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Sunday, Jul 12

NSF awards UAF $1.77 million to build AI geohazard forecasting tools

UAF got $1.77 million to build AI software that merges earthquake sensors, satellite imagery, and weather data into a single landslide forecast system, testing it across Alaska through 2032.

Melinda Communities.Newsby Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: NSF awards UAF $1.77 million to build AI geohazard forecasting tools

Juneau's plan to move city hall leans on a sale that's coming up short

Juneau wants to sell City Hall to fund its move, but the only offer is $1M under the floor, the new building's late and over budget, and the backup fund leans on that same short sale.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Juneau's plan to move city hall leans on a sale that's coming up short

Juneau's Áak'w Landing project shrinks to a third its size

Huna Totem cut its Áak'w Landing development to a third its planned size after costs jumped from $150M to $250M+ — though all the promised public features stay.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Juneau's Áak'w Landing project shrinks to a third its size

Whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompts operator inquiry at Juneau task force

A whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompted Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force to request details on which operators use the waterway under voluntary oversight programs.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompts operator inquiry at Juneau task force

Heat advisory warns Arctic Plains villages of 80-degree Monday

National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Arctic Plains villages warning of 80-degree temperatures Monday, when most homes lack air conditioning.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Arctic Plains, Alaska
Cover image for article: Heat advisory warns Arctic Plains villages of 80-degree Monday

Eaglecrest interviews GM finalist, holds Goldbelt conversation amid $1.9M deficit

Eaglecrest interviewed its sole general manager finalist and met with potential partner Goldbelt as the ski area faces a $1.9 million deficit and pressure to balance its budget by November.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Eaglecrest interviews GM finalist, holds Goldbelt conversation amid $1.9M deficit

Juneau airport board votes July 9 on $50,697 local match for tower roof grant

Juneau airport board votes July 9 on spending $50,697 from reserves to match a $963,247 federal grant for replacing the air traffic control tower roof.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Juneau airport board votes July 9 on $50,697 local match for tower roof grant

NWS Juneau narrows wind advisory to Ketchikan, Annette Island, Prince of Wales

NWS Juneau narrowed a wind advisory Monday afternoon to Ketchikan, Annette Island, and Prince of Wales Island through 7 p.m., with southeast winds gusting to 45 mph and heavy rain expected.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Southeast Alaska
Cover image for article: NWS Juneau narrows wind advisory to Ketchikan, Annette Island, Prince of Wales

More from Alaska

BBNC subsidiary offers shareholder enrollment help July 25

Bristol Bay Native Corporation shareholders can update stock records and enroll descendants at a free open house with brunch on July 25 in Anchorage.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom
Alaska
Cover image for article: BBNC subsidiary offers shareholder enrollment help July 25

Yukon summer chum run tops 900,000 projection, opening subsistence windows across drainage

Summer chum salmon run on the Yukon River is tracking above 900,000 fish, more than double the spring forecast, opening subsistence harvest windows across most of the drainage through late July.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Yukon summer chum run tops 900,000 projection, opening subsistence windows across drainage

Juneau task force takes up cruise cap criteria Thursday, with dock pressure looming

Juneau's task force meets Thursday to draft criteria for future cruise passenger cap changes, with a potential dock expansion by Goldbelt poised to test those rules.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Juneau task force takes up cruise cap criteria Thursday, with dock pressure looming

Juneau's only runway closes overnight, and the medevac plan matters

Juneau's only paved runway closes overnight this weekend for repairs — and since you can't drive to Juneau, there's a backup plan for emergency medevacs, though it wasn't spelled out.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Juneau's only runway closes overnight, and the medevac plan matters

NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9

Fire-weather alerts cover northern Alaska through July 9 with dry fuels, lightning risk, and winds up to 35 mph across the Seward Peninsula, Kobuk, and Koyukuk valleys.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom
Northern Seward Peninsula and Upper Kobuk Valleys, Alaska
Cover image for article: NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9

