Chugach Census Area
RSSNews from the Chugach Census Area, Alaska
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.

The new Richardson Highway bridge takes shape at Mile 346
The last girders are up on the new Richardson Highway bridge at Mile 346 — a rebuild aimed at reopening a key Valdez-to-Canada freight route to heavy loads.

Alaska's stacked weekend of BIG EVENTS
Get out of your house. Like, summers gonna be done soon. What're you waiting for?

Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as sockeye run under forecast
Copper River stays shut to commercial fishing as sockeye lag forecast; the only opening on the books is a 12-hour subsistence period Monday morning.

Cordova's co-op wants a data center to soak up unsold hydropower
Cordova has more hydropower than buyers, and a weak fish season is pushing rates up. The co-op's fix: a data center in a warehouse storage bay.

Four TCC employees selected for ANTHC leadership programs
Four Tanana Chiefs Conference employees selected for competitive nine-month leadership programs run by Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to develop skills across tribal healthcare.

PWS sockeye season ends with low returns as fleet pivots to coho
Prince William Sound sockeye season ended with historically low returns, forcing commercial fishers to chase coho in August to recover lost income.

DNR moves to lease four acres near Valdez to adventure tourism operator Black Ops Valdez
DNR is leasing four acres near Valdez to Black Ops Valdez for heli-skiing and backcountry tours, but the deal faces a competitive bidding process if the public objects during the comment period.

Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as Chinook run tracks weak
Copper River commercial salmon fishing stays closed through at least Saturday as Chinook counts track weak, though subsistence fishers get a 12-hour window Thursday morning.

A collapsing salmon season could force Cordova to cut services this winter
Cordova's budget runs on fishing-fleet fuel taxes. With Prince William Sound's pink salmon a no-show, a council member is warning of service cuts this winter.

Cordova turns to posted notices after local newspaper closes
Cordova says its newspaper is "no longer in circulation," so it's tacking foreclosure notices on four walls. The Cordova Times is still publishing — just online.

Stalled disaster funds are now building 48 homes in Anchorage and Cordova
Nearly $7M in disaster-recovery money that sat idle after a stalled Habitat project is finally building 48 senior and family homes in Anchorage and Cordova.

Convicted child abuser killed by troopers after armed standoff near Whittier
A man convicted of child sexual abuse was killed by troopers near Whittier after he armored up and pointed a gun at officers from an anchored boat, days after fleeing sentencing.

Convicted sex offender flees Palmer courthouse, departs Whittier by sailboat
A convicted child abuser fled the Palmer courthouse Monday. Philip Phillips sailed into Prince William Sound to evade capture.

Four ferries in the shop make for a lean Alaska winter
Four Alaska ferries will be down for repairs this winter — one for five months after crews found corroded steel — thinning service for roadless towns that depend on it.

State opens bids for Chenega Bay airport maintenance contract
Alaska is seeking a new maintenance contractor for Chenega Bay Rural Airport in Prince William Sound, with bids due July 16 and award expected by July 28.

Northern Region roads return to full summer loads Friday
Alaska lifts spring weight limits on most Northern Region roads Friday, July 10, letting commercial haulers return to full legal loads, except Tofty Road into Tanana stays capped at 75 percent.

Alaska's kings are down almost everywhere — here's the picture
From the Yukon to Kodiak to Prince William Sound, Alaska is closing or tightening king salmon fishing nearly statewide — a slow-motion decline now measured in decades, not seasons.

In Cordova, a slow salmon season squeezes everything — even the Fourth of July
A slow Copper River season and a state funding veto are squeezing Cordova's budget — putting the pool, the museum and even the Fourth of July on the table.

Cordova's fishermen are getting a new dock — and losing "the slowest crane in harbor"
Cordova cleared the way for a new offloading dock at Camtu's Alaska Wild Seafoods — retiring what one council member called "the slowest crane in harbor."

How Cordova's Fourth of July shuffles the week
Cordova's shifting its schedule for the Fourth: City Hall and the transfer station close Friday, trash moves to Monday, and the library and museum keep their own holiday hours.

The state wants this gravel pit to be permanent.
The state wants to make a Richardson Highway gravel pit permanent — and this 22-day comment window is the public's only formal say over how it's run, now and indefinitely.

