HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC built a pad for drilling operations at Holly Lane and North Fork Road. Located in the Bailey subdivision, it will eventually hook to the Homer line.

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 decisions.
Losing no time, the Homer City Council passed a resolution Monday night to begin the process for obtaining natural gas. A workshop is set for June 4 to “initiate a broad community review process on the merits of public financing for gasline construction.”
“This is what we’ve waited a long time for,” said Mayor Jim Hornaday, who often mentions the town has sought natural gas heat for 40 years. “It’s going to make a tremendous difference in our bottom line, for every business and individual in town.”
A number of questions and answers will be explored in the coming months. City Manager Walt Wrede has asked the council to get started on decisions for developing out the distribution system. The city has access to financing options to help homeowners hook up. It is up to the council and the public testimony process to decide which way they would like to see costs paid by neighborhoods to tap in.
The next step is to figure out which areas to develop a distributions system out from the main trunk line, said Kachemak City Mayor Phil Morris. That next step for Kachemak comes in a July 11 public hearing in which the Kachemak City Council is looking at authorizing a distribution system for the entire town of Kachemak. They are negotiating with Enstar for the price of that distribution system.
Parnell has signed three budget bills for Fiscal Year 2013. The governor also approved a $453.5 million general obligation bond package for statewide transportation projects that will go to the voters in November. 
The Homer area won appropriation for key projects. The budget holds $100,000 to dredge the Nick Fishing Lagoon. It appropriates funds for a Greer Road surfacing project, $150,000; $300,000 for the Halibut Cove Community Organization to use for a Alaska Mussel Farming Demonstration Project and $100,000 for Pratt Museum Building Design and Construction.

Other capital projects include
• Kachemak Roads Repairs $60,000
• The Kenai Peninsula College’s Kachemak Bay Campus $50,000 for the Pioneer Avenue Building addition.
• Kachemak Bay Equestrian Association’s Cottonwood Horse Park, $10,000
• The Kachemak Shellfish Mariculture Association for an Oyster Remote Setting Facility, 60,000.
Cook Inlet Aquaculture receives $699,000 for the Tutka Bay Hatchery.
Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council – Ice Forecasting Network 70,000
• $1 million for Seldovia’s small boat harbor
• A Value Added Manufacturing Plant in Seldovia, $330,000.
The governor vetoed a total of $66.6 million, largely from operating items. 
The operating and capital budgets now total $12.1 billion, including $7.9 billion in state general funds. The budget includes full funding for K-12 education, Medicaid, retirement system unfunded liability, debt service, and employee contracts. The capital budget totals $2.9 billion, including $1.9 billion in state general funds.
Two billion dollars of surplus funds were moved to savings with the potential of up to $3.4 billion going into the Statutory Budget Reserve based on projected FY 2012 and FY 2013 balances.
“Maintaining strong cash reserves and budget discipline are critical components of our long-range fiscal plan,” Parnell said. “Given the steady decline in oil production and the volatile nature of oil prices, we will need cash on hand to provide state services in the future.”
More than $1.6 billion was appropriated for highways, aviation, the Alaska Marine Highway, harbors, village safe water, and municipal water and sewer projects. The Roads to Resources initiative was also funded allowing work to continue on a road to Tanana, the Ambler District Road, a road to Umiat, and improvements on the Klondike Industrial Use Highway to Skagway. 
Another $50 million was set aside in the Vessel Replacement Fund as a down payment on the second new ferry for the Alaska Marine Highway System. 
Direct K-12 education funding increased $50 million in the signed budgets. The total state funded K-12 education and pupil transportation budget for FY 2013 is $1.2 billion. New legislation increased pupil transportation funding and resources to expand vocational education funding from grades 7 through 12. In addition, the state directly funds more than $329 million for school district retirement system unfunded liability for the Public Employees’ and Teachers’ Retirement Systems. The capital budget also includes over $431 million for school and university projects statewide. 
Nearly $12 million in additional resources to combat domestic violence and sexual assault are included in the operating budget for prevention and intervention, support for survivors, and law enforcement.
The capital budget contains over $247 million for statewide energy projects including: $31.5 million for weatherization programs to help Alaskans make their homes more energy efficient; $25.9 million for the Renewable Energy Fund targeting projects in areas with the highest energy costs; and $20 million for home energy rebates.  The operating budget contains $38.2 million to fully fund the Power Cost Equalization Program, and an estimated $48 million for the Alaska Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. In addition, $125 million was appropriated for the new Sustainable Energy Fund to help finance energy infrastructure projects that will reduce the cost of energy to Alaskans.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife - A brown bear, not unlike this Kodiak, has been seen in the Fritz Creek area of Yukon and Greer Roads. The grizzly is attracted by the easy pickings of livestock.

