Anchorage

Denali's road work starts the day after the last bus of the season

Denali's last bus of the season ran Sept. 17. The very next morning, a $6.2 million contract to fix the roads those buses depend on began.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State agencies host Oct. 12-13 Anchorage conference on disability employment

State agencies host an Employment First Conference Oct. 12-13 in Anchorage to address why only 51% of Alaskans with disabilities work, compared to 77% without.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's Coast Guard distress radios have missed calls, and a fix is funded

The Coast Guard's own inspector general found outages in Alaska's distress radio network kept it from hearing some calls for help. A fix is funded.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

The Indian Health Service is paying an Alaska firm to clear a coding backlog

An uncoded clinic visit is an unbilled one, and unbilled means money the clinic never sees. IHS is paying an Anchorage firm to help catch up.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage judge sentences Adam Pringle to 55 years for 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener

The second man convicted in the 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener got 55 years, a few more than his co-defendant. It took four years to reach sentencing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Labor committee reports $125,000 in ads for four Alaska candidates

Putting Alaskans First reported $125,000 in Meta ads supporting four legislative candidates. Two other committees reported smaller buys.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's three-judge court has been short since 2022; Reardon would fill the last seat

Alaska's federal court has been short a judge for five years, one seat vacated by a judge forced out for misconduct. The Senate questioned his replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 16

Anchorage man faces 10 charges after Nondalton assaults

Troopers say three people were assaulted in Nondalton. Two were taken to Anchorage for treatment, and one was medevaced.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028

Anchorage schools project a $9 million fiscal 2028 gap after reserves and assumed energy relief. Officials say underlying cost growth is closer to $40 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money

Anchorage officials fail to agree on shared school-closure committee

The Assembly and School Board could not agree on giving both bodies votes on a school-closure committee. The existing board-led panel remains.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read

Follows: Assembly members seek equal vote on joint school rightsizing panel

Anchorage schedules Oct. 6 hearing on transit-corridor plan

Anchorage will hear testimony Oct. 6 on plan amendments calling for 25 to 36 homes per acre in designated transit corridors.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage service-area debate exposes unanswered questions about taxes and emergency coverage

Anchorage Assembly members questioned how service-area taxes match actual fire, emergency and parks coverage. Several answers remain unresolved.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska reroutes Region IV absentee ballots after 75 arrived too late to count

Alaska will route Region IV absentee-in-person ballots through Anchorage after 75 primary ballots arrived after certification.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 16

Alaska governor candidates agree on Permanent Fund, split on taxes

Taylor and Bronson opposed broad new taxes; Kreiss-Tomkins backed targeted revenue as three candidates compared fiscal, energy and workforce plans

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Chugach will charge you less at night, if you actually move your usage

Chugach will sell you cheaper power overnight and pricier power all day long. Sign up and change nothing, and you end up paying a little more.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska school tests show early gains and a one-in-five participation gap

Alaska's younger students gained ground, but one in five enrolled students had no AK STAR score. Correspondence testing barriers explain part of the gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 14

Alaska declines to move Kuskokwim villages into its larger Merbok tier

Alaska won't move Lower Kuskokwim villages into the larger tier of its $38.5 million Merbok grant, saying its survey found other regions hit harder.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage appeals board sets five more property hearings for Sept. 22-25

Anchorage was supposed to have finished hearing property assessment appeals by June 1. It is still hearing them, nearly four months later.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage tax appeal hearings continue into September, past the board's stated season

An appeals court reopens a McLaughlin Youth Center abuse conviction

An appeals court withdrew its decision upholding a former McLaughlin Youth Center officer's abuse conviction, sending it back over withheld records.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's school funding gap has shrunk to about $6 million

Anchorage's school funding gap for next year has halved to about $6 million, after the Legislature capped how much the local contribution can grow.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska rural health notices pass $239 million with $30 million round

Alaska sent out $30 million more in rural health awards this week, funding a Girdwood telepharmacy, a Norton Sound scheduling hub and rural X-ray machines.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Alaska adds $16.8 million in rural health awards without naming who gets the money

