Economy & Business
RSSAlaska News covers state economic issues including cannabis banking, state dividends, and business development opportunities.
A Northwest think tank has ideas for Anchorage housing
A Seattle think tank that advocates for denser housing is recommending Anchorage zoning changes, one of which the city already adopted in 2025.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A protected Potter Marsh hillside faces access questions at an Aug. 10 hearing
A 303-acre hillside feeding Potter Marsh is permanently protected, so the debate now is over access — where trails and parking go, and which neighborhood streets take the traffic. A 20-year plan gets a hearing Aug. 10.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Wasilla resident gets gas station to study sidewalk on school bus route
A Wasilla resident got a new gas station to study building a sidewalk on a street where kids walk to the bus. The commission also OK'd a youth mental health facility.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
70 homes, one way out: Wasilla weighs fixing a risky railroad crossing on Lucille Lake
Over 70 Lucille Lake homes share one risky way out — a steep rail crossing that's also the only path for fire and ambulance. Wasilla eyes $5.25M to fix it.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Federal money, not oil, drove half of Alaska's growth — and now it's shrinking
Turns out the oil state runs on Washington's checkbook: federal money, not crude, drove half of Alaska's growth — and it's now shrinking.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska moves to hand four more land tracts to a housing agency, no bidding required
Alaska is proposing to transfer four more state land tracts to its housing agency without competitive bidding — part of an ongoing push to turn public land into housing development.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Kodiak has until Oct. 2 to weigh in on Terror Lake relicensing
Kodiak residents have until Oct. 2 to tell FERC what to study as Terror Lake Hydro seeks relicensing — a review touching power costs and the river.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Legislators to hear the case for a gas line as the effort stalls
A minority caucus will host an Anchorage gasline listening session with only supporters, as the effort sits stalled in a third special session with no bill.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly weighs 10-year tax break for condos above shops and offices
Anchorage weighs a 10-year property-tax break for buyers of new condos above shops to spur housing, but critics ask whether the price cap lets it build much.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Interior proposes easing Arctic offshore drilling safety rules
The Trump administration proposed easing post-Deepwater Horizon safety rules for Arctic offshore drilling off Alaska, reviving the spill-risk debate.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Chugach seeks industrial zoning for its campus, dropping a buffer
Chugach wants to rezone its Anchorage North Campus to heavy industrial to match its use, dropping a green buffer meant for a highway that likely won't come.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Gold-exploration filings cluster in a historic Interior district
Three gold-exploration applications landed within six days in the historic Valdez Creek district, a small rush in an area that's produced gold since 1903.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Ambler advances, but the U.S. stake in its developer hasn't closed
Ambler Road permits are back in force and the project is advancing, but the U.S. government's planned stake in developer Trilogy Metals still hasn't closed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
FAA retires two Alaska flight routes in a satellite-navigation shift
The FAA will retire two Alaska flight routes Oct. 29 and extend a third, part of a shift from ground-based to satellite navigation over non-radar terrain.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage may let buyers own a detached home outright where condos are now the norm
Anchorage may let buyers own detached houses outright in more residential zones — a change aimed at helping people dodge the financing hurdles of buying a condo. The Assembly decides.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Interior Alaska's spring-thaw weight limits lift Wednesday for haulers
Spring-thaw weight limits are lifting on Interior Alaska roads Wednesday — haulers can apply for overweight permits again, but full loads aren't automatic.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
Parks Highway delays ease on one stretch, but not the next
Parks Highway traffic control is gone between MP 322 and 325 after a haul-truck crossing opened, but the next stretch south still has speed limits and diversions until 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Mat-Su commission backs the $9 million road route over the $30 million one
Mat-Su's planning commission backed a $9 million southern road route over a northern one pegged at up to $31 million, overruling a staff recommendation. The assembly decides next.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau's casino opened on shifting ground and now faces suits on two fronts
Juneau's tribal casino opened through a federal opening since rescinded, and now faces the state, a family lawsuit and doubt about whether it's even legal.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The jet bridges at the Anchorage airport are wearing out
Those clunky old jet bridges at the Anchorage airport are wearing out, and the state is replacing them gate by gate through 2028. Two more are up for bid now.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage would sell rights over its City Hall lot below appraisal
