A record number of sockeye salmon passed through the sonar on the Kasilof River on Wednesday; summer tourists have been the primary drivers of Homer's local economy and lodging options for decades, but many local homes are only available for short-term leases, which essentially makes it impossible for people looking for longer-term affordable housing to find it; and there are many ways to learn about the history and culture of Homer, especially in the summer. One way is the Homer Harbor tour which has been going on since the mid-1990s.

A new frontier in science came into human view earlier this month when NASA released the first five images from the James Webb Space Telescope; summer tourists have been the primary drivers of Homer's local economy and lodging options for decades; and the Alaska Court System will open a new program this fall to help tenants and landlords avoid evictions.

The Kenai Community Library is one of 60 U.S. libraries partnering with NASA this year through the NASA@MyLibrary program; and two locals are trying to bring back the Civil Air Patrol to Homer. The program is the “civilian arm” of the U.S. Air Force and is made up of cadet and adult volunteers.

Two locals are trying to bring back the Civil Air Patrol to Homer. The program is the “civilian arm” of the U.S. Air Force and made up of cadet and adult volunteers; and on the Kenai Peninsula, throughout Alaska and everywhere else across the country, callers looking to reach the National Suicide Prevention Line now just have to dial three digits: 9-8-8.

Fishing for kings on the Kenai River is again off limits this month, it’s the third year in a row the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the fishery early amid low king salmon counts and it also means set-netters who fish the east side of Cook Inlet are not allowed to fish any more this season; and all restrictions on burning on the Kenai Peninsula have been lifted.

The wet weather over the weekend brought the wildfire risk substantially down on the Kenai Peninsula, prompting fire managers to lift restrictions on burning; the Libby McNeil Libby 76, the historic sailboat that left Homer earlier this month and is on its way to Naknek, is stuck in Igiugig, on the southwest corner of Lake Iliamna; and a new totem pole honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women will be raised in the Prince of Wales Island community of Klawock at the end of the month.

Dozens gathered at Bishops Beach in Homer Friday morning to go tide pooling, the tides were extremely low last week. Biologists say that creates the perfect chance to see critters at the bottom of the ocean; and state health officials say there's a lot of Covid circulating in Alaska, like the rest of the country, that's predominantly the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.

Dozens gathered at Bishops Beach in Homer Friday morning to go tidepooling; and this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividends will start hitting bank accounts on Sept. 20, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced on Friday.

A volunteer group in Cooper Landing with a fun name and a messy job has been keeping unmanned dump sites on the Kenai Peninsula clean for more than 25 years; and Money from the federal infrastructure bill Congress passed last November is helping Alaska with a myriad of different projects, the funds are also going to help the Alaska Energy Authority build out a corridor of electric vehicle fast-chargers along the road system, which it hopes will make it easier for current and future EV users to get around the state.

The central Kenai Peninsula generates a lot of trash, especially in the summer when there’s an uptick in events and visitors; a June drag performance at a city park in Soldotna prompted an outpouring of online pushback last month; and Alaskans will soon be able to reach a suicide prevention hotline by calling a three-digit number.