HOMER — A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Southcentral Alaska on Sunday and was reported as widely felt in communities on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Earthquake Center said. The earthquake occurred just after 7 a.m. It was 13 miles west of Homer and 130 miles southwest of Anchorage, the center said. […]
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Alaskans have until next Friday to file for their 2022 Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. The Alaska Department of Revenue has already received more than 526,000 applications during the current application period, which opened Jan. 1 and will close at the end of the day on March 31. Alaskans can apply for their PFD through the […]
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If you have ever wanted to catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse of artists at work, stop by Grace Ridge Brewing this weekend to see more than a dozen artists creating works of art — from start to finish — in one hour – to raise funds to support youth artists. In a fundraising event for the […]
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Eager to explore and celebrate individual physicality and shared humanity, Homer Council on the Arts in partnership with Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic invited artists to participate in “Unto Ourselves – Radical Autonomy,” an exhibit on display through March. “This exhibit came from the desire to express ourselves in the wake of the Supreme Court […]
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Homer High School students will ‘Seize the Day’ this month with their performance of the musical “Newsies.” The musical is set in 1899 New York during a strike of the city’s newsboys — who have to purchase the papers they sell. “ … All of a sudden publisher Joseph Pulitzer wants to make more money […]
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From creating metal jewelry to teaching metalsmithing in classrooms and community spaces to volunteering his time with groups and organizations around the state, Art Koeninger is dedicated to a life of creativity and compassion. Since 1966, Koeninger has been a self-taught, self-employed jeweler and metal artist, motivated by a sense of curiosity and playfulness. “As […]
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The Homer Electric Association announced in a March 9 press release its new scholarship programs and extended the application deadline for all scholarships to April 3. HEA, which was founded in 1947, annually awards scholarships to students in each of its districts. The scholarships are named after influential employees and a community member who have […]
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The Board of Game will meet in Soldotna this weekend to deliberate on proposals regarding hunting regulations that affect the Southcentral region. The Southcentral Region Meeting is scheduled to run from Friday to Tuesday, according to an agenda posted to the board’s website. It will be held at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex starting at […]
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When stay-at-home mom Alyssa Morgan found herself spending a lot of time scrolling on her phone, she realized that she needed to put her hands to work and stimulate her brain with something other than taking care of her baby. What began as a hobby, playing with clay in her parents’ living room, has turned […]
Read MoreFirst-place Winners K-3 nonfiction First-place winner: Sidney Jones “If You Aren’t Falling” If You Aren’t Falling, You Aren’t Learning Last summer I learned to ride a bike. My bike is pink, purple and white. It used to have training wheels. My bike goes really fast. My babysitter Jamie, and my mommy, daddy and little sister […]
Read MoreThe Homer City Council at their Feb. 27 meeting passed resolution 23-019, expressing support for removing the city’s privilege to appoint a representative to serve as director of the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association (CIAA). The resolution asserts that the city of Homer should no longer contribute to CIAA management. City council members during their meeting […]
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The Kenai Peninsula Writers’ Contest returned for its 25th year, with winners in all categories announced on March 6. Coordinated by the Homer Council on the Arts, the contest was open to literary artists of all ages on the Kenai Peninsula. The judges were Lia Calhoun, Billeen Carlson, Kathryn Carssow, Melissa Cloud, Anne Coray, Wendy […]
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Homer community resident Derek Stonorov is an Alaska brown bear expert. He started to watch and study the animal as an undergraduate in 1966. “I was always interested in bears, even as a child,” he told the Homer News in an interview last month. In his recently published book, “Watch the Bear: A Half Century […]
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The daylight hours are getting longer and splashes of color will soon be upon us. In the meantime, stop by Homer’s art galleries and take in First Friday Opening Receptions and see new work by local artists, including paintings, mixed media, comics, pastels, and more. Art Shop Gallery 202 W. Pioneer Ave. Browse Alaskan art […]
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David Kauffman joined Homer’s Little Fireweed Academy last week for an Artist in the Schools residency. The weeklong program, held Feb. 20-24, was a blend of art and science, with students in kindergarten to second grade collecting natural objects from the beach for their art project. On the first day of the project, Feb. 20, […]
