Alaska
RSSAll news from Alaska
Regions
Don't eat the clams: ADF&G can't tell Juneau harvesters which beaches are safe — because nobody's regularly testing
Don't clam up

Anchorage Assembly postpones public safety commission to July
Assembly kicks can down the road on Public Safety Commission vote

Anchorage transfers Heritage Land Bank parcel for natural burial cemetery
After land transfer from HLB, people are dying to get in there.

Ketchikan harbor parking enforcement back after contract gap
Ketchikan's harbor parking enforcement resumed after a contract gap left derelict vehicles and people living in cars occupying lots for months, with police and parking enforcement now working through a backlog.

Ketchikan tender float meets code, port says after charter operator's safety request
Ketchikan's Tender Float 3 meets building codes without guardrails, port officials confirmed after engineers found no code requirement for railings on the 18-inch-high float.

Alaska DOT programs Fairview Bypass into 2052 plan at $220M
Alaska DOT programmed the Fairview Bypass into its long-range transportation plan at $220.5 million across four phases, with construction stages starting at $60 million for a regional connection near Merrill Field.

Chitina opens full 168-hour dipnet week starting Monday, even as counts run behind projection
Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting Monday, June 15, despite sonar counts running about 5,600 salmon below projection for early June.

Fish and Wildlife Service seeks $5M to cut energy permit times in half
Fish and Wildlife Service is asking Congress for $5.1 million to cut endangered species review times from 30 to 14 days, a change that could speed up Alaska energy and mineral projects that have faced years of federal delays.

Alaska sport fishing rules frozen despite new booklets
Alaska anglers should follow 2025 fishing rules, not the new 2026 booklet, because several regulations printed there haven't received final legal approval yet and remain unenforceable.

House panel hears bill to move tribal regulatory authority to Interior
A House panel heard testimony on moving a 25-year-dormant federal authority for tribal business development from Commerce to Interior, where it could finally function for Alaska's 229 tribes.

Begich bill would let the Indian Health Service fund rabies shots and spay/neuter in rural Alaska
Rural Alaska has rabid foxes biting dogs biting kids — and the IHS technically can't fund the shots. Begich's bill would change that.

Anchorage's mayor told Senate Finance LNG could cost "tens of millions of dollars"
Anchorage's mayor told Senate Finance LNG would cost "tens of millions" — a number that lands somewhere between $23M and $173M. Her plan targets $23M.

Fairbanks spur line language added to Alaska LNG tax bill
Fairbanks North Star Borough secured a requirement for a gas spur line in the state LNG tax bill. Developers must build the spur to access tax breaks. Costs will spread across Railbelt users to keep rates affordable for 3500 local customers.

A wildfire that started in a village landfill has burned to within a mile of Ambler — and warmer weather is coming
Crews have reached 40 percent containment on the 1,447 acre Kopshesut Fire near Ambler. • Warming weather this week could push toxic landfill smoke into the village. • Residents should monitor air quality for health risks. • Check the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation website for updates.

MEA secures easements for new 115-kV transmission lines as Mat-Su's growth keeps outrunning its electrical infrastructure
Matanuska Electric Association secured easements Wednesday to build 22 miles of new transmission lines in the Mat-Su, adding capacity as the borough's residential growth outpaces its electrical grid.

Two firms seek competing gas-storage leases at Kenai Loop field
Hilcorp and ENSTAR filed competing applications to convert the depleted Kenai Loop gas field into storage, forcing the state to choose between them as Cook Inlet's gas production falls 60 percent short of winter demand for Southcentral Alaska.

AHFC board to set affordable housing award criteria June 24
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's board votes June 24 on the rating system that determines which affordable housing projects get state funding, a decision that shifts which communities and project types win tax credits and grants.

Kodiak seafood permit bars waste deposits on seafloor
Alaska's new seafood processing wastewater permit for Kodiak bans dumping waste on the seafloor starting June 2026, ending a practice unique to Alaska that has left massive piles of bones and shells creating dead zones underwater.

Anchorage Assembly to consider letting licensed wildlife operators use air guns in city limits
Anchorage may let licensed wildlife operators use air guns in city limits — sorry, attic squirrels.

Petersburg Planning Commission roundup: massage CUP approved, three land sales recommended, Scow Bay rock pits out of wireless overlay
Petersburg Planning Commission approved a home massage business, recommended three land sales, and removed Scow Bay rock pits from a wireless tower overlay after residents cited drinking water concerns.

Anchorage's alcohol tax can't fund everything it was promised to fund — and a board meeting Tuesday made the tradeoff explicit
Anchorage alcohol tax revenue is dropping to 5.2 million dollars for 2027. • The city must now choose between funding school preschools or emergency homelessness services. • School district preschools face potential cuts while the district manages a 90 million dollar budget gap. • Childcare providers are also asking for a share of the limited funds.

