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Sunday, Jul 5
Anchorage Assembly weighs retiring 43-year Sullivan Arena ticket surcharge
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on retiring a 43-year-old ticket surcharge at Sullivan Arena, replacing it with a higher revenue deposit from the new operator.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska gas pipeline tax bill sets $40M milestone test for boroughs, schools, and rural heating fund
Alaska's gas pipeline tax bill unlocks billions for boroughs and schools only if the developer pays $40 million and meets construction deadlines through 2037.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Kenai guide faces mandatory court date after client keeps 2 extra sockeye on Kasilof
A Kenai fishing guide faces mandatory court after a client kept 8 sockeye salmon instead of the legal limit of 6 on the Kasilof River on July 4.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Bush plane tips on Copper River sandbar during fishwheel check; no injuries
A bush plane tipped on a Copper River sandbar Friday while landing to check a fishwheel, sustaining minor damage with no injuries.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Saturday, Jul 4
Anchorage Assembly set to vote on $360K for senior and disability services
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $360,000 in state grants to sustain the Aging and Disability Resource Center through next June.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Glacier View sends cars off 300-foot cliff for Fourth of July
Glacier View River Retreat launched decorated cars off a 300-foot bluff above the Matanuska River on Saturday for its annual Fourth of July tradition near Sutton.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage trails plan is 27 years old. A replacement is in the works.
Anchorage is replacing its 27-year-old trails plan with a new guide for trail building and maintenance across Anchorage and Chugiak-Eagle River, aiming for approval this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Willow man jailed without bail after threatening campers on Fishhook Road
A Willow man is jailed without bail after state troopers say he drove drunk and threatened campers on Fishhook Road during the July 4th weekend.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
More from Southcentral
Alaska LNG tax bill advances as working draft, disputes unresolved
Alaska lawmakers advanced a working draft of HB 381, the tax framework for Alaska LNG, but disputes over the alternative volumetric tax remain unresolved.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago3 min read
Drums from Japan and West Africa, together on one Anchorage stage
Japanese taiko group Chokoma joins Anchorage's Oni iLu West African drummers at Discovery Theatre Aug. 1 — two thunderous traditions, one stage. Tickets $32.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Democratic group brings AI-analyzed canvassing to Alaska's Senate race
Democrats are using AI to analyze canvassers' notes and guide outreach in Alaska's Senate race — an approach privacy advocates warn can profile voters without consent.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Five dipnetters cited at Chitina in four days, three headed to court
Troopers cited five dipnetters at Chitina in four days, three now court-bound — for keeping kings when barred or fishing when it was closed. Check before you drive out.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
High water on Gulkana River forces raft party onto trail, triggers medical rescue
High water forced eight rafters off the Gulkana River on July 3, and one developed chest pains during the hike out, requiring a rescue helicopter to extract him to a hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Kenai weighs spending city money to develop a city-owned parcel
Kenai votes Wednesday on spending $54,219 to subdivide city land and partner with a developer — though the agenda doesn't say how many lots or what would go there.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Kenai moves to clear six pieces of public land for sale
Kenai's council votes Wednesday to strip "public purpose" status from six city parcels, the step before selling them — on a consent agenda, with no public hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
An Anchorage shelter contract has grown from $1 million to nearly $5 million in a year
A homeless-shelter contract the Anchorage Assembly approved at $1 million a year ago has grown to nearly $5 million. It votes on another $500,000 increase Wednesday.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 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
Surgery Center of Wasilla discloses $2.65M in completed equity raises
Surgery Center of Wasilla raised $2.65 million in private equity through two closed offerings, joining a wave of corporate investment in Alaska's outpatient surgery centers.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage man faces 13 felony counts after a gun threat off the Glenn Highway
A man was jailed without bail after a 911 call reported him threatening to kill someone with a gun off the Glenn Highway — and, with no police in Eureka, held far from home.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Stalk Steakhouse in Eagle River must pay back taxes to keep its liquor license
An Eagle River steakhouse can't renew its liquor license until it pays the city back taxes — and four Fred Meyer stores are in the same spot. It's how Anchorage collects.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A fish truck rolled on the Seward Highway, cutting off the road into town before the Fourth
