Michael Armstrong

Thanks. I was editor at the Homer News when Sound Publishing bought the Alaska papers from GateHouse. They were OK, but after I left Carpenter Media Group bought Sound and things got weird.

April 5, 2025, at the Hands Off protest.

This isn’t the first time it has happened at a protest in Homer.

A woman holds a sign reading “this is democracy” while being covered in smoke from a truck that rolled coal.

A protester holds a sign reading “stop ICE terror; defund Trump’s Gestapo.”

A person holds a sign with a heart and the words “Renee Good.”

People holds signs and flags along the Sterling Highway in Homer, Alaska.

About 150 people in Homer, Alaska attended an #ICEoutForGood protest against ICE and a vigil for #ReneeGood.
It was the first event I covered for the #HomerIdependentPress after coming out of retirement so of course someone rolls coal. (Photos by Michael Armstrong/Homer Independent Press)

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The Esterbrook pen company is back in business. I don’t see the statehood pen, though.

www.esterbrookpens.com

Thanks!

Visit homerindependentpress.com . #Journalism

Well, I thought I had retired from journalism… I’m now the volunteer editor for the Homer Independent Press. We went live on New Year’s Day. homerindependentpress.com/2026/01/01/e...

#RemoveTheRegime protesters hold signs at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska.

A sign with a quote from #TimothySnyder reads “People who assure you that you can only gain security at the price of liberty usually want to deny you both.”

Homer, Alaska artist Gary Lyon holds a sign he drew himself that shows Smokey the Bear and the words “Only you can prevent fascism.”

A person in a snow man costume holds a sign reading “The wrong ICE is melting.”

Protesters showed up on a sunny but chilly day for the #RemoveTheRegime rally in Homer, Alaska.

There were reports that people saw them in Florida.

Also, that reddish-pink is rare.

Holy coronal mass ejection! I think these are the most amazing auroras I’ve seen in 45 years in Alaska! Taken from Diamond Ridge, Homer, Alaska, looking all directions. #auroras #NorthernLights

Whoa! They’re friggin amazing here in Alaska.

Hoar frost covers a stalk of pushki.

Hoar frost glows on fireweed along a snowy trail.

Hoar frost makes patterns on metal siding.

Hoar frost covers a metal sculpture of a bird created by Mike Sirl.

When I lived in Florida I knew about snow but no way one told me about the magic of hoar frost. Photos taken with a #LensBaby Sweet 22 lens.

Good to see you, too.

The city of Homer is about
6,000. Add in the surrounding area and it’s about 10,000. The South Kenai Peninsula is the hospital service area.

Well, we did elect Mary
Peltola, a Democrat, in 2022. Alas, she lost re-election. Homer tends to be more progressive.

Nice!

About 700 people showed up for the #NoKings protest in Homer, Alaska. That’s almost 5% of the population on the Southern Kenai Peninsula.

The pearls! The Saint Charlie candle!

Freedom of speech for me, not for thee Far-right Homer Rep. Sarah Vance got her way after complaining about the Homer News’ coverage of her Charlie Kirk rally

Some of the best reporting on l’affair Vance has been by @matt.akmemo.com . Holly Todd’s cartoon here is wonderful.

mailchi.mp/thealaskacur...

Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story

@nytimes.com reports on the resignation of four Alaska journalists.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

REP. VANCE: Why I criticized Homer News for ‘vile and slanderous’ statements about Charlie Kirk The following post was published on Alaska Rep. Sarah Vance’s Facebook page on Oct. 2. It responds to criticism she has received for calling out the Homer News for the way it characterized the late Ch...

Oh no! I’ve been scolded by Rep. Delores Umbridge.

alaskawatchman.com/2025/10/02/r...

“You are not required to work” = “We shut off your email and access to the company server.”

Corporate has to corporate. Maybe this means you’re officially fired and can get unemployment.

I don’t know.

I think the Clarion will fold. It has little advertising. There’s strong community and business support for the Homer News, but I think that will collapse.

I don’t know her.

Editor, most news staff of Carpenter Media’s Alaska newspapers resign due to censoring of story Article about a Charlie Kirk vigil referring to controversies involving him was altered after a GOP Alaska lawmaker complained to company management

Here in Homer, Alaska, yet another media corporation has bent the knee because a conservative Republican Representative, Sarah Vance, did not like how the Homer News covered a vigil for Charlie Kirk.
But Alaska reporters still have integrity. #indivisible

www.juneauindependent.com/post/editor-...