State fishery managers are closing king salmon sport fishing in much of Cook Inlet on Friday; a section of the Sterling Highway near Cooper Landing will close for several hours later this week; and the Homer City Council advanced several items at its meeting last night and honored a police Lieutenant who is retiring.

The Homer City Council advanced several items at its meeting last night and honored a police Lieutenant who is retiring; and Cycle Logical, founded by Derek Reynolds in 2006, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as Homer's destination for human-powered adventure.

Cycle Logical, founded by Derek Reynolds in 2006, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as Homer's destination for human-powered adventure; Homer voters may soon decide whether to continue a sales tax that funds the city's roads and trails program commonly known as the HART program; and Alaska-based telecommunications company GCI announced plans to acquire Quintillion in a $310 million deal.

Seward’s historic Mount Marathon race is hosting an online auction for 6 race slots so that runners who didn’t make it into the original lottery can start to make plans a little sooner in advance than at the traditional auction that takes place the evening before the race; the Small Town and Rural Student College Network is a consortium of thirty-two universities and colleges dedicated to helping students from small-town and rural America enroll in an undergraduate program of their choice; and school funding again took center stage at last week’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting in Seward.

Seward’s historic Mount Marathon race is hosting an online auction for 6 race slots so that runners who didn’t make it into the original lottery can start to make plans a little sooner in advance than at the traditional auction that takes place the evening before the race; the Small Town and Rural Student College Network is a consortium of thirty-two universities and colleges dedicated to helping students from small-town and rural America enroll in an undergraduate program of their choice; and school funding again took center stage at this week’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting in Seward.

The state Senate Finance Committee released its first revision of the state’s operating budget Wednesday, including a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend and a $150 energy relief check; and Petersburg’s first cruise ship of the season comes to town this Sunday, with regular cruise visits picking up near the end of May.

Homer Senior Center residents will soon pay more for food and housing, following a vote by the center's board Tuesday; and the state Senate Finance Committee released its first revision of the state’s operating budget Wednesday, including a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend and a $150 energy relief check.

Homer Senior Center residents will soon pay more for food and housing, following a vote by the center's board Tuesday; a key Alaska Senate committee is out with a new take on the governor’s proposal to cut taxes for the Alaska LNG project — with a much, much smaller tax cut; and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave a ringing endorsement for Alaska LNG Tuesday, but he also acknowledged the mega-project has a mega-challenge.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will not ask state lawmakers for more school funding; a key Alaska Senate committee is out with a new take on the governor’s proposal to cut taxes for the Alaska LNG project — with a much, much smaller tax cut; and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave a ringing endorsement for Alaska LNG Tuesday, but he also acknowledged the mega-project has a mega-challenge.

On the Kenai Peninsula, the end of winter comes with the return of the midnight sun and salmon, an influx of tourists and fireweed and a welcome reprieve from the cold and dark. But the change in seasons also means road work, and the traffic jams that come with it. This year will be no different; advocates have been pushing state legislators this session to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18. The House passed a bill that would do that unanimously last year, but the proposal has been stuck in a Senate committee ever since; and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will not ask state lawmakers for more school funding.