Southcentral

The town of Whittier has had no gas for weeks, and it's only manageable because it's summer

The whole town of Whittier has had no natural gas since Aug. 16 and won't get it back until Sept. 5, and it's manageable mainly because it's still warm out.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Hillside road area may spend far more than planned after erosion damage

A small Hillside neighborhood that maintains its own roads may spend nearly $99,000 this year — up from about $21,000 — after ice and spring runoff caused heavy road erosion.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage approves $40,000 to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan

Anchorage approved $40,000, almost all of it federal, to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan after new flight procedures changed what it must show.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Woman injured by brown bear sow near Bells Flats in Kodiak

A woman was hurt by a brown bear sow while walking her dog near Bells Flats on Kodiak, but her dog's barking distracted the bear long enough for her to escape.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A second person has been hurt in an Anchorage otter attack in three weeks

A second Anchorage resident in three weeks has been hurt by a river otter, and Fish and Game is telling paddleboarders and dog walkers to carry bear spray.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage firm has held FBI maintenance contract without competition since 2022

An Anchorage company owned by an Alaska Native corporation has kept the FBI's Washington Field Office running since 2022. This month: drains and roof hatches.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Alaska has spent a fifth of its open federal disaster money, with six weeks on the clock

Alaska holds $357.7 million in open federal disaster grants and has spent about a fifth. One 2015 North Slope grant has paid out $6,176 in eleven years.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A cable across the Koyukuk, a camp for a mining crew, and no named mine

A Wasilla man wants to hang a 25,000-pound cable across the Koyukuk and camp a mining crew beside it. The state's form never asks which mine.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Planning and Zoning bumped its entire August docket to September

Every land-use case on the Planning and Zoning Commission's August docket got bumped to September, a month's delay for anyone waiting on a rezoning or permit.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

A routine Anchorage roads vote this week would also fund cameras at 82 more intersections

A routine Anchorage roads-money vote this week also quietly funds 82 more intersection cameras, in the middle of a public fight over police surveillance.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read

Anchorage will ship contaminated concrete to Oregon after the state tightened disposal rules, adding $850,000

Anchorage's school board approved $850,000 to ship contaminated school concrete to Oregon after the state tightened its rules on disposing of banned PCBs.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The Anchorage School Board pledges no more closures next year, but one member says the last three were never explained

The Anchorage School Board pledged no closures next year as an olive branch to a grieving community, though one member says the last three went unexplained.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: An Anchorage board member proposes a one-year pause on school closures

Anchorage School District adopts a single English curriculum for grades 6 through 10

Anchorage adopted one English curriculum for grades 6-10 on a 6-1 vote. The selection committee itself split 6-5, and one board member questioned the process.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage is weighing a trade of land it just bought for $2.35 million for four downtown parking lots

Anchorage is weighing a trade of land it just bought for $2.35 million for four downtown parking lots, over a state objection and around competitive bidding.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

ENSTAR seeks a Southcentral gas rate hike as two landlords move to dismiss the case

ENSTAR wants to raise Southcentral gas bills by about $9 a month, and two landlords are moving to get the rate case thrown out before its September hearing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

An Anchorage firm runs facilities services for North Dakota's federal buildings

A company owned by Kodiak's Koniag corporation keeps federal buildings running across North Dakota, with the revenue flowing home to Alutiiq shareholders.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage jury finds man guilty but mentally ill in 2015 stabbing of his parents

A jury found Martin Victor IV guilty but mentally ill in the 2015 stabbing of both his parents. He cannot be paroled until treatment is complete.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

An Anchorage man will serve 30 years for sexually abusing children he babysat

An Anchorage man will serve 30 years in prison for sexually abusing multiple children under 13 whom he babysat, and must register as a sex offender for life.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

First Election Day Tapes from two statistically significant Anchorage precincts put Kreiss-Tomkins and Begich ahead of the field

All of our analysis these were the precinct that most closely aligned with statewide results, so Alaska news went out to get that information. This is not the statewide results.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fish and Game plans to cut about 50 of its own rules by year's end