A fish truck rolled on the Seward Highway late Friday, scattering its load and closing the road into town for hours — just as crowds arrived for the Fourth and Mount Marathon.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A village on Alaska's biggest lake gets land for a community hub
Kokhanok, a village of about 150 on Alaska's largest lake, is set to gain state land for a community building — handed to the tribe, since the village has no city government.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Wasilla argument ends with a gun pointed at a neighbor
Troopers say a Wasilla man pulled a .45 and pointed it at a neighbor during an argument on Big Dipper Drive. He faces a third-degree assault charge.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
The Copper River's sockeye run just hit a 40-year low
The Copper River is running its worst sockeye return in 40 years — so bad Alaska closed the popular Chitina dipnet fishery, even with no commercial boats fishing the river.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Friday, Jul 3
Anchorage Assembly to consider buying two wetland lots for under $30,000
Anchorage Assembly votes July 7 to buy two wetland lots in Laurel Acres for under $30,000 to generate credits that offset wetland damage from future development projects.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Where Alaska's gas-line tax deal stands, and what's still stuck
Lawmakers have a working Alaska LNG tax deal — a $16 ratepayer price cap, a required Fairbanks spur line, and two unresolved fights over legality and Kenai's school costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Trump pardons an Alaska diesel mechanic, reigniting a fight over emissions rules
Trump pardoned a Wasilla diesel mechanic who removed truck pollution controls — a cold-weather fix, Sullivan says; eroded clean-air enforcement, critics say.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Pollock fleet's groundfish bycatch fell below 1% in 2025, but salmon bycatch rose as warm water pushed fish onto the shelf
Pollock fleet's groundfish bycatch hit a 25-year low in 2025, but salmon catches rose as warm water pushed fish onto the shelf, alarming tribal subsistence advocates.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
NPFMC directs NOAA to update pollock roe rules after seizure highlighted regulatory gap
North Pacific Fishery Management Council directed NOAA to update pollock roe rules after a seizure exposed gaps between 1990s regulations and how the fishing industry actually operates today.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Council sends Kodiak Tanner crab closure to second initial review with preliminary preferred alternative
North Pacific Fishery Management Council advanced Tanner crab protection measures to a second review, selecting non-pelagic trawl restrictions while keeping closure options open for further analysis.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago4 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 4mo ago2 min read
Pollock fleet asked to repeat voluntary crab closures in 2027 after proof-of-concept season
Alaska's pollock fleet will continue voluntary crab closures in 2027 after a 2026 test season showed the program works, with minimal bycatch when closures were active.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Council votes 8-3 to study halibut bycatch rules for Golden Fleece replacement vessel
Council voted to study stripping a replacement vessel of halibut bycatch exemptions granted to the Golden Fleece in 2007, citing historic lows in Gulf of Alaska halibut stocks.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
A fisherman feared lost, as Bristol Bay's run shows strain
A crew member is feared dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay, as record-low sockeye counts force fishery closures and troopers cite fishermen across Bristol Bay.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A stop to grab fallen cargo turns serious on the Seward Highway
A man gathering items that fell from his truck on the Seward Highway was struck by a passing vehicle, seriously injuring both him and the driver near Summit Lake.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Troopers: hatchet attack on partner at a Kenai campground
Troopers say a Wasilla woman attacked her partner with a hatchet, choked him, and threw full beer cans at him at a Kenai Peninsula campground. She faces assault charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Child hurt-risk in drunken Nikiski ATV rollover, troopers say
Troopers say a Nikiski woman rolled an ATV with a child aboard while driving at more than twice the legal alcohol limit. She faces DUI and child-endangerment charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage takes another run at 'missing middle' housing
Anchorage may let owners along transit corridors build duplexes and fourplexes on single-family lots — a narrower second try at a denser-housing idea that stalled last fall.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Nearly $1 million for Anchorage's safety net goes to an Assembly vote
Anchorage's Assembly votes July 7 on nearly $978,000 for nine nonprofits that feed the homeless, shelter abuse survivors, and help families and kids in crisis.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Buried under the Kenai refuge: seismic data on a stranded Cook Inlet gas find is about to go public
As Southcentral eyes a gas shortage, old seismic data on Shadura — an undeveloped Cook Inlet gas find near Nikiski, stuck under the Kenai refuge — is set to go public.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
