Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Week of Jul 27
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 AlaskaNews3mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Girdwood's park plans would move to Anchorage's standard public review
Girdwood loves its trails and ski runs, and an ordinance up Tuesday would run the town's park plans through the same public review the rest of Anchorage uses.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
31 acres near Ester may go to an unnamed applicant without an auction
The state may convey 31 acres near Ester to an applicant without an auction under a public-use provision — but the notice won't say who gets the land.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Second Eagle River road contract in weeks draws just one bid
An Eagle River brush-disposal contract worth up to $1.16 million drew one bidder, the second sole-bid road contract in the same service area in weeks. The Assembly votes Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A substitute would swap Martinez's removal for a travel investigation
A substitute before the Anchorage Assembly would drop the effort to remove George Martinez and instead investigate his travel since 2023. Members vote Aug. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
More from Anchorage
A board steering Anchorage's biggest project met nine times. The public heard about one.
A board advising Anchorage's $2.7B port rebuild met nine times and told the public about one — voting on design questions with almost no public notice.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
TPS holders in Alaska: check your work permit — don't assume it was extended
TPS holders in Alaska should check their work permit expiration date and not assume it was extended — automatic extensions have been cut, and an expired card can cost a job.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Green card seekers in Alaska face a wider benefits review starting Sept. 18
A federal rule effective Sept. 18 broadens the public charge review for green card applicants in Alaska; advocates warn families may drop Medicaid or food aid out of fear.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly weighs new police SUVs and an off-market firehouse sale
The Anchorage Assembly weighs two property calls Aug. 4: $1.88M for 27 new police SUVs, and a no-bid sale of an old Government Hill firehouse to its current tenant.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage clarifies what a records request keeps, and for how long
Anchorage is spelling out what a public records request keeps, logs, request and records, and setting the clock at two years. Short enough to notice, if a request ever gets contested.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage let $11.8 million skip the books it promised to check
Anchorage could have policed $11.8 million in off-the-books spending starting in early 2024. It waited nearly two years, and none of it showed on the public tracker.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage takes another run at its missing-middle housing rules
Anchorage takes a second swing at missing-middle housing, letting corridor owners opt into duplexes-to-townhomes. Last year's version stalled on neighborhood pushback.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
UAA wants to pour wine at the gallery opening — under a 'sporting' license
UAA wants to serve beer and wine at its arts venues — under a liquor license category called "sporting activity." The string quartet counts, apparently. Assembly votes Aug. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Second Saturday Art Exhibit
Denali Graphics & Frame, 700 W. International Airport Rd, Anchorage, Alaska
Exhibition
Legally Blonde, JR: The Musical
Performance
JCC Bunco and Potluck
Community event
Awakening of Winter 7 – Dude, Where's the Snow?!
Community event
AIGA Alaska The BIG One Awards Reception
Community event
About Anchorage
Anchorage (Dgheyay Kaq') is the largest city in Alaska, set in Southcentral Alaska between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet. The Municipality of Anchorage takes in neighborhoods and communities from downtown, Midtown and Spenard to Eagle River and Girdwood.
The Anchorage Assembly passes ordinances, approves municipal contracts and reviews liquor license renewals, and the mayor appoints members of city boards and commissions. Local questions return to housing density and building in earthquake hazard zones, police funding and surveillance rules, parks and public facilities, and the condition and staffing of its schools.
Anchorage holds the Port of Alaska and sits beside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, so military needs such as helicopter landing sites come before city government. It shares Southcentral Alaska with the Mat-Su Valley, the Kenai Peninsula and the other communities around Cook Inlet.
More from Anchorage
Oil-company seismic data is going public — the price of a state tax credit
Oil-company seismic surveys from Cook Inlet and the North Slope are going public — the eventual price of the state tax credits that funded them — as companies hunt for new gas in a declining basin.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
State would lease airport land at 18 cents a foot until 2076
Alaska wants to rent two acres at its busiest cargo airport for 18 cents a foot until 2076. A bargain for Anchorage, or a 50-year giveaway?
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A 20-acre parcel near Homer is headed to public hands — but for what?