Alaska Fish and Game plans to cut about 50 of its own regulations under a Dunleavy order that supporters call streamlining and critics call gutting oversight.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Troopers investigate death of Homer woman, 37, who collapsed in Anchor Point

Erin Kitchen, 37, of Homer died Monday night in Anchor Point after collapsing. The State Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska regulators may open the grid to far more home and community solar

Alaska regulators may raise the rooftop and community solar limit from 1.5% to 20% of a utility's demand, opening the grid to far more customer-owned power.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Northrim to buy Oregon bank, its first branches outside Alaska

Anchorage's Northrim Bank is expanding outside Alaska for the first time, buying an Oregon bank for about $167 million and 11 new branches.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage man arrested on 18 perjury and sex offender registry counts

An Anchorage man, Ronnie Wieber, 52, is held without bail on 18 counts alleging he failed to register as a sex offender and lied on his registration forms.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Troopers fly three stranded hikers out of Hatcher Pass

Alaska Wildlife Troopers helicoptered three hikers out of Hatcher Pass on Monday after high water and weather blocked their exit, the third rescue in the area this summer.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A company wants to rework historic Interior goldfields, mining two creeks for a decade

A company wants to mine gold for a decade from two creeks in Alaska's historic Ruby goldfields, first struck in 1911, disturbing about 35 acres of streambed.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on, as their co-op runs ahead of budget

More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on — nearly $472,000 this year — even as their co-op runs $4.9 million ahead of budget.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Judge vacates Izembek land exchange for King Cove road

A federal judge vacated the land exchange behind the King Cove road through the Izembek refuge, reopening one of Alaska's longest fights on primary day.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to mark Women's Equality Day tonight

For the first time, the Alaska House is majority woman, with 21 of 40 seats, a milestone an Anchorage resolution marks tonight on Women's Equality Day.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

DOT says cameras don't read plates; vendor policy allows video storage

Alaska says new cameras in Palmer, Wasilla and Anchorage count people and cars, not plates — but the vendor's policy sets no limit on storing video.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Cook Inlet king fishing reopens north of Bluff Point at one fish a day

King fishing reopened north of Bluff Point on Aug. 15, one fish a day through Sept. 15. Every Cook Inlet king run was forecast under its escapement goal.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Pink salmon swamp Kodiak road-system rivers, crowding out sockeye and coho

Pink salmon are crowding Kodiak road-system rivers in unusual numbers, making sockeye and coho harder for anglers to find this week.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The state wants to give away land near Houston for housing, one piece of a statewide push

The state wants to give away 42 acres near Houston, free, for housing — one of several no-cost transfers to the Housing Finance Corporation across Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Railbelt ratepayers will repay up to $100M for a Bradley Lake expansion built around federal tax credits

Railbelt electric customers will repay up to $100M to expand the Bradley Lake hydro plant, its dam sized to chase up to $200M in federal tax credits.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak wants your best shot of the biggest bears on Earth for its visitor guide

Kodiak's visitor-guide photo contest is open, led by the Kodiak brown bear — the biggest bear on Earth. Seven categories, $200 each, through Oct. 1.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Eagle River hillside lot could lose the development limits set in 2002

Eagle River limits set in 2002 on a 34 percent slope would come off Tuesday. A neighbor says the storm drains there already ice over the intersection.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Emmonak man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of Anita Hootch

Christopher Horn, 38, of Emmonak, was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of Anita Hootch, 37, found dead at an abandoned steam house on August 14.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Man taken to hospital after stabbing at Boniface Parkway and Debarr Road

A stabbing in East Anchorage sent an adult man to the hospital with upper-body trauma Sunday, Aug. 16

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Downtown Anchorage owners face $1.15 million in assessments for services the city doesn't cover

Downtown Anchorage property owners will pay about $1.15 million this year for their own snow removal, cleaning and security. Objections are heard Sept. 15.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

In five remote Chugach villages, health aides work without an X-ray, and new funding aims to change that

In five remote Chugach-region villages, health aides assess injuries without an X-ray. New funding through a tribal health organization aims to finally put imaging in their clinics.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read