Economy & Business

Planners say Anchorage's capital budget isn't strongly tied to its growth plan

Anchorage planners say the city's capital budget isn't strongly tied to its growth plan. Since 2017, 1% of Bowl development landed where the plan wanted most.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State ends maintenance on the Taylor and Top of the World highways and McCarthy Road until May

The state stops maintaining four remote roads Thursday, including the only road into McCarthy. Until May, the traffic is snowmachines and dog teams.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Draft study backs regional co-ops for rural Alaska tank farms, comments due Friday

A draft study says rural Alaska tank farms should team up in regional co-ops to save money. Comments are due Friday, so speak now or hold your diesel.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago3 min read

State renews Usibelli's Healy coal permit, raises cleanup bond to $7.7 million

Two Bull Ridge's coal pits near Healy are nearly done. The state renewed the permit for five years and bumped the cleanup bond 42%, to $7.7 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage weighs Eklutna water deals after utilities decline to back its bid for a vote

Anchorage tied its Eklutna water deals to Chugach and MEA backing its bid for a hydro vote. They declined, and the mayor wants the deals approved without it.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

State gives DOT Matanuska riverbed to armor the Old Glenn near Palmer

The Matanuska keeps eating the bank along the Old Glenn near Palmer, so the state gave DOT 65 acres of river bottom to fight back with rock. Indefinitely.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Kenai commission rejects family RV campground permit on Tundra Rose Lane, 4-1

Kenai's planning commission voted 4-1 to deny Nicole and David Smith a permit for a family RV park on Tundra Rose Lane, citing traffic and neighborhood character concerns.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readFrom Sep 23

Anchorage planners back an 8-foot Girdwood fence near the Holtan Hills entrance

A Girdwood homeowner wants an 8-foot fence where code allows 4, citing Holtan Hills construction traffic. City planners say yes. A neighbor worries about moose.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Southcentral Foundation seeks business zoning for 4.3 acres on Alaska Native Health Campus

Southcentral Foundation wants two Tudor Centre Drive lots on the Native health campus rezoned for business. It says no redevelopment is planned.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Borough to decide on merging 17 Salcha lots a planner ties to a possible resort

A landowner wants to turn 17 Salcha lots into one 38-acre parcel, and a borough planner says the land is understood to be headed for "some sort of resort."

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read

Air Guard rescues pilot with minor injuries after plane crash near Friday Creek

The Air Guard has flown four pilots out of crashes north of Anchorage since Sept. 10, two of them near Friday Creek, which is having a rough fall.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Kenai planners approve two Woodland Subdivision short-term rentals, one 3-2

Kenai OKs two Airbnbs in the Woodland Subdivision. Ash Avenue neighbors of 41 years lost 3-2, and one says she'll be back to oppose every permit.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Gasoline pushes U.S. prices up as Alaska diesel runs 61% above a year ago

U.S. prices rose 0.6% in September, more than half of it from gas. In Alaska, the bigger number is diesel: $2.48 a gallon more than a year ago.

by Alaska News4w ago2 min read

Fairbanks job fair Oct. 29 brings 27 employers, from Doyon and the FAA to Panda Express

Fairbanks job seekers can meet 27 employers in one room Oct. 29, from Doyon and the FAA to Panda Express and Jiffy Lube. Bring a résumé, and a firm handshake.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Planners back a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter as neighbors raise concerns

City planners say Linda's Place should be a permanent shelter. The city and the shelter's paperwork give different schedules for its security walks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage officials want to keep private plan review rules but warn of a conflict

Nearly all new homes in Anchorage's building safety area get plan checks from private reviewers. Officials want the rules kept but warn contractors pick them.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau weighs Kensington mine rock and charter use for North Douglas ramp

Juneau may study building a bigger North Douglas boat launch from Kensington mine waste rock, and ask whether charter boats and tour buses should use it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly approves Tozier Tract land swap with nonbinding housing targets

Anchorage agreed to trade the Tozier Tract, land it spent decades trying to get, for four downtown parking lots. Its housing targets are only recommendations.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min readFrom Oct 6

Follows: Anchorage proposes trading the Tozier Track to the state housing agency for downtown parking lots, with housing required

North Slope Assembly backs next step for roads linking three Slope communities

The North Slope Assembly backed moving roads to link Utqiaġvik, Atqasuk and Wainwright toward review. The mayor wants them paid for alongside an oil-area road.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Golden Valley lifts first energy emergency alert, warns supply problems will continue

Golden Valley's first-ever energy emergency is over. A unit outage Monday left the co-op with one generator of backup; by Wednesday it was back to normal.

by Alaska News1mo ago3 min read

After ending builder's contract, Mat-Su weighs $573,155 to finish Academy Charter design

