Alaska

Anchorage weighs $470,000 no-bid sale of Government Hill lot

Anchorage would sell Chugach a Government Hill lot for $470,000 without taking bids, about $49,000 under what a broker valued it at in June.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage fills a watershed commission seat before its sunset date

Mayor LaFrance appointed wetland delineator Kara Dunham to Anchorage's Watershed Commission, with Assembly confirmation set for Sept. 1.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly to vote Sept. 1 on $6.7 million wastewater bleach contract with lone bidder

Anchorage Assembly votes Sept. 1 on a $6.7 million bleach contract with the only bidder, raising the price from $7.96 to $9.96 per gallon for wastewater disinfection.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Mental Health Trust weighs a below-market lease for a youth treatment provider

The Mental Health Trust may lease an Anchorage office to a youth behavioral health nonprofit for $3,266 a year, against market rent near $327,000.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Jai Mahtani is running for the Ketchikan council seat he resigned after a state settlement

Jai Mahtani quit the Ketchikan council two weeks after settling a state case over jewelry sold as Alaskan. He filed on the last day to win the seat back.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

$5.5 million for Anchorage public health nurses, WIC and child care inspectors

The Anchorage Assembly takes up $5.5 million in state grants Tuesday for public health nurses, WIC clinics and child care inspections, without a hearing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A $2.5 million geothermal training grant for Unalaska sits 3 percent spent

Unalaska abandoned its Makushin geothermal project in May 2025, but a $2.5 million federal training grant tied to it remains open and largely unspent with only $75,000 spent so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

The FAA is paying $4.3 million to design a radar tower near Sitka

The FAA is paying $4.3 million just to design a radar tower on Biorka Island south of Sitka, with an option for the same firm to build it later.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage legalized triplexes. Now it wants to drop their landscaping requirement

Anchorage legalized triplexes in 2023 and barely got any. Next it wants to drop their landscaping buffers, which some neighbors say screen the density.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage weighs a fiscal summit as property taxes carry the city

In 1982 the state covered 42 percent of Anchorage's operating costs. By 2024 it covered half a percent, and property taxes carried most of the rest.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage homeowners wanted every big assessment rechecked. They got a narrower fix

Anchorage homeowners who saw assessments jump as much as 40% asked for a do-over. Three Assembly members proposed one. The Assembly passed something smaller.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage holds more property-appeal hearings, as hundreds of over-assessed homes get lower valuations

Mental Health Trust clears a road easement north of Seward

Kenai Peninsula Borough won a legal easement across Alaska Mental Health Trust land north of Seward to reach its own property, swapping access rights with the Trust.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Troopers arrest Sutton man, 19, on DUI charge after car hits tree

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 19-year-old Sutton man on a DUI charge after his vehicle hit a tree and overturned on E Jonesville Mine Road early Saturday morning.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Cook Inlet Housing Authority asks Anchorage Assembly to make design-standard pause permanent

Anchorage paused its multifamily design rules in 2025. A housing developer wants the pause made permanent; neighborhood councils want it narrowed inste

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage wants $202,468 back from the owner of the Big Timber Motel it demolished

Anchorage spent $202,468 tearing down the Big Timber Motel after 14 years of code violations. Now it is trying to get the money back from the owner.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

ATF places $10 million more in supply orders with Anchorage's Bering Global Solutions

Bering Global Solutions, an Anchorage firm owned by an Alaska Native corporation, keeps a $10 million ATF contract after a federal appeals office rejected a rival's protest.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Abbott Loop rezone drew 223 notices and no comments; hearing is Oct. 6

Anchorage Assembly takes its first vote Tuesday on rezoning a 0.27-acre Abbott Loop lot to allow denser housing, shifting from five to eight dwelling units per acre.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak can't sell four lots it has owned since 1986 because they can't get a permit

Kodiak bought the land for a hospital in 1986, built ball fields instead, and still can't sell four lots that can't get a building permit.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Forecasters expect 25 to 35 mph gusts across Fairbanks area Saturday

Gusty west-southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph will hit the Fairbanks area and Interior valleys through Saturday night, with the National Weather Service warning pilots to get aviation-specific briefings.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

When the Memphis courthouse needs work, the government calls Anchorage

An Anchorage company owned by a Copper River village corporation has taken five federal orders at one Memphis courthouse this year, worth about $514,000.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Cordova's visitor numbers support 0.03 of a tourism liquor license. Rounded up, that is one.