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 open doors on each end – absolutely ripped it apart,” Green said. The damage can be repaired but it’s going to take some work.
The bear made off with one duck and three chickens, before all of them scattered into the trees and needed to be herded back.
“One of the chickens is injured. The bear just attacked them, chewed on them and left them there. He had already gotten into other chicken coups,” he said. “Maybe he was full.”
Since its established itself as a nuisance bear, neighbors on Greer were given permission to shoot it.
“We’ve had a lot of reports about that bear. It’s obviously the time of year when the bears are waking up and they’re a little mischievous and a lot hungry,” said Wildlife Officer David Chaffin. “We’re asking people to keep vigilant and an eye out. If it gets to be enough of an issue – we’ll address it.”
In the case of the Greer Road bear, officials received a lot of calls. But Fish and Game Wildlife Technician Larry Lewis said the department surprisingly hasn’t received many spring calls about bear incidents. “There are a lot of moose carcasses. We’re not getting very many calls around residential areas. They may be finding dead moose and that’s easy pickings for them,” he said.
Fish and Game estimates 135 moose, the majority calves or yearlings, died of starvation this year. That doesn’t count the road-killed moose. “Some we highly suspect were starvation animals. We’ve been looking at the bone marrow, the condition of the bone taken from the femur, which is severely depleted of nutrition (in moose that starved). By the time they were eating spruce needles they weren’t doing real well,” Lewis said.
The deep snows this past winter impacted a number of animals, though the most noticeable sufferers were the moose. The owl populations are high right now, reports Kasilof resident Tom Baxter. That’s largely due to an abundant food source in the snowshoe hare population. But he is warning people after his own painful experience that the Great Horned owl tends to like eating cats.

Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife - Great Horned owl in flight.

“An Anchor Point wildlife trooper told me he has never seen this many owls before. I lost a cat to a Great Horned owl, and I am sure many other missing small pets can be attributed to owl kills,” he said. “Owls are not wise, they are viscous predators.”
Baxter said he watched an owl make off with his cat last year. The Great Horned owls are nesting and populating heavily in the Kasilof-Anchor Point area, he said.
“A wildlife trooper said he went out one night and made owl calls. Within 45 minutes, he had 20 owls around him,” Baxter said.
“The reason is because of the rabbits. But Great horned owls favor cats over rabbits. I was born and raised in eastern Washington where they eat barn cats,” he said. “You can set them next to each other and the owl would chose the cat any day.”
But laws are different for defending domestic animals from owls than they are in protecting from bears. “You can’t legally kill an owl. Owls are federally protected.”
As for protecting domestic animals from bears, Lewis recommends an electric fence.
“If there’s anything you want to protect from a curious or hungry bear, portable electric fences for temporary camp situations are good,” Lewis said. “A good quality hard-wired system is an excellent idea. We deal with an inordinate amount of calls pertaining to livestock.”
While brown bears generally wake up earlier than black bears, there are a number of variables at work on when humans begin to encounter them more.
“Around Memorial Day weekend, you’ll generally see black bear activity. It’s also good to watch out in the late part of May and early June for moose calves. A No. 1 risk for humans is getting between a cow and a calf,” Lewis said. “Be aware when you’re out walking around to give moose a lot of room. Those animals will be very defensive of their young.”
The yearling calves are getting chased away from their mothers, which also causes confusion.
“You’ll see problems there, too. They are getting chased off from what they knew were safe and secure. You’ll see them follow people. They’ll chase people some times, come after people. Just respect them for the big animals that they are, and give them a lot of room,” Lewis said.

