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 News roundup, 11/13

In this week's Homer News:

Pioneer Avenue break-ins continue

A string of burglaries of downtown businesses continued as two more Pioneer Avenue businesses were broken into last week -- one for the second time since May. Burglaries were discovered last Friday morning at Bay Realty and the Homer Bookstore, across the street from each other near the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and Svedlund Street … (read more)

Armstrong, Enstar plan well's future

A decades-long desire to secure a consistent natural gas supply to Homer could take an important step forward today when officials from Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC, a subsidiary of Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas, and Anchorage-based Enstar Natural Gas Co. meet to discuss the potential of a newly drilled successful gas well between Homer and Anchor Point … (read more)

Homer's reps get leadership posts in Juneau

Homer will have friends in high places in the upcoming 26th Alaska Legislature, as its two representatives in Juneau, Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, have been named to prominent legislative positions … (read more)

Redoubt advisory issued

The Alaska Volcano Observatory last week changed the volcano alert level for Redoubt Volcano to advisory, with an aviation code level of yellow. In a notice issued Nov. 5, AVO said it changed the alert level due to changes in gas emission and heat output from the volcano about 82 miles west of Kenai in Lake Clark National Park on the west side of Cook Inlet … (read more)

Leak closes Haven House shelter

A plumbing breakdown that started with a child's toy clogging a toilet has closed the shelter at South Peninsula Haven House since late October. Several bathrooms, a bedroom and the kitchen were damaged by water overflowing from the broken plumbing … (read more)

Obama's win fulfills dream for all civil rights activists

I am a son of the South, born in Charlottesville, Va., and raised in Tampa, Fla. I also am a son of the segregated South. Growing up in Tampa before the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, I remember segregated water fountains, segregated beaches, segregated swimming pools and segregated schools. All over the South in the 1960s, you saw Confederate flags on license plates, flown over homes or incorporated into state flags … (read more)

Carey, Chumley right to quit HEA positions

Those involved in government at all levels are hammered when the public perceives they're doing something wrong. When those same people do something right, it deserves to be noted. Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Dave Carey and his Chief of Staff Hugh Chumley did the right thing by resigning from their seats on the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors earlier this week … (read more)