At least two Alaska Department of Corrections staff members have faced charges in recent months for bringing opioid addiction recovery medication into correctional facilities on the Kenai Peninsula; Alaska doesn’t have many ticks - for now, but Dr. Micah Hahn, associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, says that could change. As winters become milder, the tiny blood sucking parasites are able to survive further and further north; and man was arrested Tuesday on charges of trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine to Sand Point in the Eastern Aleutians.

Alaska is off to an especially slow wildfire season. The EPA has updated its rules on the use of chemicals to disperse oil spills. Legendary Kenai history teacher Bob Summer passed away earlier this month at age 64.

The season’s first Chitina dipnet opening got underway yesterday, and following a late breakup and cold spring that slowed salmon returning to the Copper River, fish numbers have started to increase; and legendary Kenai history teacher Bob Summer passed away earlier this month at age 64.

An inmate and a former Department of Corrections employee are facing charges for being in possession of a drug to treat opioid addiction, in connection with a case of assault at Wildwood Pretrial Facility last year. The small island community of Petersburg is dealing with a new wave of COVID-19 cases in the wake of several large public gatherings. The season’s first Chitina dipnet opening got underway this morning and following a late breakup and cold spring that slowed salmon returning to the Copper River, fish numbers have started to increase.

Homer Police say they still don’t have any leads, two weeks after a vandalism incident at the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic and adjacent Rec Center; and an inmate and a former Department of Corrections employee are facing charges for being in possession of a drug to treat opioid addiction, in connection with a case of assault at Wildwood Pretrial Facility last year. In addition, the state is charging the former employee, as well as another former Corrections employee, for having sex with an inmate.

Homer Police say they still don’t have any leads, two weeks after a vandalism incident at the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic and adjacent Rec Center. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game caught another baby opossum in Homer late last week, bringing the total to five since the capture of their mom, Grubby, in late May. The Russian River opened for sport fishing at midnight yesterday, a day early for the popular fishery.

The Homer City Council greenlit a list of goals and priorities for the Homer Harbor Expansion project last night [Mon 6/12] — the city’s latest step forward on the multi-million dollar plan. But it will be months before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers picks a design alternative and wraps up its feasibility study for the major project. A new elementary-level reading curriculum will undergo small changes before it rolls out in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District this fall. The changes follow concerns from members of the public about the world religion components of the program, which they say aren’t age appropriate for first and second graders. A Sterling man survived a brown bear attack north of the Skilak Lake Road area this weekend by shooting and killing the bear, according to Alaska Wildlife Troopers.

A Sterling man survived a brown bear attack north of the Skilak Lake Road area this weekend by shooting and killing the bear, according to Alaska Wildlife Troopers; The Homer City Council greenlit a list of goals and priorities for the Homer Harbor Expansion project last night; and a new elementary-level reading curriculum will undergo small changes before it rolls out in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District this fall.

Cooper Landing is taking its first steps toward creating a formal emergency service area, which would be funded by local taxes. The Federal Subsistence Board unanimously opposed two special action requests last Thursday which would dramatically limit the harvest for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd for communities in the herd’s range.

A voice actor based in Soldotna is the guide for a new audio tour project, which came out just in time for the start of Alaska’s busiest season this month. The City of Seward is considering five candidates for its city manager opening. The applicants — some local to Seward, some from other Alaska communities and some from out of state — will be reviewed by the city council on Today.