Alaska

Fairbanks trails commission to discuss standards for commercial tours on borough trails

Fairbanks trails commission meets Monday, Oct. 26, to hash out rules for commercial tour operators on 1,000+ miles of borough trails.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Kodiak council takes final vote Thursday on $5.6 million in loans for Aleutian Homes pipes

Kodiak votes Thursday on $5.6 million in state loans for decades-old Aleutian Homes pipes. The finance director says a utility rate study is needed soon.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak council takes up $5.6 million in state loans for Aleutian Homes pipes

Hillside neighborhood that pays for its own roads could get a bigger road contract

South Goldenview pays for its own roads, not the rest of Anchorage. A new contract would cap its road spending at $800,000 a year, up from $600,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $700,000 to start designing trash-burning power plant

Anchorage wants to turn trash into electricity. The next step is a $700,000 design contract. A city plan puts the whole plant at about $750 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Sitka Planning Commission takes testimony on requiring permits for data centers

Sitka's zoning code covers tanneries and log storage but says nothing about data centers. A city proposal would require a permit for one in five districts.

by Melinda Communities.News4w ago3 min read

Sitka proposes moving six cemeteries into its restrictive cemetery zoning district

Sitka wants six cemeteries, including the national cemetery and the Russian Orthodox one, zoned strictly for cemetery uses. Planners take testimony Wednesday.

by Melinda Communities.News4w ago2 min read

Homer's draft code would require engineered stormwater plans for far smaller projects

Homer's draft zoning code would make more projects hire an engineer for stormwater. Its community development director says drainage needs more than that.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Homer library board recommends making its meeting room free after hours

Homer's library got a security grille, so staff no longer need to stay late for evening meetings. Its board says the room should be free, night or day.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State pays for Facebook and Instagram ads promoting Alaska's record under Dunleavy

Alaska has spent state money since Sept. 1 on Facebook and Instagram ads touting Gov. Dunleavy's record. The ads run weeks before Nov. 3, when Alaskans pick his successor and new legislators.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

State plans to approve air permit change for Pikka oil plant on North Slope

Pikka's oil plant wants to trade some nitrogen oxides for volatile organic compounds, and state regulators are preliminarily on board. Comments run to Nov. 16.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Army Chinook flew a bridge to a roadless Interior radar site to secure its only water line

No road, no trail, one water line and a failing wooden bridge. So the Army flew in a new bridge, hanging under a Chinook, to a radar site near Hughes.

by Alaska News4w ago2 min read

Anchorage police ask for help finding Evon Petluska, 78, a vulnerable adult

Anchorage police seek Evon Petluska, 78, last seen Thursday after discharge from Alaska Native Medical Center. He is described as a vulnerable adult.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Bill to give Southcentral Foundation downtown Anchorage clubhouse land reaches president

Congress voted to give Southcentral Foundation the land under its downtown Anchorage mental health clubhouse for free. Now it's up to the president.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

AIDEA board to vote on a $75 million company to invest in undersea internet cables

Alaska's internet leans on four undersea cables, two of them 27 years old. AIDEA could put up to $75 million toward replacing them, and maybe reaching Asia.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Forest Service favors larger Prince of Wales logging plan that may restrict deer hunting

The Forest Service favors the bigger of two Prince of Wales logging plans in a draft decision that finds it may significantly restrict subsistence deer hunting.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Troopers and fire crews pull duck hunter from the mud on the Palmer Hay Flats

Palmer Hay Flats mud 1, duck hunter 0. Troopers and fire crews had the hunter out a little over an hour after the call came in Friday morning.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Motorist hits guardrail on icy Richardson Highway in Thompson Pass

A motorist hit a guardrail on icy Richardson Highway in Thompson Pass Thursday, troopers said. No injuries, but the pass sees 700+ inches of snow a year and frequent avalanches.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Ketchikan Shipyard workers rejoin union after new operator said old contract didn't apply

New operator, same union. Ketchikan Shipyard workers voted 27-7 to rejoin their union after the yard's new operator said their old contract didn't carry over.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Sep 22

Rollover partially blocked Edgerton Highway between miles 26 and 27 Friday morning

A vehicle rollover partially blocked the Edgerton Highway between miles 26 and 27 Friday morning. The advisory was gone by Friday evening, with no word on injuries or cause.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Disabled vehicle blocks northbound Dalton Highway lane near Mile 86

