One of our local historians dropped off an old newspaper clipping she found recently. Holy Time Warp, Betsteroids! You could tell that clipping was old because, well, it came from the Anchorage Times, which went defunct back during the first Bush administration. “Can Homer Survive, or Will Paradise Be Lost?” the 1976 article asks.

Dire trends are noticed, like the surge in population from 1,100 to 1,500 people. Why, by the 1980s Homer could have 5,000 people, it was predicted. Land and housing prices were surging. New public buildings were going up all over the place. Heck, back in 1976, the city clerk was even named Calhoun — Charlotte Calhoun. The city was in a ruckus over the prospect of new development — OK, oil and gas exploration in the bay and not big box stores, but still.

Well, as they say in Quebec, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, or as we say in Amurican, if ya think things change, things don’t really change. Change remains constant, but so do the challenges we face.

Who’d want it any other way? As those big fall storms roll in and rearrange the beach, we see a new land revealed right before us. We can never walk the same beach, and yet old treasures covered by shifting sands have a way of being uncovered by shifting sands. Ya never know: 29 years from now, we might see that beach again.

So as you grab a seat on the big carousel that keeps on turning, plan for exciting events ahead, like some of these Best Bets:

BEST YADDA YADDA BET: One good change has been how we talk about issues. In the old days we might yell at each other in crowded meetings. Now we hold civil, moderated discussions, like the Pratt Museum’s Community Conversation series. This month, we’re talking about the Pebble mine project, from 5-7 p.m. Friday in room 202 at the Kachemak Bay East Campus on East Pioneer Avenue.

BEST SWEET STRINGS BET: Over at the old Kranich House — now known as Amped Café — at 4 p.m. Sunday the duo Notorious plays everything from Celtic to American traditional tunes. If that kind of music makes you want to get up and dance, check the Square and Contra Dance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at West Homer Elementary School when Notorious musicians Eden MacAdam-Somer and Larry Unger also play. The dance is $6 and the concert is $8.

BEST MARINER FAN MARATHON: You might have to hustle between the Alice Witte Gym and the Kate Kuhns Aquatic Center to catch all the sports action, but if you’re on your toes, you can see the Mariner volleyball team take on Colony and watch the swimmers in the Peninsula Invite. Volleyball starts at 11 a.m. with the C-Team, JV at noon and Varsity at 1:30 p.m. followed by swimming at 2 p.m.

BEST ANOTHER ART OPENING BET: If you missed First Friday, here’s another chance to check out new art. From 5-7 p.m. Friday at the Kachemak Bay East Campus, there’s a reception for student work from a three-dimensional art class as well as new work from artist and playwright Shirley Timmreck.

BEST WHERE DID THEY GO? BET: A sad change has been lower numbers of marine mammals. Biologist Craig Matkin talks about this trend in “Declining Populations on Alaska’s South Coast” at 7 p.m. Friday at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center.

BEST REMEMBER BET: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to face an ugly truth: people who should love each other sometimes hit each other. Starting at 6 p.m., South Peninsula Haven House holds a candlelight vigil and march at Homer High School. The march ends back at the high school commons, with speakers talking about domestic violence. It’s a chance to honor the victims and the people working to make families safe.