Anchorage
RSSNews from Anchorage, Alaska
An Anchorage board member proposes a one-year pause on school closures
An Anchorage School Board member proposed pausing school closures for a year, barring emergencies. The board hasn't voted, and a $40M shortfall remains.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage salary commission drafts a 26% raise for its next elected mayor
Anchorage's salary commission drafted a resolution to raise the next elected mayor's pay to $183,019, a 26% increase that would take effect only after the 2027 election.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
A Hillside road district taps its own savings to fix its own roads
A self-funded Hillside road district would draw $150,000 from its own reserve to fix its roads rather than raise assessments, one of two doing so this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage union deals would sweeten benefits amid a labor shortage
Two union contracts before the Anchorage Assembly would sweeten benefits — rehire leave credit, easier holiday pay, master's tuition — for a labor shortage.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage picks up the tab for building repairs the state used to help fund
Anchorage would spend $476,000 of its own money on repairs to aging city buildings after state grants were cut, and it's on the hook for that much a year through 2031.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The road to Bear Valley Elementary would narrow, and won't fix the jam
The road to Bear Valley Elementary already backs up at pickup, so the plan is to make it narrower — which, the project admits, won't fix the jam.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska will cover district travel to a school safety summit
Alaska will cover districts' travel to a September school safety summit in Anchorage — even as many face budget deficits and a staffing crisis.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's freight system was built to ship oil out. Now it's about getting packages in.
Alaska's freight network is shifting from moving oil out to bringing online-shopping deliveries in, as pipeline throughput slides and e-commerce surges through Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Northwest think tank has ideas for Anchorage housing
A Seattle think tank that advocates for denser housing is recommending Anchorage zoning changes, one of which the city already adopted in 2025.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A protected Potter Marsh hillside faces access questions at an Aug. 10 hearing
A 303-acre hillside feeding Potter Marsh is permanently protected, so the debate now is over access — where trails and parking go, and which neighborhood streets take the traffic. A 20-year plan gets a hearing Aug. 10.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage school board bets its emergency reserve on money that may not come
The Anchorage School Board will vote Tuesday on spending nearly all its emergency reserve to reopen 45 positions, betting on state money that isn't guaranteed until Aug. 31.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Legislators to hear the case for a gas line as the effort stalls
A minority caucus will host an Anchorage gasline listening session with only supporters, as the effort sits stalled in a third special session with no bill.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly weighs 10-year tax break for condos above shops and offices
Anchorage weighs a 10-year property-tax break for buyers of new condos above shops to spur housing, but critics ask whether the price cap lets it build much.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Chugach seeks industrial zoning for its campus, dropping a buffer
Chugach wants to rezone its Anchorage North Campus to heavy industrial to match its use, dropping a green buffer meant for a highway that likely won't come.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage advisory committees could lose the ability to write officials on their own
Anchorage's three AMATS citizen advisory committees would need staff and higher-committee sign-off before writing elected or federal officials, under a policy up Thursday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage may let buyers own a detached home outright where condos are now the norm
Anchorage may let buyers own detached houses outright in more residential zones — a change aimed at helping people dodge the financing hurdles of buying a condo. The Assembly decides.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage weighs $1 million for nonprofits feeding and sheltering vulnerable residents
Anchorage votes Tuesday on just over $1 million for nonprofits providing food, emergency shelter and other essential services to the city's most vulnerable residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Audit of $11.8M in off-the-books Anchorage spending heads to the Assembly
An audit of at least $11.8 million in Anchorage spending that skipped purchase orders — and the city's public transparency tracker — goes to the Assembly Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage moves to sell an old Government Hill fire station to Chugach Electric
Anchorage would sell the old Government Hill fire station to Chugach Electric for $470,000, no bidding, since Chugach already leases it for a communications tower.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Strong winds hit the Anchorage Hillside and Turnagain Arm, with outages possible
Strong winds are hitting the Anchorage Hillside and Turnagain Arm, gusting up to 60 mph through Tuesday morning. Secure loose items — power outages are possible.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage is considering expanding its surveillance network. The privacy rules are still a draft.
