Economy & Business

Huna Totem asks Juneau planners to approve a scaled-down Áak'w Landing uplands plan

Huna Totem asks Juneau planners Oct. 27 to shrink Áak'w Landing's uplands plan, cutting retail space from 50,000 to about 31,000 square feet.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Park Service proposes ATV access across Gates of the Arctic for Anaktuvuk Pass residents

Anaktuvuk Pass hunters could drive off-road vehicles across Gates of the Arctic under a proposed rule ending a 1986 ban rooted in dictionary definitions.

by Alaska News3w ago4 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider study of building rules in high-hazard earthquake zones

Anchorage's earthquake hazard maps trace back to 1979. New ones are due this year, and the Assembly may ask city staff what they should mean for building rules.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Kodiak council takes final vote Thursday on $5.6 million in loans for Aleutian Homes pipes

Kodiak votes Thursday on $5.6 million in state loans for decades-old Aleutian Homes pipes. The finance director says a utility rate study is needed soon.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak council takes up $5.6 million in state loans for Aleutian Homes pipes

Hillside neighborhood that pays for its own roads could get a bigger road contract

South Goldenview pays for its own roads, not the rest of Anchorage. A new contract would cap its road spending at $800,000 a year, up from $600,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $700,000 to start designing trash-burning power plant

Anchorage wants to turn trash into electricity. The next step is a $700,000 design contract. A city plan puts the whole plant at about $750 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Sitka Planning Commission takes testimony on requiring permits for data centers

Sitka's zoning code covers tanneries and log storage but says nothing about data centers. A city proposal would require a permit for one in five districts.

by Melinda Communities.News3w ago3 min read

Sitka proposes moving six cemeteries into its restrictive cemetery zoning district

Sitka wants six cemeteries, including the national cemetery and the Russian Orthodox one, zoned strictly for cemetery uses. Planners take testimony Wednesday.

by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read

Homer's draft code would require engineered stormwater plans for far smaller projects

Homer's draft zoning code would make more projects hire an engineer for stormwater. Its community development director says drainage needs more than that.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State plans to approve air permit change for Pikka oil plant on North Slope

Pikka's oil plant wants to trade some nitrogen oxides for volatile organic compounds, and state regulators are preliminarily on board. Comments run to Nov. 16.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

AIDEA board to vote on a $75 million company to invest in undersea internet cables

Alaska's internet leans on four undersea cables, two of them 27 years old. AIDEA could put up to $75 million toward replacing them, and maybe reaching Asia.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Motorist hits guardrail on icy Richardson Highway in Thompson Pass

A motorist hit a guardrail on icy Richardson Highway in Thompson Pass Thursday, troopers said. No injuries, but the pass sees 700+ inches of snow a year and frequent avalanches.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Ketchikan Shipyard workers rejoin union after new operator said old contract didn't apply

New operator, same union. Ketchikan Shipyard workers voted 27-7 to rejoin their union after the yard's new operator said their old contract didn't carry over.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom Sep 22

Rollover partially blocked Edgerton Highway between miles 26 and 27 Friday morning

A vehicle rollover partially blocked the Edgerton Highway between miles 26 and 27 Friday morning. The advisory was gone by Friday evening, with no word on injuries or cause.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Disabled vehicle blocks northbound Dalton Highway lane near Mile 86

A disabled vehicle blocked the Dalton Highway's northbound lane near Mile 86 Friday night, with icy conditions reported. Crews expected to clear it by Saturday morning, 7:14 am.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

State proposes roundabouts for Badger Road intersections where crashes persist

Badger Road could get up to seven roundabouts, one or two at a time. The state wants to hear from the people who drive it before its survey closes Nov. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Valdez budget would add $205,000 for events, a hatchery group and workforce contracts

Valdez wants 29% more for economic development, still less than it spent in each of the past three years. Gold Rush Days and the hatchery group get a bump.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Northrim takes $8.8 million hit on one customer days before vote on Oregon bank deal

One customer cost Northrim $8.8 million and a chunk of its third quarter, and the news landed days before shareholders vote on buying an Oregon bank.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Northrim shareholders vote Oct. 20 on buying Oregon bank, its first expansion outside Alaska

Where Alaska LNG stands after Lutnick's 'federalized' remark

Permits: yes. Taiwan and Korea money, announced: yes. Closed financing, final sales contracts and a state tax deal: not yet. Here's where the gas line stands.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago8 min read

Water flows over Seward Highway near mile 13 north of Seward, Alaska 511 reports

Water is running across the Seward Highway near mile 13, north of Seward. The road's open, but drivers should slow down and not test the depth.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Aleutians East Borough seeks contractors to repair Cold Bay Dock, closed since August

Cold Bay's dock, the town's only fuel source, has been closed since August. The borough wants repair bids now; a new dock isn't due until 2030.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Trump says oil will "drop like a rock" after the Iran war, citing Alaska oil

Trump says oil will "drop like a rock" once the Iran war ends. If he's right, drivers win and Alaska's treasury loses about $35 million per dollar.

