Southcentral

Soldotna council kills disruptive-conduct rules at city manager's request

Soldotna's city manager proposed rules for barring disruptive people from city property, then asked the council to vote them down. It did, 6-0.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Seward's harbor proposes higher travel lift rates and passing card fees to customers

Seward's harbormaster wants travel lift rates up 10% plus inflation in 2027 and 2028 and card fees passed to customers. One lift cable went from $12K to $35K.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Seward city manager floats cutting electric rates instead of property taxes in 2028

Seward's city manager pitched cutting everyone's electric rates in 2028 instead of property taxes, by dropping a $678,000 fee. It came to her that day.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Seward proposes a 6% summer-only sales tax and a property tax cut for fiscal 2028

Anchorage Assembly members propose mandatory jail for repeat public intoxication

Two Anchorage Assembly members want mandatory jail for repeat public intoxication and minimum sentences for drug possession, with a treatment off-ramp.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage developers still build parking without a mandate, planners say

Anchorage stopped requiring parking in 2022. Developers kept building it anyway, mostly about as much as before, a city Planning Department memo says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Winter storm could drop up to 15 inches on the Parks Highway through Broad Pass

The Parks Highway through Broad Pass could get 7 to 15 inches of snow Thursday into Friday, and freezing rain could make the Willow commute slick first.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fish board adds eight Upper Cook Inlet king stocks and Little Susitna coho to concern list

The fish board added eight Upper Cook Inlet king runs and Little Susitna coho to its worry list, bringing the inlet's troubled king stocks to 13.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Cordova to close part of Fourth Street Thursday and interrupt water service to fix a leak

Cordova closes Fourth Street between Browning and Council Thursday at 9am to fix a water leak. Use Davis Avenue as a detour, no end date given for repairs or water service interruptions.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Federal board opens a late-fall subsistence moose hunt on the eastern Kenai Peninsula

The Federal Subsistence Board opened a late-fall Unit 7 moose hunt by email poll, since the rule putting it into effect didn't arrive until a week in.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 15

Assembly resumes hearing Nov. 4 on nine-seat Chugach park access board

The Anchorage Assembly ran out of time Oct. 20 on its Chugach park access board. The hearing on the latest, nine-seat version now resumes Nov. 4.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly takes up rewritten Chugach access board plan Tuesday

Seward under flood watch as atmospheric river brings 3 to 4 inches of rain

Weather service issued a flood watch for Seward, Thursday evening to 4 pm Friday, with 3 to 4 inches of rain likely. It is at least the third such watch since July.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Volunteers rescue hiker with suspected broken ankle on Anchorage's O'Malley Trail

Alaska Mountain Rescue Group volunteers carried a 33-year-old hiker with a suspected broken ankle off Anchorage's O'Malley Trail early Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Rabbit Creek council asks Assembly to limit AI use of police plate-reader data

Rabbit Creek's community council voted 17-0 to ask the Assembly to rein in how AI handles police plate-reader data in the city's surveillance rules.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Two men wounded in early Wednesday shooting on Anchorage's Pine Street; no arrests

Two men were shot early Wednesday in the 800 block of Pine Street in Anchorage. Both survived with non-life-threatening injuries, and no arrests have been made.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Willow-area owners ask Mat-Su to let them split 40 acres without building a mile-plus road

Three Willow-area landowners want to split 40 acres into two recreational lots without building 6,800 feet of road. The Mat-Su Platting Board decides Nov. 5.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Contango begins drilling the east end of the historic Lucky Shot gold mine

Contango started underground drilling Oct. 22 on the east end of the old Lucky Shot gold mine's veins, a stretch it says no modern program has tested.

by Alaska News2w ago2 min read

Coast Guard orders $5.8 million chromium cleanup at Base Kodiak's Hangar 1

The Coast Guard hired a Homer contractor for $5.8 million to clean up hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing form of the metal, in a Base Kodiak hangar.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read

Kodiak Borough asks lawmakers whether to keep village projects on its state funding list

Kodiak's borough will ask two lawmakers whether village projects, like Larsen Bay's eroding spillway, stay on its state funding list. Ten of 17 are villages'.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Old Harbor tribe seeks permit for hydro plant to replace the village's diesel power

The Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor asked the Army Corps to permit a hydro plant expected to cut 95% of the diesel the Kodiak Island village burns for power.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Comments close Friday on Mat-Su plan setting which roads can get federal money

Public comment on MatSu 2050, the Valley's first federal transportation plan, closes Friday, Oct. 30. Without an adopted plan, the region loses access to federal road, pathway and transit money.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Sep 30