Anchorage's required 2027 school contribution rises to about $138 million

Anchorage owes its schools $138 million next year and may give up to $108 million more. The board says no school closes for money either way.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million for next year

Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million next year to $381.7 million. Last year the city collected everything it was allowed, minus $325.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska counts 900 fewer jobs in August as federal payrolls shed 1,300

Alaska lost 900 jobs in the year to August, with 800 private-sector gains offset by 1,700 public-sector losses, 1,300 of them federal. The federal shortfall has narrowed from 1,900 in April and has held at 1,300 since June. Unemployment was 4.3 percent.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks weighs union labor agreements on its big construction projects

Fairbanks would require union-negotiated labor agreements on borough construction over $3.5 million, copying an Anchorage rule that warned it could raise costs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes on all public property

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes from all public property, citing safety concerns and comparing high-powered models to unlicensed motorcycles.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A woman was killed at East 3rd and Orca, where the state mapped a cluster

A woman was killed by a driver who left the scene at East 3rd and Orca, on the edge of an area the state mapped as a pedestrian death cluster.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A jet fuel truck at JBER is out until at least the end of December

A truck that pumps 600 gallons of jet fuel a minute is sitting dead on the JBER flightline. The replacement engine is not due until late December.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Wasilla's road plan expired on a population forecast 38 percent too high

Wasilla's road plan expired, its parent comprehensive plan was repealed in 2011, and it assumed 3,700 more residents than the city actually has.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange design study goes to Anchorage hearing Nov. 2

The state wants to rebuild the Seward Highway interchange at Tudor Road. It goes to a public hearing Nov. 2, with most of the funding still unbuilt.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Port of Alaska must ship contaminated soil out of state after storm drain dig

Crews at the Port of Alaska hit soil dirtier than testing predicted. It's now headed out of state, on a project with a grant deadline attached.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Visitors keep walking into Seward's industrial port

Cruise passengers in Seward keep wandering into the industrial port instead of onto the sidewalk. The city is paying $79,920 to sort out the signs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly shelves mayor's homebuyer tax break 11-1

Anchorage Assembly indefinitely postponed a 10-year property-tax exemption for first-time buyers of newly built homes on an 11-1 vote, with members questioning the proposal's target and who would benefit.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage's new-home tax break would reach pricier houses under a revision

Anchorage housing overlay hearing carries to Oct. 6 after divided testimony

Anchorage heard nearly 90 minutes of divided housing testimony, then ran out of time. The 30,000-parcel overlay returns Oct. 6

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage wants 10,000 homes. Its zoning fight is over where they can fit.

Anchorage delays surveillance rules as sponsors and mayor remain divided

Anchorage delayed its surveillance ordinance to Oct. 20. The crime center keeps operating under police policy while lawmakers reconcile rival rules.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mayor's substitute puts Anchorage's surveillance network before the Assembly Tuesday

Anchorage confirms drone deployment was omitted and checks for others

APD's manual drone log lost at least one deployment. Anchorage is checking for more omissions and owes the Assembly a revised report Oct. 6.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Follows: APD's new drone notice leaves annual-report questions unanswered

An Anchorage firm will run Job Corps in the South Bronx and Brooklyn

The Labor Department tried to shut down Job Corps last year and lost in court. Now it's signing new contracts, and an Anchorage firm got two in New York City.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Cordova's code says give the dog back if the owner is standing there

Cordova's code tells an officer to hand the dog back if the owner is standing right there. The council thinks that may be a liability problem.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Chugiak fire chief to ask voters this spring for first mill rate increase since 2005

Chugiak's fire calls are up 27 percent, and the chief says it is not fires driving it. It is people without a doctor calling an ambulance instead.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Sullivan diesel-derate bill advances Senate committee 10-9

A Senate panel advanced Sullivan's diesel-derate bill 10-9. It mandates cold-weather relief while EPA separately considers broader changes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read