Anchorage would sell two private firms the right to keep part of the City Hall lot building-free — $80K under appraisal, for a downtown project not yet filed.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Kenai weighs federal housing funds for Sixth Street water and sewer work
Kenai weighs using federal housing grant money to help fund water, sewer and street work on Sixth Street, with a public hearing and vote Wednesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Neighbors got the tower dropped from a south Anchorage substation rebuild
After a two-year fight, neighbors got Chugach to drop a 65-foot tower from a south Anchorage substation rebuild. A smaller fence-and-noise dispute is left.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
ENSTAR says Cook Inlet output has fallen to a fifth of its 1990s peak, with its firm contract ending in 2033
Cook Inlet is apparently in trouble, well, unless you think rolling backouts are a good deal. And I'm sure somebody in the world does, somewhere
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min readAI
Micciche sets break-even floor on Kenai Peninsula tax break for Alaska LNG
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche set a floor on Alaska LNG tax breaks at 75% off, saying the borough will not accept less than break-even on a $23.6 billion to $28.4 billion facility.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min readAI
Utility warns of rolling blackouts in Southcentral as soon as this winter
At a Municipality of Anchorage press conference last week, MEA's CEO warned that Southcentral could see rolling blackouts as soon as November if Cook Inlet gas falls short — the first time in 45 years he says he can't guarantee power.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
The state is being asked to bank on a gas line price it may never fully see
Alaska is weighing tax breaks and $800 million for a gas pipeline whose developer says the true cost may never be public. Its disclosed estimate already jumped $10 billion.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A year in, Anchorage's camping ordinance mostly moves people along, not into services
A year of Anchorage's camping ordinance: 89% of contacts end without arrest, but 890 of 962 people who complied left with no referral to services. The Assembly reviews it Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Free daily meals and pantries available across Anchorage in August
A free hot meal is available somewhere in Anchorage every day this month, plus two dozen food pantries citywide. Call 211 or check anchoragefood.org for the schedule.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Muldoon pot shop clears the park buffer, by measuring to the playground
A Muldoon Road pot shop clears the park buffer because the city measures to the playground, not the park line, 734 feet. Neighbors object; the Assembly votes Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Why Sitka subsidizes electric bills: the Blue Lake Dam debt
Sitka is taking applications through Oct. 31 to subsidize electric bills — a program driven by the $125M Blue Lake Dam debt that keeps local power expensive.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska's small planes get until 2034 to upgrade altimeters — if they fly Outside
Alaska's air taxis and floatplanes must upgrade altimeters by 2034 to resist 5G interference, but only if they fly outside the state. In-state flying is exempt.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
The military is adding a thousand people to a base that's already full
The military plans to add about 1,050 people to Alaska bases while JBER housing sits at 98% full. Anchorage's Assembly is bracing for the overflow to hit the city's market.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A $1.5 billion Seward Highway plan pits safety against the Turnagain Arm viewshed
A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild has split Anchorage — the state says it's a safety fix for a deadly corridor; a coalition of critics says it's a highway-widening project that would scar Turnagain Arm.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau neighbors want a homeless camp cleared after a reported bear shooting
Neighbors near Juneau's Governor's Mansion want a homeless camp cleared after a camper reportedly shot a bear — a flashpoint in Alaska's rising camp tension.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Cordova's road-safety plan could unlock federal money to fix its streets
Cordova's new road-safety plan could unlock federal grants to fix dangerous streets. Residents have until Sept. 1 to flag the spots that need it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska keeps trading its old flight beacons for GPS, one route at a time
The FAA is amending a GPS airway near Kodiak this fall, part of Alaska's slow statewide switch from old ground beacons to satellite-guided flight routes.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
Girdwood's park plans would move to Anchorage's standard public review
Girdwood loves its trails and ski runs, and an ordinance up Tuesday would run the town's park plans through the same public review the rest of Anchorage uses.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
North Slope phone co-op moves to keep its Deadhorse airport site
The North Slope's phone co-op wants five more years for its tower and shop on Deadhorse Airport land, a no-bid extension of an existing $14,250-a-year lease.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Second Eagle River road contract in weeks draws just one bid
An Eagle River brush-disposal contract worth up to $1.16 million drew one bidder, the second sole-bid road contract in the same service area in weeks. The Assembly votes Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
