock about 25 feet where I had a great view of the birds.  After spending about 10 minutes getting some good shots, this official-looking guy comes up to me and says that if I stay there I’m going to jail.  I thought, hmmm, then I would be able to add jail bird to my list.  But, not wanting this for a lifer, I decided to leave, trying to explain to this guy about all the surfers I was looking at.  He just looked and saw the Coast Guard ship in line with where I was aiming my digiscope.  I thought this was one of those situations where explanation just makes things worse, so I quickly left. But I got some good shots, I mean photos. 
Moving on, I headed down the Homer Spit and saw four Pacific Golden-Plovers by the small parking space at Louie’s Lagoon.  The sun was just right, and I got some good photos of a nearby female. Two flocks of about 20 birds flew by which I think were also Pacific Golden-Plovers. 
From there I went to the Green Timbers parking area and saw 10 Pacific Golden-Plovers foraging in the high grass.  At tideline was a mixed flock of about 180 Western sandpipers, a couple Dunlin, and 16 Black-bellied Plovers. 
By the time I got to Mud Bay, it was about three hours after high tide and all the shorebirds were way out there. There was a large flock of about 1,500 that I assume were Western Sandpipers.  I got an e-mail from Aaron Lang who was at Mud Bay before high tide. He estimated there were 1,800 Westerns and 150 Dunlin.  In addition, he had 15 Short-billed dowitchers, six Whimberl, one Marbled Godwit, one Semipalmated Plover , and 20 Lease Sandpipers. He also saw about 1,000 Surfbirds fly down the Homer Spit. 
Saturday, we have scheduled monitoring. Should be a great day if you can stay out of jail.
George Matz
 

It takes a community

The Homer Playground Project slogan is, “It takes a community to build a great playground.”
Taken a step further, I would say, “Show me a great park system, and I’ll show you a great community.” Homer has that potential. You can show the greatness of Homer as a community by being part of building a new playground at Karen Hornaday Park the week of May 20. Sign up now to volunteer – www.homerplaygroundproject.org
Jack Wiles

Flourishing artist programs

Picture a perpetual Artist in Residence Program, enhancing community creativity and vibrancy for Alaskan artists and the community of Homer with artists talks, exhibitions and workshops. It’s gaining momentum! Bunnell Street Arts Center is pleased that our Artist in Residence Program has grown, thanks to Homer Foundation’s grant of $2,000 in 2011, with support from the Jensen Fund. This program brightened Homer for two long, dark winter months. In January, Alaskan mixed media artist, Sandy Gillespie, enlivened our main gallery with a body of work in progress for exhibition at Alaska State Museum. She also instructed a workshops on combining visual art and writing for adults as well as a two-week Artist in Schools unit at West Homer Elementary. In March, local artists of all ages enjoyed Seattle-based graphic novelist, Jim Woodring as he discussed and embellished his Homer Sketchbook and provided presentations and workshops on cartooning for youth. We have big goals and a lot of room to grow our Artist in Residence Program. Special thanks to Homer Foundation for fueling the vision this winter.
Asia Freeman
Executive/artistic director
Bunnell Street Arts Center

Ron Paul asserts individual rights

I was privileged to be a delegate for Ron Paul at the Republican convention in Anchorage last week. In the Constitutional Rights committee, I’m pleased to report, there was a lot of freedom and liberty being spoken. We would have abolished corporate personhood, thrown out the Transportation Security Agency, reinforced rights against unlawful search and seizure, reinforced Posse Comitatus, made industrial hemp legal, among other big issues. One should have guessed, the rooted controlling members would find a strategic way to avoid confronting these issues and keep them from coming to the main floor by running out of time when they got to our committee.
I proposed, to clarify certain matters, that the legal definition of the word “person” shall be: A living, individual, human being of flesh and blood.
Rev.Richard Olson

Hockey team scores support

On behalf of Homer Hockey Association, we’d like to say thank you to this generous community. HHA held our most successful raffle yet this winter and we sincerely appreciate all of you who supported the hockey players and Kevin Bell Arena by purchasing raffle tickets.
We’d especially like to recognize Homer Saw and Cycle and the Save-U-More Deli for generously donating prizes for top selling players.  We are grateful for the businesses that kindly offered space for teams to sell tickets; including Ulmer’s, Spenard Builder’s Supply, Safeway, and Save-U-More. 
Finally, thank you to the parents, managers, coaches and family members who put in tireless volunteer hours to make hockey a positive, healthy activity for so many players. 
Karyn Noyes, Nyla Lightcap, Heidi Stage, and Kim Duggar
HHA raffle committee

Wonderful Week of the Young Child

The week to celebrate young children in Homer (April 22 -28) flew by with a flurry of fun events for young kids. Many people contributed to making it a successful week, many organizations hosted special events, some agencies highlighted the great things they do for young children on a regular basis, and numerous individuals volunteered to share their talents. What a wonderful community we have. The list is just too long to name each individually, but we thank you all for caring about kids.
The week’ events culminated on April 28 when a dynamic group of Homer citizens met to talk about families, parenting and young children. An exciting, positive conversation led to visioning an even better place for young children to grow up. Again, many people helped make this “Community Cafe” a success: Thanks to the Christian Community Church and Kachemak Kids Early Learning Center for the space and child care providers. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch of sandwiches donated by Subway, beautiful salads and desserts by Two Sisters Bakery and coffee from Captains.
Our facilitator, Charlie Johansen-Adams helped us make the most of our time together. Finally, Jenny Martin deserves a special big thank you for all the work she did. The Week of the Young Child and community cafe were sponsored by Families First: A Best Beginnings Partnership which includes Sprout’s “Strengthening Families” project.
There will be more opportunities in the near future to get involved in projects that make Homer the wonderful town that it is. Remember to save the date: May 18 for the upcoming MAPP meeting where we will hear how those community working groups are progressing and help set the path for moving forward.

