Homer News Roundup, 11/20

Congratulations, Sen.-elect Begich

Congratulations to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, now U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Begich, for his victory over Ted Stevens. It was not an easy race, but Begich won in 25 of Alaska's 40 legislative districts, among them District 35, which includes Homer … (read more)

Gas soon may be flowing to Homer

Homer's long wait for a consistent supply of natural gas may finally be nearing an end as two gas companies -- Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC, a subsidiary of Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas, and Anchorage-based Enstar Natural Gas Co. -- have agreed in principle to build a pipeline to ship the commodity from wells in the North Fork area … (read more)

More questions than answers in Saturday's fire

The victim of a Saturday afternoon fire on Diamond Ridge still had not been identified as of Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters found the badly burned remains of a person inside the cabin, which burned to the ground, at 40495 Misty Ridge Road, a side street on Diamond Ridge Road near the Hickerson Memorial Cemetery … (read more)

Council prepares to move ahead with traffic signal

At its next regular meeting, scheduled for Monday, the Homer City Council will be faced with a choice -- whether or not to officially direct a $2 million state grant toward construction of a traffic signal at the corner of Main Street and the Sterling Highway … (read more)

Carey names top administrators

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Dave Carey has named two long-time borough employees to department head positions in his administration. Their appointments were confirmed by the assembly Tuesday night. Carey tapped Jack Maryott as director of the borough's Solid Waste Department and David Tressler was named director of the borough's Maintenance Department … (read more)

Tibetan abbot returns to Homer this weekend

Floating Leaf Sangha, which means "community," brings Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche to Homer for two days of Buddhist spiritual teaching Saturday and Sunday. This is Rinpoche's sixth visit to Homer, said Ken Bergman, a Floating Leaf member who, along with Debbie Poore, coordinates teacher visits … (read more)

BREAKING: Natural gas headed to Homer, says Enstar

This story broke earlier today …

Armstrong, Enstar agree to send North Fork gas to Homer

Homer's long wait for a consistent supply of natural gas may finally be nearing an end as two gas companies - Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC, a subsidiary of Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas, and Anchorage-based Enstar Natural Gas Co. - have agreed in principle to build a pipeline to ship the commodity from wells in the North Fork area.

"They have positive results," said Enstar spokesman Curtis Thayer of Armstrong's two North Fork wells after a Thursday meeting between the two companies. "They have gas they would like to sell and it is commercially viable. From the preliminary discussion, it looks like Homer is the best opportunity for that gas."

Homer businesses and residents who presently rely on heating oil would stand to save a third of their heating expenses with a supply of natural gas, said Thayer, but he cautioned that no formal agreement has yet been reached and many hurdles still stand in the way.

Click here to read the rest and stay tuned to homernews.com for updates.

Homer gas prices coming down slowly (UPDATED)

The Daily News' Wes Loy has an article today about high gas prices statewide. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing in Anchorage yesterday with Alaska's two gasoline refiners, Flint HIlls and Tesoro. Jay Ramras (R-Fairbanks) heads the committee and says the two companies have a duopoly and that's what's leading to AK's highest in the nation gas prices.

Meanwhile, Homer seems to be the only place on the road system that still pays more than $4 a gallon ($4.06 the other day at Petro Express). Smokey Norton from Petro Express says it's because the local retailers wait until they fill up their large tanks before they change their prices. I have a complete story on the subject, with comment from Norton and Ramras, but the link on the website doesn't seem to be working right now. Check back here soon and I'll have it up. (UPDATE: Here's the link to yesterday's Homer News gas story.)

Also, I'm working on a story about Armstrong's successful natural gas well at North Fork and how that gas might get to Homer. McKibben did a preliminary story on the well here. Stay tuned for more on the subject.