In Prince William Sound, the one-king summer is the new normal
Prince William Sound's one-king limit isn't a new emergency — it's the rule now, the same restriction as last year, as wild kings stay thin and only hatchery zones stay generous.

North Slope, Fairbanks, Valdez sue over pipeline tax values
Three Alaska municipalities sued June 22 over how pipeline companies value their assets for local taxes, challenging assessments that affect borough and city revenue.

Pilot killed in Piper Pacer crash 40 miles southeast of Cordova
A pilot flying solo between Yakutat and Fairbanks was found dead Friday after an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter located the crashed Piper Pacer near Kanak Island, about 40 miles southeast of Cordova.

AI is becoming Alaska's front page. It only knows the Alaska that's online.
The first AI answer most Alaskans see now appears inside an ordinary Google search, above the links. It summarizes what the web already covers well. For much of Alaska, the web covers almost nothing.

Federal fishery disaster relief of $99M headed to Alaska after years of waiting
Alaska took four of every five dollars in the nation's fishery-disaster aid — and none of it has reached anyone yet, with 13 more disasters still in line.

Cordova Harbor Commission votes against CAM 2 dock recommendation
Cordova Harbor Commission voted against recommending the city sell 4,100 square feet of waterfront to seafood processor CAM 2 for a private dock. • Commissioners cited navigation safety concerns at the tight harbor entrance and potential impacts on lighting and road infrastructure. • The proposal now goes to City Council, which may still approve the sale despite the commission's recommendation against it.

CVEA files to renew Solomon Gulch hydro license before 2028 expiration
Copper Valley Electric Association filed to renew its Solomon Gulch hydroelectric license before it expires May 31, 2028, submitting required paperwork to federal regulators on June 12.

Both cranes on Cordova's Drive Down Dock are out of service at the height of Copper River salmon season
Bad timing for fishing season as Cordova Drive down dock crane is not up to snuff

North Coast Chinook Troll Fishery Opens 5 Days, Then Closes
Washington-Oregon commercial Chinook troll fishery opens for just five days, June 12-16, reflecting coast-wide salmon scarcity that also shapes Alaska's harvest limits under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

Cordova carrier tells FCC spectrum hoarding blocks rural broadband
Cordova Wireless told the FCC that major carriers are sitting on unused spectrum licenses over the town and won't lease them, blocking the local provider from meeting federal broadband speed standards.

Cordova Harbor Commission sends harbor-mouth tideland sale back for engineering review
Cordova Harbor Commission blocked a proposal to sell tidelands for a dock near the small boat harbor entrance, citing navigation hazards from constriction at the mouth where 727 vessels operate in strong currents.

ADF&G opens Copper River drift gillnet fishery Thursday for 24 hours
Alaska Department of Fish and Game opens Copper River drift gillnet fishery for 24 hours starting 7 a.m. Thursday, June 26, targeting sockeye salmon while monitoring Chinook conservation limits of 21,000 to 31,000 fish.

Kuparuk Pipeline seeks 76% capacity expansion for North Slope crude
Kuparuk Transportation Company seeks to expand its pipeline capacity 76 percent, from 360,000 to 634,000 barrels per day, to move more North Slope crude into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

DEC opens comment on Trans Alaska Pipeline spill plan renewal
Alaska's environmental agency opened public comment on the Trans Alaska Pipeline's spill-response plan renewal through March 5, covering the 800-mile system from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

Cordova holds property tax rate flat at 11.44 mills for 2026
Cordova City Council voted 7-0 to keep the property tax mill rate at 11.44 mills for 2026, holding steady despite rising city costs after residents warned that higher taxes would force fishing families out of town.

Petersburg Medical Center loses bids for facility, equipment grants
Petersburg Medical Center's two largest grant proposals for a new facility and medical equipment were deferred by the state Rural Health Transformation Program on Wednesday, though five smaller projects advanced to a second funding round.

Prince William Sound's spot shrimp are in decline — and harvesters have until Monday to pull gear
Small shrimp, small drop, quick pull, one stop

Alaskans' debt falls to lowest level in a decade
Alaska adults carried an average of $68,900 in household debt in 2024, down roughly $1,900 from 2023 and the lowest level in a decade, though Alaskans still owe about $7,300 more per person than the national average.