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

NOAA seeks small-business bids to operate its Fairbanks satellite ground station

NOAA wants a company to run the Fairbanks station that talks to its polar satellites about 135 times a day. Small businesses with security clearances only.

by Melinda Communities.News4w ago2 min read

Sitka to post 'Do Not Enter' signs at two Monastery Street entrances

Sitka will post Do Not Enter signs at two Monastery Street entrances once Lake Street reopens Oct. 21, blocking turns from Arrowhead and DeGroff onto Monastery.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly approves $4.2 million hospital chiller replacement

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly approved $4.2 million in contracts to replace the failing chiller at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak Island Borough Assembly to vote on $4.2 million hospital chiller contracts

Labor Department proposes retroactive OK for GCI 401(k) holding stock rights

Labor Department proposed exempting GCI's 401(k) plan from a rule barring it from holding GCI Liberty stock rights. The plan already sold them on Nasdaq, netting about $133,600.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

A second power link to Kenai would run under Cook Inlet

Alaska wants a second power line between Kenai and Anchorage, under Cook Inlet's tides and ice. First it needs builders, and $142.5 million more.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Fairbanks borough mayor proposes pause on large data center permits through 2027

Fairbanks' mayor wants no big new data centers permitted through 2027. Houston already hit pause, and Petersburg is drafting a pause of its own.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State scheduled Dalton Highway closures near Mile 7.5 Thursday night for a load recovery

DOT&PF plans intermittent closures on the Dalton Highway near Mile 7.5 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm Thursday for load recovery. Expect delays in both directions.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Corps has no 2027 maintenance dredging money for Nome yet, port director says

The Corps hasn't budgeted 2027 maintenance dredging for Nome and several other Alaska ports. Anchorage got its money. Nome says "all is not lost."

by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Federal money would cover 96% of Wasilla's $20 million runway extension, staff says

Wasilla's runway extension would cost the city about 4% of $20 million, staff says. First come the surveys that have to wait for leaves on the trees.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

DOE awards ASRC subsidiary up to $49.8 million for Prudhoe Bay hydrate test site

The feds are paying an ASRC company up to $49.8 million to maintain a Prudhoe Bay methane hydrate test site and plan a possible second production test.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Commission recommends naming Anchorage Assembly Chambers for Dick Traini, 3-2

Anchorage's naming commission voted 3-2 to recommend naming the Assembly Chambers for Dick Traini, despite a city rule to wait 36 months after a death.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Park Service makes Denali's 160-vehicle daily road cap official before full reopening

Denali's 160-vehicle daily road cap is now regulation. The Park Service says it has followed that number since 2012; the new access is a day or two of season.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

Mat-Su Platting Board approves six-lot subdivision near Engstrom Road

Six new lots near Engstrom Road got the OK. Neighbors worry about the Bogard-Engstrom intersection; the road meant to ease it is picked but not funded.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Merrill Field planners propose King Air 200 as design aircraft for 20-year plan

Merrill Field's 20-year plan will be built around the King Air 200. Also learned: the first stop for many rural flyers landing there is Costco.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage will take public comment on Merrill Field's next 20 years Oct. 15

Anchorage Assembly to consider $1.2 million for two fire tenders replacing aging trucks

Two Anchorage fire tenders are past the 25-year mark. The Assembly considers $1.2 million for replacements Tuesday, with delivery about 20 months out.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

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

The company building a military antimony refinery at Port MacKenzie says it lacks the cash for another year of plans, after losing $25.6 million last year.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min readFrom Sep 30

Fairbanks-area draft 20-year transportation plan totals more than $1.6 billion

Fairbanks' draft 20-year transportation plan runs $1.6 billion. Airport Way topped the survey's ugliest-road picks; FAST says 2018 fixes haven't advanced.

by Alaska News4w ago2 min read

AGDC managers ask board for $1.28 million to support its 25% stake in Alaska LNG

The state's gas line corporation owns a quarter of Alaska LNG and wants $1.28 million to oversee its stake, including readiness for a possible clawback.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read