Mat-Su terminated the contractor on Academy Charter's new high school in August. Now it wants to pay the designer $573,155 to finish the job's plans.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Cordova Planning Commission approves permit for rental cabin built without a permit

Cordova commissioners approved a permit for a rental cabin built without one. Owners must connect to city utilities by Nov. 2 and fix unapproved septic systems to keep the structure standing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kodiak Electric's 20-year Coast Guard energy contract is worth $31.3 million

Kodiak's electric co-op will upgrade the Coast Guard base's heat, lights and water over 20 years. Price tag: $31.3 million. Competition: none possible.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak Electric signs 20-year contract to upgrade energy systems at Coast Guard Base Kodiak

Petro Marine seeks state water quality sign-off to rebuild its Ketchikan fuel dock

Ketchikan's only fuel supplier, by its own account, wants to rebuild its aging Tongass Narrows dock. First it needs DEC to sign off on water quality.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readFrom Oct 7

Mat-Su Assembly weighs $2.5 million grant to refrigerate the ice at Big Lake rink

Mat-Su Assembly holds a hearing Oct. 20 on accepting $2.5 million to refrigerate Big Lake Lions rink's ice. A week of 45 degree weather can melt the natural ice now, pushing teams elsewhere.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau seeks new purpose for stalled $1 million tourism loan fund

Juneau set aside $1 million in cruise fees for clean-tech loans to tour operators, then couldn't figure out how to lend it. Now it's asking for ideas.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla man wins a federal design patent for his fish bonker after a 3½-year wait

Wasilla's Cody Christopher now holds a federal design patent on his fish bonker, protecting the club's look for 15 years after a 3½-year wait.

by Alaska News4w ago1 min read

Copper Valley's first 20-year transportation plan lists $848 million in projects

The Copper Valley has no city or borough government, so its planning group wrote the region's first 20-year transportation plan. Comments are due Nov. 6.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Two regulators object as RCA lets Fairbanks, Juneau power cost cuts stand

Regulators let lower power cost charges in Fairbanks and Juneau stand. Two commissioners objected, saying they belong in the utilities' pending rate cases.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Oct 8

State proposes giving ENSTAR, not Hilcorp, a lease to store natural gas beneath Kenai

The state is leaning toward ENSTAR, not Hilcorp, to store gas under Kenai, saying Hilcorp turned in about a quarter of the data it asked for. It's not final.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Trump says Taiwan will buy 30% of Alaska LNG gas, the share in a 2025 letter

Trump and Lutnick say Taiwan will buy 30% of Alaska LNG's gas and invest $4.4 billion. The 30% matches a nonbinding letter Taiwan signed 19 months ago.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Trump says South Korea will finance $50 billion of Alaska LNG; Seoul hasn't committed

Kodiak planning commission set to decide Oct. 21 on Beaver Lake land sale

Kodiak's planners still say keep the Beaver Lake land as open space. The commission punted in September, decides Oct. 21, and said no to a similar sale in 2019.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kenai accepts $3.1 million FAA grant for new airport perimeter and security fence

Kenai City Council accepted a roughly $3.1 million FAA grant for a new perimeter and security fence at the airport. The city covers about $154,000, with QAP as contractor.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Oct 8

ConocoPhillips seeks five more years of North Slope off-road travel; comments due Friday

ConocoPhillips wants to keep driving and building ice roads on state land on the North Slope for five more years. Its current permit expires Dec. 17.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readFrom Sep 10

Alaska small businesses can apply for up to $10,000 to break into foreign markets

Alaska small businesses trying to sell overseas can get up to $10,000 back for trade shows, sales trips abroad and translated websites. Washington's paying.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Board of Game moves Ambler Road hunting closure up to a Nov. 20 web conference

The Board of Game shelved the Ambler Road hunting closure until its January meeting in Kotzebue. Now it's Nov. 20, online, with no testimony taken.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

NovaGold sets Nov. 3 vote on owning all of Donlin; filing details a dropped three-way deal

Shareholders vote Nov. 3 on putting all of Donlin Gold under one company, nearly 40% owned by Paulson's firm. The filing details a 3-way deal that fell apart.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readFrom Oct 5

Juneau aging commission chair says paratransit must improve now or change contractors

Juneau's aging commission chair says time is running out for the city's paratransit service: fix it now or hand the contract back to the old provider.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Chugach could build Milrem's unmanned military vehicles in the US under a new agreement

hugach could start building military robots in the U.S. for an Estonia-based maker. So far it's a memorandum, with no site, timeline or price tag.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Overturned truck closes Parks Highway at Milepost 183

An overturned commercial truck closed the Parks Highway in both directions at Milepost 183 early Tuesday. The closure is expected to last until around midday, state transportation officials say.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read