Anchorage votes Tuesday on $1.4M for police, including a surveillance center that logs cars, faces and movement — paid for with seized cash and federal money that never reaches the public budget, in the rare state whose constitution promises a right to privacy.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
The jet bridges at the Anchorage airport are wearing out
Those clunky old jet bridges at the Anchorage airport are wearing out, and the state is replacing them gate by gate through 2028. Two more are up for bid now.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage would sell rights over its City Hall lot below appraisal
Anchorage would sell two private firms the right to keep part of the City Hall lot building-free — $80K under appraisal, for a downtown project not yet filed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly recognizes four Eklutna youth interns for Elders meal program
Anchorage Assembly recognized four Eklutna youth interns who spent the summer harvesting salmon and moose for an Elders Freezer Meal program, then delivered meals to tribal Elders' homes.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Neighbors got the tower dropped from a south Anchorage substation rebuild
After a two-year fight, neighbors got Chugach to drop a 65-foot tower from a south Anchorage substation rebuild. A smaller fence-and-noise dispute is left.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Utility warns of rolling blackouts in Southcentral as soon as this winter
At a Municipality of Anchorage press conference last week, MEA's CEO warned that Southcentral could see rolling blackouts as soon as November if Cook Inlet gas falls short — the first time in 45 years he says he can't guarantee power.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Alaska Zoo moves injured rescued bear, closes exhibit after threats
A rescued brown bear was moved from the Alaska Zoo after a fight left her hurt, and the backlash brought threats against the other bears, closing the exhibit.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A year in, Anchorage's camping ordinance mostly moves people along, not into services
A year of Anchorage's camping ordinance: 89% of contacts end without arrest, but 890 of 962 people who complied left with no referral to services. The Assembly reviews it Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Free daily meals and pantries available across Anchorage in August
A free hot meal is available somewhere in Anchorage every day this month, plus two dozen food pantries citywide. Call 211 or check anchoragefood.org for the schedule.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Muldoon pot shop clears the park buffer, by measuring to the playground
A Muldoon Road pot shop clears the park buffer because the city measures to the playground, not the park line, 734 feet. Neighbors object; the Assembly votes Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Seven face sex trafficking charges tied to seven Alaska spa businesses
Seven people face felony sex trafficking charges after a year-long investigation of massage businesses in Wasilla and Anchorage that identified 11 victims.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
As melting ice opens the Arctic to more ships, a UAA scientist studies how a spill would behave
As melting ice brings more ships to the Arctic, a UAA scientist won a $364,999 grant to study how sunlight breaks down the toxic residue an oil spill would leave in cold, salty northern waters.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
The military is adding a thousand people to a base that's already full
The military plans to add about 1,050 people to Alaska bases while JBER housing sits at 98% full. Anchorage's Assembly is bracing for the overflow to hit the city's market.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage police oversight proposal dies without a second
Anchorage's police oversight proposal, already stripped of any power to investigate, died Tuesday for lack of a second, leaving the city with no oversight body since 2024.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage historic panel objects to Seward Highway safety review it says skipped the city
Anchorage's historic commission objects to the Safer Seward Highway review, saying the state cut the city out and that a wider, faster road threatens historic sites like Beluga Point.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A $1.5 billion Seward Highway plan pits safety against the Turnagain Arm viewshed
A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild has split Anchorage — the state says it's a safety fix for a deadly corridor; a coalition of critics says it's a highway-widening project that would scar Turnagain Arm.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage wants a public board to steer its Chugach access money — and set qualifications for who runs it
Anchorage wants to turn the informal group steering its Chugach access tax money into a formal board with defined expertise — one that vets trailhead and road projects in public rather than privately.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The Anchorage Assembly studied how to remove one of its own. It never has.
The Anchorage Assembly studied how to remove one of its own members, a power it has never used and, on a coalition body, likely won't. The member in question sat in on the session.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
On Ship Creek, you can't even lift a king out of the water
Anchorage's creeks are open for coho but locked down on kings, and on Ship Creek you can't even lift one out of the water before releasing it.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Retired APD lieutenant elected to oversee police and fire pensions
Retired APD Lt. Tony Henry was elected 115-to-119 to the police seat on Anchorage's police and fire pension board, pending Assembly confirmation Aug. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read