Wenda Kennedy has a simple enough philosophy when it comes to business and even life.

To make the most of one’s situation it’s best to do as much as you can with what you’ve already got, she contends.

“We live our lives like that,” she said Wednesday. “It’s a whole philosophy of use what you’ve got. My grandmother told me, ‘Waste not, want not.’”

That same mindset has lead Kennedy through her current project.

She saw an out-of-work tattoo artist, a pile of beetle kill trees, a community need and business opportunity. Needless to say she jumped.

A large section of Kenai lost power Thursday evening after a raven caused damage at a Homer Electric Association substation.

According to HEA spokesman Joe Gallagher, power went out at 8:24 p.m. after a raven got into the Marathon substation, located near Walmart, and landed on a voltage regulator, tripping the substation and damaging the regulator.

HEA crews worked to reroute power through the Beaver Creek substation. Power was fully restored by 10:25 p.m.

The affected area, between Tinker Lane and Forest Drive, includes about 2,500 homes and businesses.

High levels of enterocci and fecal coliform reported on the south Kenai beach last week declined somewhat in testing done this week.

Results out Monday from testing done Sunday showed that the bacteria was back at lower levels.

“They came back below the standards,” said Tim Stevens from Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

When the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank approached the Rasmuson Foundation asking for an outright expansion grant in late 2008, the Rasmuson Foundation said no.

Instead, the foundation countered with a challenge: it would give the food bank $400,000 for the project if the food bank managed to raise that same amount within a designated period of time.

"They were a little reluctant to take it on because it seemed like a lot of money to raise," said Rasmuson Foundation President Diane Kaplan, "but we had a lot of confidence that they would be successful."