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Friday, Jun 26
Kenai's quiet stake in the gas-line bill
Only Kenai Borough's school-funding bill changes under the gas-line tax legislation — but the state's own modeling says the increase might sunset before it ever lands.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Dunleavy vetoes nearly $90 million but leaves school funding intact
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed nearly $90 million from Alaska's budget, cutting increases for child care, Medicaid and local aid while leaving core school funding intact.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
An ethics panel found probable cause that Rep. Sarah Vance misused her office to pressure a newspaper
An ethics panel found probable cause Rep. Sarah Vance used state resources to pressure the Homer News, which then pulled the article and dropped the reporter's byline.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Departing Kodiak assemblyman warns: prepare for the Coast Guard boom
Kodiak Assemblyman Dave Johnson resigned with a warning to prepare for incoming Coast Guard icebreakers and fix housing. The Assembly will appoint his replacement July 16.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here
Federal dollars drove about half of Alaska's economic growth since 2015. Now the federal workforce is shrinking faster here than almost anywhere — and rural Alaska feels it most.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage approved three ice-arena contracts. The office that oversees them has one employee.
Anchorage approved three ice-arena contracts — then admitted the office overseeing them has one employee and no finalized policy. Audits had flagged the gap before.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage's library puts Hoopla on a budget with new borrowing limits
Anchorage's library has put Hoopla on a budget: borrowing's been cut in half, and on busy days the app simply runs out of money and closes until morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Assembly weighs new revenue and unlocks unused savings
Kodiak's assembly worked both ends of its budget: a possible tax on nonresidents who take most of its deer, and a discount account it had but never used.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
More from Southcentral
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.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A Wasilla surgery center just raised $2.65M in private equity. Here is what that pattern means for Mat-Su healthcare.
Surgery Center of Wasilla raised $2.65 million from five investors across two private equity rounds in 2026, according to SEC filings, but did not disclose how it plans to use the money.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Thursday, Jun 25
NPFMC sets Alaska weathervane scallop harvest limits for 2026
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set 2026 catch limits for Alaska's weathervane scallop fishery, a four-boat operation where each vessel's annual revenue hinges on the council's decision.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
A 50-year airport lease, and the federal funding line behind it
A bush-plane lease at Anchorage's airport runs exactly 50 years — not 51 — because FAA rules say a longer one could cost the airport its federal funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Trump's farm package, and what it actually means for Alaska
Trump signed farm orders and pitched $11B in crop relief. For Alaska — which imports ~95% of its food and exports mostly peonies — the stake is small but real.
by Alaska News4mo ago3 min read
Kodiak seiners back Kreiss-Tomkins for governor
A Kodiak seiners' group endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on a fisheries platform — though "restore balance to the Board of Fish" means very different things to different fishermen.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska throws a nine-day baseball party for America's 250th
For nine days, Alaska swaps the rink for the diamond: free kids' clinics, midnight-sun ball, a "Sandlot" screening, and a Fourth of July finish in Fairbanks.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A typo froze Sutton's wild rec area for eight years. Not anymore.
An eight-year-old wording error blocked any rules for Jonesville, Sutton's anything-goes rec area — born of a fatal shooting and bullets hitting homes. Alaska just fixed it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo 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
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.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Cod fishing is excellent in Resurrection Bay — and walkable from Seward
Pacific cod fishing in Resurrection Bay is excellent right now — and the hot spots are a walk from downtown Seward. No boat, no problem. Halibut inside? Less so.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Seward gives its kids more time to catch a king
Kings are scarce across Alaska, but Seward's kids just got bonus weeks at a lagoon stocked just for them — fish raised to be caught, by anglers under 16 only.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Beluga Fire triggers nightly FAA flight restriction near Anchorage
FAA restricted airspace over the Beluga Fire northwest of Anchorage nightly through June 28 to protect firefighting aircraft from the surface to 2,000 feet.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A judge weighs whether Alaska gets two Dan Sullivans
Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? We're gonna have a problem here. Y'all act like you never seen two Sullivans before. J's all on the floor, like the "S" walked in and slammed the door.