Lolita Brache and Bonnie Betley,
Co-chairs for Families First

Project Grad gains critical support 

Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula would like to acknowledge and thank the Homer Foundation’s Choices for Teens Fund for its generous support of our 2012 Middle School-High School Bridge Program. 
These funds will allow students from seven rural Kenai Peninsula schools to gather in Homer and participate in a variety of activities aimed at developing a broad base of support for students at a critical time in their lives. 
We are grateful to the Homer Foundation and the work they do to reinforce the sense of community we are all fortunate to have in Homer. 
Mike Petersen,
Executive director

Happy trails with cowboys, girls

The Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association gives a huge thank you to all the cowboys and cowgirls who made our 5th Annual Cowboy Cabaret a wonderful success. Alice’s Champagne Palace served a great Chuck Wagon Supper; the Dessert Auction & Silent Auction brought in much need funds for our $30,000 annual payment. As usual the generosity of the business and private donors was awesome.
We couldn’t have done it without Cowboy Mark Marette, Emcee Extraordinaire and exceptional poet. Tim Quinn’s music experience; Jackie Eisenberg, Cindy Birkhimer, Chris Day, Sandy Arndt, Renee Eidem, Katie Matthews, and Lynn Patton’s work on the silent auction; Jeanie Fabich’s help collecting the money; and the list goes on to all who helped to bring KBEA’s biggest fund raiser of the year together.
We especially enjoyed the Homer Ukulele Society’s renditions of favorite Western music. Of course it couldn’t be a Cabaret without the incredible poets and musicians. These funds go to the purchase of the land for beautiful Cottonwood Horse Park at 1.7 mile East End Road. Join us for our annual Memorial Day Celebration of horses and riders on May 28.
Happy trails!
Roberta Highland, president
Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association

A little clean-up pride

I first want to say how proud I am to be part of a community that participated so well in Clean Up Day this past Saturday! It was a phenomenal success! I am proud to say we brought in a whopping 1,338 bags of trash, nearly twice as much as last year. Some 239 of those bags were recyclable materials, which is nearly three times as much as last year.
It was great to see the amount of people, adults and especially kids who were out picking up trash at various places around town.
As with every year, not only was there great participation in cleaning Homer but we got an amazing amount of donations from local businesses and people alike to show their appreciation for those who were out cleaning.
We had over $3,000 worth of donations! My heart is warmed with the generosity of the people in Homer. Those donors include many Homer businesses.
Hot dogs were provided by Kachemak Bay Lions, who also generously donated four bikes for kids that were participating in Clean Up Day.
Kachemak Bay Rotary volunteers manned the dumpsters and volunteer Dale Banks of Loopy Lupine Distribution organized and manned the recycling operation with his volunteers. Alaska Waste, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Homer Landfill, and Moore & Moore Services donated dumpsters, recycling containers and delivery of both.
Again, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved in making this years Clean Up Day a huge success!
Nyla Lightcap
Clean Up Day coordinator

If true, this is hard case
A former Kenai Peninsula veteran was indicated last week for committing fraud instead of sending “Boxes to Heroes,” the name of his project. Francis Roach is accused of soliciting donations for boxes of goodies to be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of going to the post office, he reportedly went to the bank and deposited it all for himself. From the $140,000 collected, Roach allegedly made his house payments, bought his groceries. If it all bears out as true and Roach is convicted of this crime, this will stand as one of the sadder stories of the year. A veteran ought to have been the last one to commit a fraud like this.

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.
• $23,000 — training CERT instructors and team leaders, CERT background screening and CERT training supplies (instructor and participant manuals, etc.).
• $15,000 CERT Protective and Emergency Equipment and Supplies — Replenishing our supply of basic gear kits for new volunteers, traffic and scene safety gear (including high visibility vests, light wands, vehicle lights), a CERT trailer, radio/GPS units, helmet chin straps, first aid and triage supplies and etc.
• $10,250 — Computing equipment for the KPB Incident Management Team that would be deployed to the Emergency Operations Center during a mass disaster: 10 rugged laptop computers with software, charging system, wheeled weatherproof carrying case, wireless and Internet.
• $5,000 — Security and Vulnerability Study. The Alaska State Vulnerability Team would perform a security and seismic assessment of borough-owned facilities. The results would be used to improve planning strategies and mitigation efforts by the borough and the state and help prioritize projects for future funding.
• $217,000 — A second, portable, self-supporting medical center and shelter system (three-piece insulated shelter with generator, sanitation system, hot and cold water system, heaters and lighting), basic first aid/mass casualty supplies, and two trailers for storage and transportation.
The borough needs a minimum of three of these shelters, for instance one each at Seward, Soldotna and Homer — points from which they can be deployed to any point on the main Kenai Peninsula, across Kachemak Bay or across Cook Inlet, if needed.
These grants were bundled under Ordinance 2011-19-63 and submitted to the assembly for acceptance. Perhaps OEM thought, as I did, that the need for these items was so obvious that acceptance would be a slam dunk, even without any supportive testimony from community members.
I was wrong. The grants were declined. I spoke with two assembly members afterwards and learned that some members either did not understand the need for these items or they were practicing fiscal frugality — not recognizing that this was a case of penny-wise and pound foolish, where the cost of healing after a disaster dwarfs the costs of minimized damage by thorough preparedness. Not only wouldn’t this cost us a dime, it would save us from having to buy these items out of borough funds.
Perhaps more critically, the assembly saw no sign of community support. Live and learn. But we didn’t make that mistake again.
When the amended ordinance, now numbered 2011-19-77, came up for a vote April 3, the assembly passed the measure 9-0 – unanimously.

Steve Stringham is a CERT volunteer.