HOMER TRIBUNE/File Photo - Lead Research Capt. Jeff Williams, won national honors this year for his work organizing research work in the Aleutians on volcanoes. Here he is pictured by M/V Tiglax.

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 said.
The cuts also mean foregoing or postponing research at Barren Islands, a long-term sea bird monitoring project studying ocean health through bird diets.
The refuge’s annual budget of roughly $4 million goes to all operations throughout the Alaska National Maritime Wildlife Refuge. With increasing costs and budget cuts of 2 percent, the refuge has a budget shortfall of about $400,000.
The refuge is just one agency asked to make cuts as the U.S. government tries to wrestle its massive deficits in the face of $14 trillion in debt. In addition to the Tiglax budget cuts, the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center has cut its open hours by one-hour each day. A biologist position is being left vacant in another cost-saving move. That biologist was in charge of a Chukchi Sea monitoring project.
“We’ve already seen cuts, not layoffs, but shrinking through attrition. We had to reduce support for seabird monitoring projects, so that instead of having all nine this year, we’ll cut one – the Barren Island bird monitoring project,” Delehanty said.
Future studies mean juggling – skipping a monitoring project for a year or two and bringing it back in, through a rotation schedule. But the problem with that is crucial information lost in the off years, he said.
Last year, in a budget cut, the refuge already slashed one camp. That was a study on rats and auklet populations at Kiska Island. It, too, will not be picked back up this year.
“The problem is you miss out on understanding how something has changed over time. For example, if we are looking at changes in a bird colony, their breeding habits or feeding – you miss the chance to see fascinating but unexpected changes,” he said.
The Tiglax, pronounced TEKH-lah which means eagle in the Aleut language, and its crew, work for the refuge as its research and transportation support vessel. In a 145-day season, the Tiglax may sail to islands in Southeast Alaska, the far western end of the Aleutian Chain, and into the Bering Sea, typically traveling, 15,000 to 20,000 nautical miles.
In the short window of time to do a season’s projects, the Tiglax’s schedule of stops is set in the prior winter months. Some of the refuge’s work is on hire for universities and other agencies. But its primary role was to serve the refuge’s 30-some biologists and their programs, Pepper said. The ship was designed by the refuge and built in 1987 after then-Sen. Ted Stevens had gained funding for ship.
Capt. Billy Pepper said it was specifically made to handle refuge research work in the Aleutians at a time when so few ships were going there. An Aleutian Canada goose repopulation project was its first assignment.
“The Aleutian Canada goose came back, so it wasn’t used for that – it evolved into other aspects,” Pepper said. The Tiglax now does a split of 45 days on charter and 90 days to take care of the refuge’s business.
Clients who charter the Tiglax include the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Memorial University of Canada, Scripts University of San Diego, the U.S. Geophysical Service, and the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
That’s good news for keeping the Tiglax in operation, Pepper explains, but bad news for fulfilling the refuge’s role if it’s used increasingly for other agency work out of monetary necessity.
“That’s the tricky part. It’s built for the needs of the refuge. Less maritime funding, means that without a charter, we’re tied up this year. We lost funding for our ship,” Pepper said.
The refuge could advertise for more charters. “There is so much demand in the summer for ships. We found that when the budget shortfall came out last fall, we didn’t have time to recoup to find a charter for that two week period,” Pepper said.
But when a government agency veers into the charter business that too presents issues, Pepper said. “It’s a very, very fine line. A lot more focus on science nowadays means there isn’t a lot of ships that do it. It takes a lot – and part of what makes us attractive is because we’re already out there.”
Already the Tiglax began its summer on May 1. It was hired by UAF for a plankton study in the Gulf of Alaska and by Scripts University. A team from Scripts has acoustic buoys in the Gulf to listen for whales, primarily for the rare Right whale. On May 16, the Tiglax starts its season for the Maritime Refuge.
Capt. Pepper said another ramification of the cuts is that they could not hire a relief crew for the summer months. He is on for the full season, as are his crew.
The refuge itself has a staff of 34 full-time employees that swells to 45-50 in the summer months.