Twenty acres near Homer could be sold to a public or charitable group with no auction — though the state's notice doesn't say who wants it or why. Comment by Aug. 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Woman killed, two juveniles critically hurt in crash at Northern Lights and UAA Drive
A woman died and two juveniles were critically injured in a crash at East Northern Lights Boulevard and UAA Drive in Anchorage early Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
On Aurora Street, water mains are in but the sewer stops short
A new lot split on Aurora Street marks the edge of Anchorage's grid: water mains are in, public sewer isn't, and getting sewer means paying to extend the main.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Free two-day medical, dental and vision clinic set for Sullivan Arena in September
Remote Area Medical runs a free two-day clinic Sept. 19-20 at Sullivan Arena offering dental, vision and medical care with no ID or insurance required.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The state says Girdwood's Moose Meadow trails are trespassing
Four beloved Girdwood trails cross onto state airport land, and the state now calls using them trespassing — just as residents push to make them official.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Girdwood's parks plan eyes land its own housing plan wanted for homes
Girdwood's parks plan wants disc golf and a dog park on Glacier Creek land the town's housing plan set aside for homes. City staff say resolve that first. Hearing Aug. 3.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
South Anchorage rezone would allow industrial use in a residential area
A 3.8-acre South Anchorage lot could be rezoned from homes to heavy industrial. No project's been named yet — and that's what neighbors will want to know. Hearing Aug. 3.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chugach wants to trade a planned greenway for heavy industrial zoning
Chugach Electric wants to erase a planned greenway near downtown Anchorage and rezone the land heavy-industrial. City planners say yes; the Assembly decides.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A magnitude 3.0 leads a weekend quake cluster in the Susitna Valley
A magnitude 3.0 led a weekend of small quakes in the Susitna Valley, felt as far as Anchorage — routine for ground sitting on three seismic sources.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Pro and Anti Ranked choice campaigns trade billionaire accusations at hearing
Alaska's ranked choice camps each say the other runs on billionaire money, at a hearing on a measure that would repeal the rules for tracing where that money starts.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Ballot Measure 3 turns on a single word
Ballot Measure 3 would add "only" to Alaska's voter law. Sponsors call it a gap worth closing before a court does it for them; opponents call it a doubt nobody needed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers cite 12 dipnetters on the Kenai in one day
Troopers wrote at least 12 dipnet citations on the Kenai in a single day, mostly for fishing after hours. The reward: $120 bail and a long drive home.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Platting Board to weigh Girdwood plat note removal Aug. 5
Anchorage Platting Board will vote Aug. 5 on removing a vegetation screening requirement from a Girdwood lot, which would free space for multifamily housing at 116 Kami Circle.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Federal awards to Alaska pass $14 billion this fiscal year
Alaska has drawn $14 billion in federal awards this fiscal year — about $19,000 per resident — and added roughly $270 million of it in the past week.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 20
Anchorage may let duplex owners sell half the house and its land
Anchorage may let duplex owners in single-family zones sell one unit and its land as its own lot — more housing, plus questions about running a split lot.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Measles turns up in Anchorage wastewater
Measles RNA showed up four times in Anchorage wastewater this month. No case has been confirmed, and clinicians are told to isolate suspected patients on sight.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga killed in Sterling Highway crash
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga passed away in a vehicular accident on July 24
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Small craft advisories hit Kodiak, Barren Islands waters through Sunday
Strong winds, caution to boats
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska's senators split on Iran war powers, and Murkowski missed the vote
Murkowski has repeatedly broken with Trump to rein in the Iran war. Thursday she missed the vote, and Sullivan again voted no. The motion failed 47-49.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Removing an Assembly member takes 94 days and a supermajority
Anchorage published the map for removing an Assembly member: 94 days, a two-thirds vote, and the city pays the accused member's legal bills either way.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Four wind advisories cover Alaska through Thursday with gusts to 60 mph
Four wind advisories are up across Alaska — and in Anchorage, weeks of rain have left the ground soft enough that 50 mph gusts could bring trees down.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska makers can claim a free booth at November's holiday market
Alaska makers can grab a free booth at Anchorage's holiday market in November. Applications close Sept. 18, and spots go first-come.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