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Homer High School’s student government continues to lead efforts to change the school’s dress code regulations disallowing Salty Dawg apparel in the school. A resolution made by the student government earlier this academic year has been presented to the Alaska Association for Student Governments, the KPBSD Board of Education, and the Homer High School Site […]
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Sparks were flying last Wednesday morning at Soldotna High School, where junior Kevin Steger donned protective eyewear while applying a stick welder to a long strip of metal. As a flaming plume shot out of Steger’s workspace, flashes created by another student in a welding hood lit up the red plastic curtains sectioning off the […]
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By Christina Whiting For Homer News Walk into Ann-Margret Wimmerstedt’s home and you step into her art studio. She paints in the living room, sews in the family room and sketches in the kitchen, moving items around as she is inspired. “I’m interested in a lot of things and I get a lot of creative […]
Read MoreDuring their regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 13, the Homer City Council adopted an ordinance to appropriate $70,000 from the Land Reserves to purchase a 4.53 acre parcel in the Bridge Creek watershed protection district. Ordinance 23-02(A) is an amendment of Ordinance 23-02, which was introduced on Jan. 9 and originally included language to draw […]
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More students per teacher and the closure of school pools and theaters are among the cuts being considered by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s finance committee as a way to balance the district’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The group convened at the district office in Soldotna for what KPBSD Finance Director Elizabeth […]
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As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District works to fill a projected gap between revenues and expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, fresh attention is being given to state dollars the district may be missing out on — those given to non-KPBSD home-schooled students. State funding for school districts is tied to enrollment. The more […]
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“At the Edge of All We Have Built” is a series of eight mixed media paintings currently on display at the Homer Public Library. Blending science fiction and outer space with the everyday and personal, the paintings feature silhouettes standing alone on the edge of precipices and looking out into vast, colorful landscapes, with the […]
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I often shop at thrift stores. Mostly for cost, but also out of laziness — I want to spend ethically, but I don’t want to put in the time to research each brand and their supply chains. I like to shop second hand so I don’t have to worry if my purchase is supporting exploitative […]
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Beavers, birds and bears are not the only ones foraging wood in the forests. From stumps and logs he harvests himself and milled lumber from local sawmills, Tony Perelli carves bowls, plates, cups, and spoons — beautiful and functional works of art. With birch, hemlock, and chokecherry trees as his medium, Perelli uses an electric […]
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Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members approved on Tuesday evening a $31,000 pay raise for the borough mayor, to take effect for whoever is elected to the next full term in October. The pay bump does not apply to current Borough Mayor Mike Navarre, or to whoever is elected through the special mayoral election currently underway. […]
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I woke up early that morning to review my production timeline — I had read it a dozen times by then. I got to the classroom early to sharpen my knives while I eyed my chef’s office door, waiting for him to post the testing order for the make-or-break midterms. When he finally taped the […]
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By Christina Whiting For the Homer News After a brief break for winter inventory and cleaning, galleries have reopened and most are hosting First Friday events this Friday, Feb. 3. Stop by and see what local and statewide artists have been creating during these past months. Art Shop Gallery 202 W. Pioneer Ave. “Valentine’s Mini […]
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On Monday, Homer High School students performed in the annual Pops concert featuring band, jazz band, choir, swing choir as well as student solos and duets at Homer’s Mariner Theater. There are approximately 40 high school students in band and 55 in choir. The youth filled the first three rows of the auditorium and enthusiastically […]
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The Homer Council on the Arts announced the recipients of the 2022 Community Arts Awards during their annual meeting last Friday evening. The awards presentation, begun in 2005, celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of local artists to Homer’s “colorful” arts community. This year’s recipients are: Diane Borgman Youth Artist of the Year: Leah Dunn Kathy […]
Read MoreIt was love at first sight. The first trailer for “M3GAN” was released on Oct. 11, and the world was introduced to a horror film where the villain was a murderous children’s toy that does TikTok dances — a yassified Chucky. That dance scene, taken out of context, where M3GAN swings her arms, does a […]
Read MoreWell, here we are, already nearly a month into the New Year. If you are like this Betster, you have kept a few resolutions, faltered on a couple, and given up all together on one or two. Not to worry, there are still 11 more months to write that story, learn that language or instrument, […]
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