20 years ago

Fishermen working upper Cook Inlet waters may be seeing heavy runs of sockeye salmon, but those working setnet operations in the southern waters of Kachemak Bay have caught fewer reds than in any of the past nine years. Robert Purpura manages the Kachemak Bay Salmon Producers, a nine-year-old marketing group for a handful of local setnetters. This time last year, he said,the setnetters co-op had harvested 86,000 pounds of sockeye. Two years ago at this time, fishermen had harvested 169,000 pounds. The low catch means fishermen are missing out on high early-season prices for salmon, which some fishermen on the Spit estimate at higher than $1 per pound. That’s well above last year’s prices at this time.

— From the issue of June 30, 2005

30 years ago

The battle between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress in the aftermath of a presidential veto may have the effect of helping to save funding for the visitor’s center and headquarters that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to build on Homer’s Bypass. The service, which operates the headquarters of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in Homer, got word this week that building the center would not harm the environment. Such a clearance is required for the building of the center.

— From the issue of June 29, 1995