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A Juneau company turning idle fishing boats into tidal power just cracked a deep-fjord problem
A Juneau company turning idle fishing boats into tidal-power platforms won a patent for stopping the cable-twisting that hobbles deep-fjord generators.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Juneau's harbor fund is near its lowest point ever, and charter boats may be asked to help fill the gap
Juneau's harbor fund is near its lowest ever after the city cut $450,000 a year, and the port may charge charter boats more per passenger to fill the gap.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sealaska endorses Peltola for U.S. Senate
Sealaska endorsed Peltola for U.S. Senate, but the association of the 12 Alaska Native regional corporations' leaders backed her opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's largest fisheries lab swaps ozone for ultraviolet to treat its water
Alaska's largest fisheries research lab is swapping ozone for ultraviolet light to disinfect its water. A Juneau plumbing firm won the $155,653 job.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Juneau tourism task force takes final public testimony Oct. 15
Juneau's tourism task force set a second testimony session for Oct. 15, pushed back so residents can read the draft recommendations before speaking.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Petersburg ships most of its trash to Washington; its unlined landfill is up for renewal
Petersburg's household trash gets barged to Washington state. What stays behind goes into an unlined landfill where groundwater monitoring was waived.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Juneau weighs $5.5 million more for flood recovery on a river that floods every year
Juneau is putting another $5.5 million toward flood recovery. The city still calls the Mendenhall barriers temporary and hasn't said who pays long term.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land
Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Juneau-area gillnetters get another opener, but directed king fishing stays closed on low abundance
Juneau-area gillnetters get another opener through Wednesday, but directed king fishing stays closed across four Southeast districts on low king numbers.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's two 1950s viaducts, which carry 14,000-plus vehicles a day, as the state plans to repair them and replace them later.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Auke Bay quarry wins bigger blasts and Saturday hours through 2036
An Auke Bay rock quarry can now blast 60 percent bigger, start earlier and work Saturdays, through 2036. No residents showed up to the hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Juneau Assembly votes 6-3 to sell old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage Institute for $1.5 million
Juneau voted to sell its old City Hall to Sealaska Heritage for $1.5 million — for a planned $40 million Northwest Coast art-glass building downtown.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau denies Chilkat Vistas hillside plat after approval falls a vote short
Juneau's planning commission denied a hillside subdivision over landslide risk, two years after the Assembly struck landslide rules from the land use code.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Where to watch spawning salmon around Ketchikan this month
Want to watch Fish, it's like watching paint dry but consequences… Cool ones!
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Sitka's sole finalist for city administrator is gone, and the Assembly is starting over
The sole finalist Sitka introduced for city administrator last month is gone, and the Assembly interviews two new candidates Friday, with no explanation given.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Gas tax package still off the Senate floor as the special session nears its limit
Alaska Senate held a technical session Monday with no business and will not meet again until 2 p.m. Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Southeast gillnetters ride a strong pink run, with the season about to turn toward coho
Southeast gillnetters are working a strong pink salmon season, with several areas open into Thursday and the focus set to turn toward coho later this month.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal charter keeps water sampling going on the Unuk, downstream of three British Columbia mines
A $15,510 charter keeps USGS crews sampling the Unuk River this fall. Three large British Columbia mine projects sit in development upstream.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A weak sockeye return has managers ready to open a Juneau-area fishery on six hours' notice
A weak Speel Lake sockeye return near Juneau has managers ready to open a terminal fishery on six hours' notice. Escapement is below its goal range.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Southeast seiners get another opening, with one district carrying a below-forecast pink season
Southeast seiners get another opening Tuesday, with one district carrying more than half the catch in a pink season running below the regionwide forecast.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Goldbelt subsidiary takes $821,000 in State Department work with no stated purpose
A Goldbelt subsidiary in Juneau picked up $821,000 in State Department staffing work in three weeks. Neither posting says what the work is for.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Skagway ferry port closed indefinitely; state gives no repair timeline
Skagway's ferry dock is broken and the port is closed indefinitely. The state's entire public explanation fits in one undated website alert.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
An FAA cleanup contract for Gustavus, most of it at Metlakatla
A small new FAA contract targets Gustavus, where PFAS 'forever chemicals' from firefighting foam have kept residents on hauled-in water since 2018.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Juneau's task force weighs crowding fixes amid a bigger question on how much tourism is enough
Juneau's tourism task force votes Thursday on downtown crowd fixes — a roundabout, crossing guards, Seawalk changes — the visible edge of its bigger question: how much cruise tourism is enough.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau lifts its Suicide Basin flood evacuation
Juneau's Suicide Basin flood threat is over — the command reopened evacuated areas after the Mendenhall River crested at 14.7 feet, below the forecast.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
A Sitka nonprofit seeks to bend the rules to build more housing
A Sitka housing nonprofit is asking the city to waive parking and allow smaller lots so it can fit more homes on a lot on Halibut Point Road.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy declares state disaster after Juneau's fourth straight glacial flood
Governor Dunleavy declared a state disaster for Juneau. This unlocks state funds for flood repairs and speeds up emergency permits.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Feds move to fast-track a Juneau flood-control fix by cutting permitting and paperwork
Days after another Juneau outburst flood forced evacuations, federal agencies are fast-tracking a flood-control fix for the valley by cutting the red tape.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
In Kake, showing up means a vote on fish and game
Any voting-age Kake resident who shows up can nominate and vote at the fish and game advisory committee's Aug. 26 meeting in the subsistence-salmon village.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair
Somebody blew their lid. I'm just kidding, but the road will be closed down temporarily.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal regulators weigh a noise permit for a Douglas Island cruise terminal, with sea otters in the balance
Federal regulators are weighing a noise permit for a Douglas Island cruise terminal that could affect sea otters, with public comment open through Sept. 11.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau's wastewater plant has been out of compliance for three years, and ratepayers foot the bill
Juneau's main wastewater plant has been out of federal compliance for three years, its permit expired — and sewer customers will pay the $20 million fix.
by Lucas Brown1mo ago2 min read
Juneau gathers its senior-housing help into one guide
Juneau is pulling its senior-housing help — ADU grants, renovation grants, contractors — into one guide to help older residents stay in their homes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Deep Inlet reopens to the commercial fleet after the hatchery takes its cut
Alaska reopened Deep Inlet to commercial salmon fishing after the state hatchery finished cost-recovery operations, ending a closure that began June 28.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Yaadás clan historian says he only recently traced how his clan got the beaver crest
Yaadás clan historian Benjamin Young recently traced two competing accounts of how his Haida clan acquired the beaver crest, one from early ethnography and one from fur trade history.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A heat advisory covers much of Southeast Alaska through Friday evening
A heat advisory covers much of Southeast Alaska through Friday evening, with temperatures in the lower 80s — a real risk in a region where most homes have no air conditioning.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Gillnetters near Ketchikan and Haines get an extra day on the water
Drift gillnetters near Ketchikan and Haines got an extra day on the water this week, with some inlets and canal waters closed off in exchange.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Juneau evacuation route is restricted as the valley floods
A Juneau road is restricted to local traffic as the Mendenhall Valley floods from the Suicide Basin outburst, with about 5,000 people told to evacuate.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Situk River's Nine Mile Bridge stretch stays closed to all fishing through Aug. 31
Alaska Fish and Game extended the Situk River Nine Mile Bridge fishing closure to Aug. 31 after the Chinook run fell to 219 fish, less than a quarter of the forecast.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
