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Tuesday, Jul 14
Anchorage funded a program to fix 20 homes. It fixed one — and no one was penalized.
An Anchorage audit found a program paid to fix 20 homes fixed one, a shelter thousands of bed-nights short — and in three years the city never once made anyone pay for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage keeps deferring a public safety commission it can't agree on
Anchorage's proposed public safety commission got punted again — stuck on whether it should actually have power, what it would cost, and what problem it's even solving.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A small gold permit, on a river fighting for its future
A routine gold-mining permit on a Susitna tributary is a small piece of a much bigger fight over a salmon river conservationists just named one of America's most endangered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A tip about a truck running over seagulls ended in a DUI arrest at Kasilof
A tip about a truck running over seagulls at Kasilof Beach led troopers to a Fairbanks man now facing DUI, weapons, and a federal migratory-bird charge.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
Kenai has 120 seniors waiting for housing that doesn't exist yet
120 people are waitlisted for senior housing in Kenai that hasn't been built — and the city's plan doesn't even study the problem until around 2030.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A faster way to settle Native trust estates, starting in Alaska
Settling a Native allotment after a death has meant slow federal paperwork — now Interior has an online system to speed it up, and Alaska families are first to use it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Monday, Jul 13
Alaska's newsroom is auditing what AI tells voters — and it keeps changing
An Alaska newsroom is running a daily audit of what AI tells voters — 15 models, 160,000+ answers — and finding the bots flip their pick by the day, and by your hometown.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
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.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
More from Southcentral
Anchorage relabels a top job, Falsey named city manager
Bill Falsey moved from CAO to municipal manager — less a shakeup than a relabeling, as Anchorage dissolves his old post and shifts a few reporting lines.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Native org is coaching Yukon harvesters on how to testify effectively
Tanana Chiefs Conference is running a July 24 workshop coaching Yukon harvesters to testify effectively on salmon policy — pressing a bycatch argument that scientists say is only part of the story.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Wind Advisory: gusts to 65 mph forecast for Anchorage Tuesday
Wind Advisory in effect for Anchorage Tuesday, July 14, 4 AM to 10 PM, with gusts to 65 mph. Secure outdoor objects and expect difficult driving and possible power outages.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska LNG's cheap-gas promise hinges on exports — and on costs staying in line
New state numbers on Alaska LNG: exports are what make gas cheap for Alaskans (about $5/mcf vs. $12.65 without them), but a cost overrun could push the export price above what buyers pay.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Mat-Su moves to clean up 'forever chemicals' in its groundwater
The Mat-Su Borough wants $400K to clean up "forever chemicals" in its groundwater — traced to old firefighting foam and found this spring near a Wasilla elementary school.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Wasilla man dies after fleeing troopers at 100 mph following domestic assault
A Wasilla man died Saturday after fleeing state troopers at 100 mph following a domestic assault call.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Sunday, Jul 12
Kenai council grants Tidewater LLC 10-year first right of refusal on Denina Point Estate
Kenai City Council unanimously gave developer Tidewater LLC a 10-year first right to buy the city-owned Dena'ina Point Estates parcel and committed $54,219 toward subdivision costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
About Southcentral
Southcentral Alaska is the region of the state centered on Anchorage, its population center and transportation hub. It spans the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, and reaches communities such as Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Cordova, Palmer, Wasilla and Eagle River.
Much of the region's civic life runs through the Anchorage Assembly, the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna borough assemblies, and city councils. Questions of housing and zoning come up often, along with who pays to extend water and sewer lines to building sites. School budgets, road safety on its highways and oil and gas operations in Cook Inlet also return.
The Kenai River and Cook Inlet tie the region to fishing, and the Parks Highway and Seward Highway link its communities. Windstorms that cut power and trooper reports from the Matanuska-Susitna area are common subjects as well.
