Kodiak Reentry seeks borough funds as nonprofit grant requests outstrip budget
A volunteer-run Kodiak reentry group that helps people leave incarceration for treatment is asking the borough for rent money — in a year when the grant fund is badly oversubscribed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak hospital pauses reverse osmosis, steam generator design
Kodiak hospital paused design work on a reverse osmosis system after discovering it may not work with existing sterilization equipment, with a facility evaluation set for August 3.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Whale permit for Ketchikan bridge counts down to the single animal
Federal regulators will let a Ketchikan bridge project disturb up to 63 humpback whales. Last season's number was 62. Nobody filed a comment either way.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Small craft advisories hit Kodiak, Barren Islands waters through Sunday
Strong winds, caution to boats
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak king salmon collapse is squeezing everyone who fishes
Just 93 king salmon reached the Karluk to spawn last year, against a goal of 3,000-plus. That collapse is why Kodiak's fleet is fishing on the clock.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs sounding its tsunami sirens the moment a warning hits
Kodiak may set its tsunami sirens to sound the instant a warning hits, and let dispatch trigger them on local signs before any federal alert arrives.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Sitka Assembly reconsiders hatchery lease at Gary Paxton park
Sitka's Assembly takes another swing at leasing a chunk of the Gary Paxton park to a hatchery group, plus two more parcels up for private bids.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak boats have nowhere legal to store hazardous waste
Kodiak boats make hazardous waste year-round, but the island collects it twice a year — and nowhere on Kodiak can legally hold it in between.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska shakes the most and gets the least warning
California gets seconds of warning before the shaking starts. Alaska, which has more big quakes than any state, gets none — but that's being built.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Nome port's national security designation could save city $132 million in construction costs
A Senate bill could cut Nome's share of its Arctic port project from 35 percent to 10 percent, saving the city $132 million as construction begins this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Rocket Lab wins $266 million DoD contract for suborbital launches from Kodiak spaceport
Rocket Lab won a $266 million Defense Department contract for at least 12 suborbital launches from Kodiak's state-owned spaceport by end of 2028.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
ADEC proposes final discharge permit for Kodiak landfill leachate plant
Alaska regulators issued a proposed final permit allowing Kodiak Island Borough to discharge 288,000 gallons daily of treated landfill leachate into a wetland draining to Monashka Bay.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
Roald Amundsen brings 530 passengers to Kodiak on August 2
Cruise ship Roald Amundsen docks in Kodiak on August 2 with 530 passengers for a nine-hour port call.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Four candidates interview for Kodiak Island Borough Assembly vacancy
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly interviewed four candidates Thursday to fill a vacant Assembly seat and must appoint someone by June 25.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Senate bill would fast-track Army Corps engineering for Juneau's glacial flooding
A Senate bill would let the Army Corps of Engineers skip study steps and move straight to designing a permanent fix for Juneau's glacial lake flooding, which threatens nearly 1,900 homes each summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Kodiak plans September DC lobbying trip as defense program bid fails again
Kodiak's defense infrastructure program bid failed again, but the borough and city are planning a joint September lobbying trip to pursue $150 billion in federal energy and defense funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough advances marijuana excise tax to public hearing on 4-1 vote
Kodiak Borough Assembly voted 4-1 to advance a 3% marijuana excise tax to public hearing, though a dispensary owner warned the tax targets the wrong product and lacks clear definitions.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak commission votes 4-2 to rezone Cliff Point lots to conservation district
Kodiak planning commission voted 4-2 to rezone six Cliff Point Estates lots to conservation district, raising minimum lot size from 2 to 5 acres and reducing how many homes could be built there.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Borough holds public hearing on Ouzinkie tsunami shelter rezone
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a public hearing July 16 on rezoning an Ouzinkie parcel to house the community's tsunami shelter and tribal offices.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak conservation district seeks permit to spray glyphosate in Buskin watershed
Plant plant go away come get another day. Or, you don't have to.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
U.S. Senate stalls defense bill, freezing $2.6B for Alaska
The Senate blocked its defense bill — and $2.6B in Alaska military work with it — over the Iran war and Pentagon spending. Both AK senators voted yes.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak developer's conservation rezone draws a refuge objection
A Kodiak developer wants to rezone 20 lots into six under a Conservation District; the neighboring wildlife refuge is raising objections. But what don't the feds raise objections about?