Copper River Brewing seeks Cordova's first seasonal tourism liquor license, which would let families dine and hear live music April through September if the state approves it Sept. 1.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

State note says AMCO wrongly made Metlakatla gather a liquor petition

State regulators made Metlakatla gather a public-support petition it did not need, an error staff blamed on a database and left noted in the file.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Wasilla golf course seeks state license to serve beer and wine on the course

Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Wasilla wants to pour beer and wine across its grounds, range and deck. The state alcohol board takes it up Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

The Mental Health Trust granted Chugach an easement without saying what it charged

Chugach Electric won approval to bury power lines under Trust land at Community Park Loop, a move that will boost capacity for northeast Anchorage customers.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Tom Begich withdraws his campaign and endorses Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins

Tom announced he's withdrawing from the race for Governor and endorses JKT.

by Cale Green2mo ago3 min read

Seven small earthquakes logged across Alaska over three days

Seven small earthquakes hit scattered parts of Alaska between Aug. 26 and 29, ranging from magnitude 2.6 to 3.6. Only one has had human review.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Federal grant of $3.6 million funds seismic retrofits on eight Interior Alaska bridges

Alaska has $3.64 million in federal money to earthquake-proof eight bridges its own engineers priced at somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage wetlands commission faces Oct. 14 sunset unless Assembly reauthorizes it

Anchorage's wetlands commission disappears Oct. 14 unless the Assembly votes to keep it, just as its own recommended wetlands plan update moves forward.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage moves to clarify its wetlands permitting, though some say it doesn't go far enough

Anchorage Assembly to vote Sept. 1 on two $4 million AWWU on-call repair contracts

Two contractors would go on standby for Anchorage water and sewer emergencies for three years, at up to $4 million each, under contracts up Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

PFAS found in three Anchorage Bowl wells, one pulled from service

Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility found PFAS in three groundwater wells, pulled one from service, and is seeking $4 million in emergency contracts for water system work.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage ordinance would drop 45-degree shelter trigger, raise site cap to 200

Anchorage would drop its automatic 45-degree shelter trigger, raise site limits to 200 and open rec centers, with one director deciding when shelter opens.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kenai council to hear public testimony Sept. 2 on $75,000 home tax exemption ballot question

Kenai City Council hears public testimony Sept. 2 on a ballot measure that would exempt the first $75,000 of assessed home value from city property tax, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kenai council to vote Sept. 2 on FAA-funded airport perimeter fence contract

Kenai City Council votes Sept. 2 on a FAA-funded airport perimeter fence upgrade, with contract details and grant amount to be disclosed at the public hearing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Four signatures clear a liquor store at a remote Alaska fishing lodge

A remote fly-in fishing lodge off Prince of Wales Island wants a guest-only liquor store, and its public approval came from the four people who live nearby.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Craig bakery-cafe wants to pour beer and wine on Friday and Saturday evenings

A Craig bakery-cafe wants to become a fenced beer garden on Friday and Saturday evenings. The drive-through would close while the beer is pouring.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

An Anchorage restaurant is accused of employing 24 minors without permits

Twenty-four employees aged 13 to 17 are alleged to have worked at an Anchorage restaurant without work permits, in at least 1,279 violations.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage developer says fire lanes cost his 58-unit project 15 homes

Fire lane requirements cost an Anchorage developer 15 potential homes. The city faces pressure to ease building rules to meet housing goals.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Petersburg hospital rejects shared-kitchen lease for traveling staff

Petersburg Medical Center dropped plans to lease shared housing for traveling staff after two assistants clashed over kitchen supplies, and is now exploring building its own duplexes on tundra land.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Petersburg hospital board weighs buying housing to address staffing gaps

Petersburg hospital gets preliminary nod for behavioral health grant

Petersburg Medical Center has preliminary approval for about $400,000 in behavioral health money, but cannot hire or buy anything until the state signs off.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

NMFS closes Central Gulf cod for hook-and-line vessels 50 feet and up

On Sept. 1, Alaska's largest hook-and-line boats lose Central Gulf cod for the year, while smaller boats gain new cod access in state and Bering Sea waters.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read