by Cale Green4mo ago3 min read
Two Sitka men face child exploitation charges
A statewide task force arrested two Sitka men within a day of each other on separate child sexual abuse material charges; both are held without bail and presumed innocent.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A Spenard Pot Shop Changes Hands as Anchorage's Market Cools
A Spenard dispensary is rebranding under new owners — a small sign of a bigger shift, as Anchorage's pot tax take slips and the early gold-rush crowd thins out.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A fishing trip meant to help troubled teens ended in violence at a Kasilof cabin
Troopers say a teen set a sleeping man on fire at a Kasilof cabin during a treatment-program fishing trip. The man survived; the teen faces felony charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Guardrail repairs close a Glenn Highway lane toward Anchorage Thursday
Crews are fixing broken guardrail and fencing on the Glenn, so the right Anchorage-bound lane is closed till 4:30 PM Thursday. Boring, until you need that rail.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Washington Man Cited for Keeping Snagged Sockeye on Russian River
A Washington angler got cited for keeping a snagged sockeye on the Russian — where "hooked in the mouth or it's poaching" isn't fussiness, it's how Alaska keeps the run honest.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Wednesday, Jun 24
A New El Green-Go's Is Coming to East Anchorage
East Anchorage is getting another El Green-Go's — the liquor license has cleared every hurdle, and only a quiet July 21 deadline stands in the way.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
When the electric co-op sprays herbicide near your well, what are you owed?
MEA's spraying herbicide near Knik-Goose Bay. Alaska's strict notice rules cover only government land — so near your private well, what you're owed is mostly MEA's call.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage child care fund squeezed by programs moved from alcohol tax
Anchorage's child care fund says two programs loaded onto it are starving its mission. The board wants them moved to the alcohol tax — which is shrinking even faster.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Dunleavy signs bill aligning Alaska classic car import rules with federal standard
Gov. Dunleavy signed a bill letting Alaskans title imported classic cars 25 years or older, matching federal rules and unblocking owners caught in an outdated gap.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
The EPA's No. 2 told Alaska's resource industry the door is open — for now
The EPA's deputy came to Anchorage to tell the resource industry the feds are clearing the way — and the message from the room was: hurry, before the politics flip.
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly approves True North deflection contract with APD
Anchorage Assembly approved a contract with True North Recovery to connect people arrested for low-level offenses to treatment instead of jail, funded by opioid settlement money.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly unanimously passes veteran-owned business preference ordinance
Anchorage Assembly unanimously passed a veteran-owned business preference for city contracts, letting qualifying vets match the lowest bid rather than automatically winning at higher cost.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A neighborhood drinking arsenic-tainted well water wants help paying to join the city system
A Sand Lake street says its shared wells are laced with arsenic and wants help connecting to city water — reviving the question of who pays for private wells.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage mayor introduces two property tax incentive proposals to spur housing
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance introduced two property tax breaks Tuesday to spur housing development in the city.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Kodiak's Easiest Sockeye River Shuts Down
Kodiak's road-system sockeye river is closing on a dismal 988-fish count — while Litnik, just across the island, is cruising past 15,000.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet Razor Clam Harvest Now Requires a Permit
Cook Inlet razor clam diggers must now get a permit before heading out this summer, and face a December 31 reporting deadline or lose eligibility next year, even if they never dug a clam.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
On the Kasilof, Alaska is opening the sockeye floodgates and holding the line on kings
On the Kasilof, Alaska is opening the sockeye floodgates and rationing the kings on the same water — a tidy snapshot of where the salmon stand. Grab a dipnet.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Trump Wildlife Pick Wants Fewer ESA Lawsuits — Alaska Is Ground Zero
Trump's wildlife nominee says the Endangered Species Act drowns in lawsuits — and nowhere does that fight bite harder than Alaska, where polar bears and belugas sit atop the oil patch.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Platting Board to weigh Canyon Road trail easement vacation
Anchorage Platting Board will decide July 1 whether to eliminate a Canyon Road walking path so a developer can build a house on a vacant lot near Flat Top trailhead.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