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs selling four parcels, including its ballfields
Kodiak's Lands Committee will consider selling four borough parcels July 20, including Killarney Hills, a 16-acre site with two shared baseball fields that faces wetland and sewer obstacles.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Four Kodiak residents vie for an open Assembly seat
Four Kodiak residents are up for an open Assembly seat, and the Assembly picks one Thursday night — winner sworn in on the spot, serving until October's election.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A 'conservation' rezone on Kodiak's coast draws a federal warning
A landowner wants to rezone Kodiak coastline to "conservation" — but the wildlife refuge next door warns the change could still harm the protected waters just offshore.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak's seiners can fish — but not for a single king
Kodiak's seine grounds keep opening, but every king that hits the net has to go back — a quiet measure of how far Alaska's king runs have fallen.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The only applicant for Kodiak's open seat is making it about representation
Only one person applied to fill Kodiak's vacant Assembly seat, and Mark Vizcocho is making his case about Filipino representation on an island his community has long helped build.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak's nonprofits need more than the borough can give
Kodiak nonprofits asked for far more than the $270K the borough has to give — with the biggest shortfall in the fund that helps keep a homeless shelter open year-round.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Your 911 call now finds you where you are, not where your bill goes
GCI switched on location-based 911 routing — so an emergency call goes to the dispatch center nearest where you actually are, which in Alaska can be hundreds of miles from home.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak rezone pitched as conservation would also curb development
A Kodiak landowner wants to rezone oceanfront lots as "conservation" — bigger parcels, a salmon-creek buffer, and, not incidentally, a lot less development on the coast.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Where thousands of seabirds flew, a Kodiak commissioner counted 30
A Native Kodiak commissioner counted 30 seabirds where thousands once flew, and says the borough's new 20-year plan must reckon with that — and with 7,000 years of Indigenous knowledge.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A strong El Niño is likely this winter, warm and wet for Southern Alaska
A strong El Niño is 90% likely this winter, tilting Southern Alaska warmer and wetter — but on the coast that often means rain over snow, and the Interior may stay dry.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Borough assembly scheduled to introduce marijuana tax measure for October ballot
Kodiak Borough Assembly introduces a 3% marijuana tax Thursday for an Oct. 6 voter decision, potentially raising $135,000 to $150,000 yearly for health and education programs.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough set to rezone Ouzinkie parcel for tsunami shelter and government offices
Kodiak Borough will vote July 16 on rezoning an Ouzinkie parcel to allow a tsunami shelter and government offices in the island village.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak water customers face $250 involuntary disconnect charge, $1,000 tampering fine under new rules
Kodiak water customers will pay $250 to restore service after a 30-day shutoff and face up to $1,000 fines for meter tampering under rules the City Council adopts Thursday.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Kodiak council to consider $1.2M ice rink roof contract, drawing from two parks funds
Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on a $1.2 million ice rink roof contract that exceeds budget by $644,000, requiring transfers from two other parks projects to fund the work.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough declines federal interest notice, leaving health center next steps unresolved
Kodiak Borough rejected a federal interest notice for the health center's capital project, leaving its funding path uncertain.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
A developer wants to build homes and shops on a city lot in Kodiak — if the city sells
A developer wants to build six apartments and six shops on a vacant Kodiak city lot — a $1.6M project. First the council has to decide whether to sell the land.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Pollock fleet builds empirical database of trawl seafloor contact as Congress weighs gear restrictions
A pollock fleet research project has documented nearly 300 trawls to show how gear actually contacts the seafloor, aiming to replace guesswork in federal fishing rules with real data by early 2027.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak is shrinking and greying, even as the rest of Alaska grows
Kodiak has lost about 650 residents in five years, roughly 5%, even as Alaska grew. The island is aging: fewer young kids, more residents in their 70s, men leaving 2 to 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read