Wasilla's sewer plan is 25 years old — and it's stalling development

Wasilla's sewer master plan hasn't been touched since 1999, and the gap is already slowing new housing — now the city may take $75K in state money to finally update it.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom
Cover image for article: Wasilla's sewer plan is 25 years old — and it's stalling development

Mat-Su sockeye opens up — but the kings stay closed

Two Mat-Su sockeye fisheries just opened, with a few early fish already in the inlet — while kings stay closed across the Susitna and beyond, hatchery spots aside.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Mat-Su sockeye opens up — but the kings stay closed

Yakutat's king run is coming up short, and the closures keep stacking up

Yakutat's Situk River king run is coming in too weak to open, so the state has kept the fishery closed to keeping Chinook three straight weeks — another lean year.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Yakutat's king run is coming up short, and the closures keep stacking up

About Alaska

Alaska is a United States state spanning Arctic, subarctic and coastal regions. Its communities range from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau to Kodiak, the North Slope and villages such as McGrath and Adak that sit off the road system.

The Legislature, the governor's office and state agencies set policy on oil and gas, fisheries, transportation and public lands, and state boards such as the Board of Fisheries and the AIDEA board decide on catch rules, loans and investments. Cities and boroughs keep their own budgets, taxes, liquor licenses and planning decisions.

Questions that recur across the state include local budgets and tax rates, fishery catch limits, air service and ports for remote communities, and decisions on state land. Federal agencies and courts also shape life in Alaska, from air service contracts for rural towns to the certification of statewide election results.

More from Alaska

A zoning board overruled its own staff to green-light a Girdwood building

Anchorage's zoning board overruled its own staff to approve a Girdwood building — a setback from what's basically a parking lot made no sense to enforce. Girdwood itself said nothing.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A zoning board overruled its own staff to green-light a Girdwood building

Kodiak's nonprofits need more than the borough can give

Kodiak nonprofits asked for far more than the $270K the borough has to give — with the biggest shortfall in the fund that helps keep a homeless shelter open year-round.

Alaska Newsby Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Kodiak's nonprofits need more than the borough can give

What Fairbanks wants from Juneau — and why it costs more up north

Fairbanks is finalizing its legislative wish list: cheaper piped gas, more school funding, and pensions back — a bill of grievances for a region that pays more for everything.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: What Fairbanks wants from Juneau — and why it costs more up north

The Tanana opens for chum, but the kings must all go back

A strong chum run opens a Tanana personal-use fishery near Fairbanks July 27 — but every king caught must go back alive, and subsistence fishing there stays closed.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Tanana River near Fairbanks, Alaska
Cover image for article: The Tanana opens for chum, but the kings must all go back

Alaska nudges up what it pays to house low-income seniors

Alaska bumped up what it pays to house low-income seniors by 3.5%, to $113 a day. Trouble is, assisted living here runs about $10,000 a month, and costs are rising faster.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska nudges up what it pays to house low-income seniors

Juneau's dangerous Egan Drive left turn is finally getting a signal

A $12.15M federal grant will finally put a signal at Juneau's Egan-Yandukin intersection, where left-turners cross highway traffic blind and pedestrians can't cross safely.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Juneau's dangerous Egan Drive left turn is finally getting a signal

Fewer geese on the Y-K Delta, and a proposal to let hunters take fewer

White-fronted geese are declining on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, so Alaska wants to cut the bag limit from 10 to 6 — in a region where geese are a staple food. Comment by Aug. 5.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Cover image for article: Fewer geese on the Y-K Delta, and a proposal to let hunters take fewer

Mat-Su weighs a flood emergency and a tax overhaul

The Mat-Su Assembly takes up a Talkeetna flood emergency and a November ballot plan that would swap a new 3% sales tax for a cap on property taxes.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Mat-Su weighs a flood emergency and a tax overhaul

A Tlingit artist crossed the border to teach Anchorage kids an ancient craft

A Tlingit artist traveled from British Columbia to Anchorage to teach kids the ancient art of bentwood box making — a watertight box bent from a single seamless plank.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: A Tlingit artist crossed the border to teach Anchorage kids an ancient craft

Chignik Bay District gets 48-hour window before Chinook plan closes it again Monday

Chignik Bay District opened Saturday for exactly 48 hours of commercial salmon fishing before closing again Monday under a plan designed to protect failing Chinook runs.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Chignik Bay, Alaska
Cover image for article: Chignik Bay District gets 48-hour window before Chinook plan closes it again Monday

Juneau tourism task force faces a fork: which planning model fits the capital?

Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force will choose July 16 among three tourism planning models, each with different timelines and budgets ranging from seven to 18 months.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Juneau tourism task force faces a fork: which planning model fits the capital?

Fairbanks-area burn permits suspended amid high fire danger

Fairbanks, Salcha, and Railbelt burn permits are suspended indefinitely amid high fire danger — no pile burning, lawn burning, or burn barrels until conditions ease.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Fairbanks-area burn permits suspended amid high fire danger

One town, six citations: Homer stands out in Bristol Bay

Six people from Homer turned up in a single batch of Bristol Bay fishing citations — more than any other town. Whether that's coincidence or something more isn't yet clear.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: One town, six citations: Homer stands out in Bristol Bay

Troopers are running an enforcement blitz on Bristol Bay's peak season

Troopers cited four more in Bristol Bay last week — mostly for improperly marked boats, the very violation Fish and Game flagged as a season priority. Part of a bigger crackdown.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Troopers are running an enforcement blitz on Bristol Bay's peak season

Alaska Native ivory carvers can now sell their work in all 50 states

A new federal law lets Alaska Native artists sell walrus-ivory handicrafts in all 50 states, fixing a mess where anti-elephant-ivory bans accidentally swept up legal Native carving

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska Native ivory carvers can now sell their work in all 50 states

Goldbelt gets a new chair as its biggest bets take shape

Goldbelt named a new board chair a year after installing the last one — just as the Tlingit-owned corporation pushes its biggest development bets, a Douglas Island port and the Eaglecrest gondola.

Melinda Communities.Newsby Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Goldbelt gets a new chair as its biggest bets take shape

Bethel's free bulky-item pickup ends this month

Bethel's one free bulky-item pickup of the year ends in July — last call to haul off the busted four-wheeler before it's your job to get it to the landfill.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Bethel's free bulky-item pickup ends this month

Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run

On the Yukon this week: kings are weak so restrictions continue, summer chum is strong so openings arrive, and fall chum has slipped enough to close the Lower Yukon early.

Bill AlaskaNewsby Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run

Alaska school boards to FCC: don't make us choose internet over teachers

Alaska's school boards warned the FCC that gutting the E-Rate internet subsidy would force districts to choose between paying the broadband bill and paying teachers.

Melinda Communities.Newsby Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Alaska school boards to FCC: don't make us choose internet over teachers

Fairbanks man faces assault charges after early-morning disturbance near Yvonne Avenue

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 30-year-old Fairbanks man on three assault charges, including two counts involving a child, after a domestic-violence call near Yvonne Avenue early Saturday.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Fairbanks man faces assault charges after early-morning disturbance near Yvonne Avenue

New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail

NY resident got hurt at Reed Lakes. Be careful Reed Lakes. The rocks can get slippery.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail

Soldotna man arrested after alleged robbery, assault at smoke shop

A Soldotna man was arrested after shoving a clerk at a smoke shop on Kalifornsky Beach Road and threatening to steal cigarettes Saturday afternoon.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Soldotna man arrested after alleged robbery, assault at smoke shop

Saturday, Jul 11

An Unalakleet playwright brings Alaska's hardest truths to the stage

An Unalakleet playwright turned her work in suicide prevention into The Bird Blind — a story of abuse, addiction, and survival in an Iñupiaq village, told in its own voice.

Maggie AlaskaNewsby Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Cover image for article: An Unalakleet playwright brings Alaska's hardest truths to the stage

Registered Alaska Native artists can keep selling fur on Etsy

Registered Alaska Native artists can keep selling fur on Etsy after Sen. Sullivan won an exemption — but unregistered makers are still cut off when the ban starts August 11.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cover image for article: Registered Alaska Native artists can keep selling fur on Etsy