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 helping to serve or donate meals,” she said.
Free child care is provided at the Community Christian Church down Bartlett Street from the park.
Building a new playground is the result of more than a year’s work on the part of local parent organizers. It includes a sand pit featuring an historic boat, a slide, a salmon-leaping sculpture. A forest and tree fort will feature climbing paths and an observation site. A pirate ship, tire swings, mosaics, a lighthouse, a handicapped accessible trail and other natural trails are to incorporate with the playground.
So far, HoPP has more than 100 people signed up to help. But, it is a massive effort squeezed into one week, so there is a need for more people. For example, on May 26, close to the end of the project when many pieces of equipment and features are close to completion, they will need 150 for that Saturday alone.
Some 12 building captains will be organizing their sets of workers for special projects. Each shift runs four hours long, with a free meal provided at the end of each shift. And, there are about three shifts a day.
HoPP needs people to sign up in advance.
“We need to meet volunteer quotas,” Weiss said. “Right now we have holes everywhere. We need hundreds of people.”
To sign up to help, go to www.homerplaygroundproject.org and follow the prompts.

Image Provided - Karen Hornaday Park playground, when completed with its new design (ABOVE), will feature natural elements like trails, a sand pit and an historic boat. HoPP is currently in need of volunteers to help with construction and landscaping beginning Sunday.

Hearing tsunami debris concerns rising among Alaska’s fishermen, Sen. Lisa Murkowski reached out to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, pushing for information on the status of ongoing prevention and monitoring efforts.
“Alaska is already experiencing higher levels of debris than typical, particularly off Montague and Kayak Islands in the Prince Williams Sound area,” Murkowski notified Lubchenco in a letter.  “I respectfully request that NOAA coordinate with other federal agencies, the State of Alaska, local governments and local industry to track debris that could encroach on historical fishing grounds and make vessel operators aware of the location of potential hazards.”
Murkowski pointed out extra funding is provided in the FY2013 Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill to track and mitigate debris from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.  Murkowski sits on that subcommittee.
 

Trucks plow through HEA power lines

Homer Electric crews responded to two separate outages last week that were caused by dump trucks coming into contact with power lines.
The first one occurred when a dump truck snagged a power line near the intersection of Liberty Avenue and K-Beach Road, near Poppy Lane.
The severity of the impact tore down the electric wire and also broke two power poles. The incident has left 76 homes in the area without power. In order to make repairs to the power poles, HEA had to drop power to a portion of the K-Beach area for a short period of time later Wednesday evening. A second dump truck operating in the Nikiski area hit a power line near Cabin Lake. The line is owned by Agrium, but HEA crews responded to the incident and assisted in making repairs to the line.

Light quakes rattle Homer

A light earthquake struck northwest of Homer, where residents have reported feeling the temblor. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the magnitude 4.0 quake hit at 9:09 p.m. Saturday. It was located 53 miles west-northwest of Homer. The earthquake also was felt in Kenai. No injuries or damages have been reported.

Redistricting decision for 2012 voting

The Alaska Supreme Court issued a decision Friday adopting the Alaska Redistricting Board’s Amended Proclamation Plan as an interim plan for the 2012 state legislative elections. This draws the voting boundaries for the Homer District as separating it from the villages across Kachemak Bay.

MAPP meeting

The Southern Kenai Peninsula’s community health improvement project Mobilizing for Action through Planning & Partnerships will be holding a community meeting on Friday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kachemak Bay Campus Pioneer Hall Room 202.
Anyone who would like to hear results from recent community health data and learn about and/or share recent community efforts that support our 12 community health priorities are welcome to participate. Based on the 2010 community health assessments and community visioning discussions, the 12 community health priorities were identified as: Recreation, addressing violence and substance abuse in families, public transportation, community resources, healthy lifestyle choices, sustainable businesses, local public health system coalition, organizational collaboration and communication, expansion of vocational education, identification of youth needs and wants, arts and culture, and affordable housing.

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