Anchorage Assembly vote could decide whether new housing rules reach quake-hazard zones

The Assembly votes Nov. 4 on letting more duplexes and townhomes into much of Anchorage. Open question: whether that includes the ground that slid in 1964.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

JBER is buying four Alaska-winterized buses to carry kids in its youth program

JBER is buying four Alaska-winterized buses, with block heaters and seat belts for every passenger, to carry kids in its youth program. Cost: $565,095.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read

Anchorage brewery sells limited Uncle Ted Ale to mark USS Ted Stevens commissioning

49th State Brewing's limited Uncle Ted Ale, made to mark the USS Ted Stevens commissioning, is almost sold out. Get it at the Anchorage pub while supplies last.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readFrom Oct 3

Anchorage Assembly takes up rezone for 44 townhomes sitting on land zoned for shops

Forty-four Anchorage townhomes sit on land zoned for shops and offices. The Assembly takes up a fix Nov. 4. The city says no one objected, but one neighbor did.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Chugach Electric asks Anchorage to zone its Third Avenue utility yard heavy industrial

Chugach Electric wants its 60-year-old utility yard near Third and Post zoned heavy industrial, which would erase a greenway marking. The hearing is Dec. 1.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Assembly takes up industrial rezone for an equipment yard on Laurel Acres wetland lot

A company wants to put an equipment yard on a Laurel Acres lot a city planner says is almost all wetlands. The Assembly takes up the rezone Nov. 4.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage police would get state money to go after street racers and impaired drivers

Anchorage street racers, take note: the Assembly votes Nov. 4 on $2.5 million in state grants paying police to chase racers, speeders and impaired drivers.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage police ask for help finding Jess Rush, 65, last seen on Lake Otis Parkway

Anchorage police seek help finding Jess Rush, 65, last seen walking Lake Otis Parkway near Oak Street. He wore a black coat and pants. Call APD at 907-786-8900.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Cordova's pool loses its only full-time lifeguard Friday, with little money for temps

Cordova's only full-time pool lifeguard leaves Friday, and $25,000 for temps covers about three months of October's hours. Nonprofit fees are in play too.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Seward council members question proposed property tax cut, float exemptions instead

Seward's council poked at a $500,000 property tax cut tied to a summer-only sales tax. Some want the money for year-round residents or young families.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

State lenders want Seward's first water and sewer rate study since 1993 finished

Seward hasn't studied its water and sewer rates since 1993. A state loan program wants one done, and depreciation puts the utility funds' costs over revenue.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Wasilla planning clerk says role lacks authority to sign commission resolutions

Wasilla's planning clerk says she lacks authority to sign Planning Commission resolutions or minutes. The acting city planner post sits vacant, raising legal questions.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Anchorage water utility seeks up to $675,000 for an expert witness in rate cases

Anchorage's water utility wants up to $675,000 for an expert to argue the return built into your bill. Its manager says rate case costs land on customers.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

LaFrance names 11 to Anchorage boards and asks the Assembly to confirm them Nov. 4

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance named 11 people to seven Anchorage boards, asking the Assembly to confirm them Nov. 4. Five fill vacant seats, six incumbents return for terms through 2029.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

New Copper River Basin plan could put more state land up for sale

Alaska's new Copper River Basin land plan makes 200,000 more acres eligible for private ownership and closes 306,000 acres to new mining claims.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Preliminary magnitude 3.5 earthquake west of Hope is felt in Anchorage

A preliminary magnitude 3.5 quake hit west of Hope Tuesday and was felt in Anchorage. It is the third quake near Hope this year, after a 4.2 in June and a 3.9 in August.

by Alaska News2w ago1 min read

Fewer boats came through Kodiak's city shipyard this year, and its operator lost money

Kodiak's shipyard operator says fishermen are putting off maintenance. It serviced 40 boats this year, down from 54, and lost $29,000 running the yard.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Four Kodiak mountain goat hunts open Nov. 1; four stay closed after high hunter success

Four Kodiak Island mountain goat hunts open to Alaska residents Nov. 1. Four others stay shut because hunters already hit the harvest goal in the drawing hunts.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Nova Minerals says state approved its antimony mine and Port MacKenzie refinery plans

Nova Minerals says the state gave final approval to its antimony mine and Port MacKenzie refinery. The state hasn't posted the signed decision yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Antimony refinery developer Nova Minerals says its cash won't fund a year of plans

Weather service extends Anchorage dense fog advisory to 2 pm, warns of black ice

National Weather Service extended Anchorage's dense fog advisory until 2 pm Tuesday, warning of black ice and quarter-mile visibility.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read