Enstar faces 2033 supply gap as Hilcorp contract expires, no Cook Inlet producer can match drilling scale
Enstar Natural Gas loses its main Cook Inlet gas supplier in 2033 when Hilcorp's contract expires, and no other producer can match Hilcorp's drilling scale, leaving Southcentral facing a supply gap unless a North Slope pipeline delivers gas by then.

A Pacific Islander nonprofit told an Anchorage homelessness commission its housing assistance program is over-subscribed — and asked for city funding to expand it
Polynesian Association seeks Anchorage funding for housing assistance

DNR offers 50-year North Slope lease for gas-powered data center
Alaska DNR offered a 50-year lease to STAK Energy for a massive data center on the North Slope that would use natural gas to power 1 to 3 gigawatts of computing, with public comments due June 15.

Mat-Su correctional-officer recruiting sessions run weekly
Alaska Department of Corrections holds weekly recruiting sessions for correctional officers every Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Mat-Su Job Center in Wasilla.

Same committee, same day, two close votes on Alaska LNG ratepayer protection — and they didn't go the same way
House Finance can't quite decide how much to protect Alaska ratepayers from LNG cost overruns — Tuesday's two votes split, with the same person providing the swing both times.

BLM closes Nome Creek road, trail for construction through August
BLM closes Nome Creek Road on weekdays through September and Nome Creek Trail from July 6 to August 31 for culvert replacement and stream restoration work, blocking the main summer access to White Mountains National Recreation Area near Fairbanks.

ENSTAR Caps the Price. Stedman Eyes the Debt.
ENSTAR is locking in a $16 price ceiling, but Sen. Bert Stedman argued the costs may have just moved upstream, to the tune of $3.3 billion over 30 years.

The navigability question that's been simmering since Alaska statehood just got four more answers
The federal government has formally cleared its claim to submerged lands beneath four Alaska rivers and lakes, affirming state ownership in a dispute that has simmered since statehood and will likely take decades more to fully resolve.

Kodiak prepares for 2,578 cruise passengers in one week
Two cruise ships will bring 2,578 passengers to Kodiak in late June, with Crystal Symphony docking June 21 and Noordam on June 23, each staying nine hours while local tourism organizes downtown welcome events and vendor markets.

Juneau Assembly raises vehicle sales tax cap to $50,000
Juneau Assembly voted 6-3 to raise the vehicle sales tax cap to $50,000, allowing the city to collect more tax on car purchases as it works to close a $10 million to $12 million budget gap.

Frost advisories hit Fairbanks gardens during planting season
Frost advisories across Fairbanks and Interior valleys this week threaten early-season gardens, with temperatures expected to drop into the low 30s overnight through Wednesday.

Mid-June snowstorm closes Atigun Pass, Arctic gateway for North Slope projects
The Arctic doesn’t respect summer.

The Air Force wants to put AI data centers on Alaska military land — and the three sites tell three very different stories
Three Alaska military bases are auditioning to host the AI boom — JBER can't power it, Eielson is leaking PFAS at it, and Clear has 4,769 acres, a DDT drum dump, and all the groundwater you can drink.

Planning commission recommends removing density requirement from Eagle River greenhouse property
Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended removing a minimum-density requirement from an Eagle River greenhouse property, allowing duplexes or triplexes instead of 13 required units. The Assembly will make the final decision.

Alaska adopts permanent telemedicine rules for addiction treatment
Alaska's permanent telemedicine rules for buprenorphine prescribing take effect July 4, replacing emergency measures and allowing doctors to treat opioid addiction remotely for up to six months before requiring an in-person visit.

Human ignitions cause 95 percent of Alaska's early fires
Human carelessness sparked 118 of Alaska's 124 early-season wildfires so far, a 95 percent rate that's stretching fire season into months when lightning fires rarely occur.

Mastadon Fire reaches full containment after drone-guided mop-up
The Mastadon Fire southeast of Talkeetna reached full containment Friday after a drone spotted the last patch of heat, letting ground crews finish the job same-day instead of waiting for the next morning's aircraft pass.

House Finance writes a $16 gas-price cap into Alaska LNG bill — even if Enstar's contract isn't signed
Alaska House Finance voted 6-5 Monday to write a $16-per-MMBtu price cap for natural gas into the state's Alaska LNG tax bill, protecting consumers even if Enstar's contract with the developer remains unsigned.

House Finance amendment lets pipeline-route municipalities bill Alaska LNG directly — skipping the state appropriation step
House Finance approved an amendment allowing pipeline-route municipalities to bill the Alaska LNG operator directly for their tax share instead of waiting for state appropriation.
