In response to the senseless tragedy in Newtown, Conn., many elected officials and some people in the news media have proposed reinstituting a ban on some semiautomatic weapons.

It's July on the Kenai Peninsula, and while we're preoccupied with all things fishing, there's a couple of important dates looming. The first of those dates is July 29 -- that's the deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 28 primary election. This year's primary will look a little different. For one thing, the state's legislative district boundaries have been redrawn.

The motivations of Alaska's electorate are always difficult to gauge, but it's clear that a majority of voters were not motivated to come out and vote in Tuesday's primary - statewide turnout was in the neighborhood of 21 percent. The good news for voters on the Kenai Peninsula is that we have two more chances to contribute to our democratic process this election season.

...vote Tuesday is important. In addition to the president, Peninsula voters will be casting ballots for the U.S. House of Representative as well as members of the Alaska Legislature. Also on the ballot, $453 million in transportation project...

During a recent visit with the Peninsula Clarion's editorial board, Don Young, Alaska's lone representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, left us with this thought: The public needs to be more aware of where our state is going. What's more, we need a shared vision of our destination.

...battle over union voting rules with Essential Air Service being used as a bargaining chip by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives led to a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration July 23.More than 4,000 FAA employees...

Community leaders, potential stakeholders and concerned residents Tuesday gathered to discuss the future of highway safety on the Kenai Peninsula. Sen. Mark Begich, who supports the safety initiative through its primary facilitator Girdwood 2020, attended the meeting billed as the Seward and Kenai Peninsula Highway Transportation Corridor Safety Summit hosted at the Kenai Peninsula Borough administration building in Soldotna. "A plan is needed to fix the highway system," said Dave Wilson, Girdwood 2020 Highway Safety Committee chair.

...joint luncheon at noon Wednesday at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai. A forum featuring candidates for U.S. House of Representatives is planned. For more information or to RSVP, call the Soldotna Chamber at 262-9814, or the Kenai Chamber...

...the kind she imagined. In fact, a death panel is meeting in Washington right now -- the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed and Medicare and Medicaid are scaled back, people are going to die...

Concerns about NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service's new program limiting halibut charter operations in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska have aired recently on radio and television and in newspapers. Charter Operators of Alaska, an organization leading the protest against the regulation, isn't ready to stop there.