A disabled vehicle blocked the Dalton Highway's northbound lane near Mile 86 Friday night, with icy conditions reported. Crews expected to clear it by Saturday morning, 7:14 am.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State proposes roundabouts for Badger Road intersections where crashes persist

Badger Road could get up to seven roundabouts, one or two at a time. The state wants to hear from the people who drive it before its survey closes Nov. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Whooping cough shots cut young kids’ odds of getting sick by 96%, state says

During Alaska's record whooping cough outbreak, young kids with at least three shots were about 96% less likely to get a confirmed case, a state study found.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Alaska seeks contractor for ethics and budget course new law requires of school boards

Alaska school board members starting a term must take an ethics and budget course within 30 days. The state just started shopping for someone to write it.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Board of Fisheries will weigh Homer Spit net closures and a Kodiak trawl ban

Homer Spit nets, Kodiak trawlers and who gets the last Cook Inlet king are all on the Board of Fisheries' winter menu. Public comments are open now.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Valdez budget would add $205,000 for events, a hatchery group and workforce contracts

Valdez wants 29% more for economic development, still less than it spent in each of the past three years. Gold Rush Days and the hatchery group get a bump.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage officials propose asking voters to fund an ambulance and its crew

Anchorage wants voters to buy one more ambulance for $380,000, then pay about $1.5 million a year for the crew. City officials call it a test.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago4 min read

Four Southeast towns face 2030 deadline to disinfect sewage, with costs up to $14 million

Sitka, Haines, Skagway and Wrangell must start disinfecting the sewage they pipe into Southeast waters by 2030. Cost estimates run as high as $14 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Yakutat-area moose hunt west of the Dangerous River closes after hunters reach 30 bulls

Thirty bulls down on the west side of the Dangerous River, and that's the limit. Moose hunting there, near Yakutat, ends Saturday at 11:59 pm sharp.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Unmarried partner keeps boat bought with his own money, Alaska Supreme Court rules

Skipped marriage to skip divorce court? The Alaska Supreme Court says what you buy alone, with your own money and in your own name, stays yours.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

North Slope oil rule now covers accidental polar bear deaths the agency doesn't expect

North Slope oil companies can seek five more years of polar bear and walrus coverage, now including an accidental death the government says it doesn't expect.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago4 min read

Soldotna Elementary parents and staff seek to convert their school to a charter

Soldotna Elementary parents and teachers want to turn their neighborhood school into a charter. A district committee picks the plan back up Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Coast Guard's Seward shipyard job on the Sitka cutter Kukui reaches $3.3 million

The Coast Guard's tab for work on a Sitka buoy tender at a Seward shipyard went up 18 times this year, from about $2.2 million to about $3.3 million.

by Melinda Communities.News3w ago1 min read

Nome council reverses vote, denies cab license to man convicted of sexual abuse of a minor

Three days after the mayor's tiebreaker granted a cab license to a man convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, Nome's council reversed itself 6-0.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State sets last two block grant workshops as Alaska towns eye Dec. 4 deadline

Alaska towns can chase up to $850,000 each in federal block grant money, now including housing. Two workshops left to learn how, and Dec. 4 won't move.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Cordova to show concepts for a future recreation and aquatic facility Oct. 20

Cordova's pool reopened after 16 months shut. On Tuesday, residents get a first look at concepts for a future rec and pool building, and a say in it.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Northrim takes $8.8 million hit on one customer days before vote on Oregon bank deal

One customer cost Northrim $8.8 million and a chunk of its third quarter, and the news landed days before shareholders vote on buying an Oregon bank.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Northrim shareholders vote Oct. 20 on buying Oregon bank, its first expansion outside Alaska

Mt. Edgecumbe review ends with 22 recommendations to the state board

A state review of Mt. Edgecumbe ends with 22 recommendations, from dorm rules to calling parents. Enrollment at the school is still below capacity.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Where Alaska LNG stands after Lutnick's 'federalized' remark

Permits: yes. Taiwan and Korea money, announced: yes. Closed financing, final sales contracts and a state tax deal: not yet. Here's where the gas line stands.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago8 min read

Water flows over Seward Highway near mile 13 north of Seward, Alaska 511 reports

Water is running across the Seward Highway near mile 13, north of Seward. The road's open, but drivers should slow down and not test the depth.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

North Slope's comprehensive plan informs its $1.5 billion capital plan, mayor says

North Slope voters just approved up to $1.55 billion in borrowing. The mayor says the borough's long-range community plans will help decide where it goes.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read