More from Southcentral
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A company wants to test amphibious rigs on the North Slope tundra
An Anchorage dealer wants a five-year permit to test-drive amphibious Swamp Rider vehicles across the North Slope — on tundra that's both their ideal terrain and state-protected ground.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
BBNC kicks off shareholder season with a salmon-day picnic
BBNC's shareholder season kicks off Aug. 8 with a salmon-day picnic in Anchorage, tours eight communities, and builds to the Oct. 3 board vote in Naknek.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Wasilla weighs retail on land that partly floods
Wasilla may rezone 8 acres along Cottonwood Creek for retail — despite part of it sitting in a flood zone, no water or sewer, and the city's own plan calling it residential.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A snagged salmon is a released salmon: a Kasilof reminder
On the Kasilof, a salmon hooked anywhere but the mouth has to go back — no matter how it got there. A visiting teen found out the hard way this week.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fred Meyer owes Anchorage taxes, so its liquor licenses are on hold
The Anchorage Assembly froze liquor-license renewals at four Fred Meyer stores until the company pays outstanding city taxes, using the same tax lever it applies to any business behind on its bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Who pays when the state underfunds school construction debt?
Alaska's cities want the state to stop shortchanging school-construction debt payments and stick locals with the bill. But it's a request, and the money's far from guaranteed.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska home and health care providers accused of Medicaid fraud
Alaska's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged 15 defendants in five cases across Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, alleging about 1.83 million dollars in fraudulent home and health care billing.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
BBNC subsidiary offers shareholder enrollment help July 25
Bristol Bay Native Corporation shareholders can update stock records and enroll descendants at a free open house with brunch on July 25 in Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Doyon wants to raise Fort Richardson water rates by nearly half
Doyon wants to hike Fort Richardson water rates by nearly 51 percent — and some JBER families would eat a wastewater increase on top of it. Comment by July 21.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Wasilla's sewer plan is 25 years old — and it's stalling development
Wasilla's sewer master plan hasn't been touched since 1999, and the gap is already slowing new housing — now the city may take $75K in state money to finally update it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min readFrom 
Mat-Su sockeye opens up — but the kings stay closed
Two Mat-Su sockeye fisheries just opened, with a few early fish already in the inlet — while kings stay closed across the Susitna and beyond, hatchery spots aside.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Ouzinkie's tsunami shelter is zoned as a house. The borough is about to fix that.
Ouzinkie's tsunami shelter — on an island you can only reach by boat — is officially zoned as a single-family house, a leftover from a closed airstrip. The borough votes July 16 to fix it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A zoning board overruled its own staff to green-light a Girdwood building
Anchorage's zoning board overruled its own staff to approve a Girdwood building — a setback from what's basically a parking lot made no sense to enforce. Girdwood itself said nothing.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo 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 News4mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su weighs a flood emergency and a tax overhaul
The Mat-Su Assembly takes up a Talkeetna flood emergency and a November ballot plan that would swap a new 3% sales tax for a cap on property taxes.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Tlingit artist crossed the border to teach Anchorage kids an ancient craft
A Tlingit artist traveled from British Columbia to Anchorage to teach kids the ancient art of bentwood box making — a watertight box bent from a single seamless plank.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
One town, six citations: Homer stands out in Bristol Bay
Six people from Homer turned up in a single batch of Bristol Bay fishing citations — more than any other town. Whether that's coincidence or something more isn't yet clear.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail
NY resident got hurt at Reed Lakes. Be careful Reed Lakes. The rocks can get slippery.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Soldotna man arrested after alleged robbery, assault at smoke shop
A Soldotna man was arrested after shoving a clerk at a smoke shop on Kalifornsky Beach Road and threatening to steal cigarettes Saturday afternoon.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Saturday, Jul 11
An Unalakleet playwright brings Alaska's hardest truths to the stage
An Unalakleet playwright turned her work in suicide prevention into The Bird Blind — a story of abuse, addiction, and survival in an Iñupiaq village, told in its own voice.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
A slowdown on the Seward Highway this week
A 45 mph limit is on between mileposts 14 and 16 on the Seward Highway for roadside cleanup through July 15 — a stretch that's part of the road's crash-prone Safety Corridor.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
For a roadless village, an airport lease is really about the lifeline
For roadless Chefornak, the airport is the only way in or out — so a routine state lease keeping the FAA's weather and navigation gear running matters more than it sounds.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
