Economy & Business

Anchorage Assembly to consider $2.2 million more for surge beds at two homeless shelters

Anchorage may add about $2.2 million to two shelter contracts to cover extra winter beds at Linda's Place and the E. 56th Avenue shelter. Assembly votes Oct. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider $1.7 million to design fix for Girdwood's drinking water well

Girdwood's main drinking water well lets surface water in, so it needs a treatment fix. The Assembly may add $1.7 million to design it Oct. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kodiak Assembly member says Navy would back grid funding bid tied to Spruce Cape project

A classified Navy project at Spruce Cape could use 70% of Kodiak's power, an Assembly member says, and the Navy may back a grid funding bid.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Senate committee advances five-year renewal of federal program mapping Alaska's geology

A Senate committee advanced a five-year renewal of Earth MRI, the federal program mapping what's under Alaska's ground, the same day its funding ran out.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Murkowski cosponsors bill letting housing builders use industry certifications to prove materials are US-made

Murkowski cosponsored a bill letting builders on federally funded housing use industry certifications to prove their materials are American-made.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage sets Oct. 28 open house on Eklutna pumped storage options

Anchorage holds an open house Oct. 28 on two dam designs for Eklutna Lake, where the city gets 90 percent of its drinking water and faces a 2027 deadline on pumped storage.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Craig police chief says other Prince of Wales Island communities want 911 calls routed to Craig dispatch

Craig's police dispatch may start taking 911 calls for other Prince of Wales Island towns. The chief says it's doable, but radio dead zones cost money.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Soldotna ice rink nearly lost its ice at least once this year, parks director says

Soldotna's aging ice rink nearly lost its ice at least once this year. The parks director says crews are chasing software gremlins and buying parts on eBay.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Golden Valley Electric plans prepaid power option for members, pending state approval

Golden Valley Electric members may soon prepay for power and skip the deposit. Run out of credit, though, and the lights go off until you add $100.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 11

Cook Inlet Tribal Council seeks builder for $36.5 million east Anchorage center

Cook Inlet Tribal Council opened bidding Wednesday on a $36.5 million east Anchorage cultural center with child care, gym, and showers, but has not disclosed its funding source.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Huffman Road to close in both directions near Silver Fox Lane for weekend repairs

Huffman Road near Silver Fox Lane closes both ways from Friday night to Monday morning for waterline and storm drain repairs. Plan another route.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Seoul protested U.S. Alaska LNG announcement, says investment remains under review

White House officials and Alaska leaders announced $50 billion-plus in Korean money for Alaska LNG. Seoul says it agreed only to review it, and protested.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Sitka Assembly members set Oct. 21 meeting on taxi code rewrite

Sitka may trade taxi meters for flat fares: $10 around downtown, $12 to the airport. Two Assembly members want to hear from drivers and riders first, Oct. 21.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Mat-Su platting board approves five-tract Knik-Fairview subdivision after neighbor raises pond concerns

Sandhill cranes, moose and a pond that may or may not have tripled in size: Mat-Su's platting board OK'd a five-tract, 72-acre split in Knik-Fairview.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Conservation groups appeal state's Ambler road easement in Anchorage Superior Court

Seven conservation groups asked a judge to overturn DNR's easement for the Ambler road. Both sides cite the state Supreme Court's Donlin ruling.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago5 min read

Eaglecrest board extends former acting manager's pay through mid-November to help new GM

Eaglecrest has a new general manager, but the old acting one keeps acting pay into November to help with the handoff. The board says it costs about $6,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

AIDEA looks at modular bridges used at Red Dog Mine for the proposed Ambler road

AIDEA toured modular steel bridges at Red Dog Mine as it weighs them for the proposed Ambler road, a project NANA and Tanana Chiefs have opposed.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage planners say state's draft road plan overstates local federal grant by $40 million

Anchorage's transportation planners say the state's draft road plan copied their project list and booked $40 million more work than the money covers.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Alaska's $7.74 billion transportation plan is open for public comment

Bethel commission to weigh $675,000 gravel trail to YKHC campus to replace closed boardwalk

Bethel wants a $675,000 gravel trail to the YKHC campus to replace a boardwalk closed as unsafe. Walkers now pick between the tundra and the highway.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Final federal rule requires most Alaska DBE firms to prove disadvantage individually

Most Alaska contractors certified as disadvantaged businesses must now prove it one by one under a final federal rule ending race and sex presumptions.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Copper River EMS gets $291,000 in federal money to rebuild its main 911 ambulance

Copper River EMS has $291,000 in federal money to rebuild its main 911 ambulance instead of buying a new one. Its backup rig is nearly 30 years old.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Cordova hospital gets $3 million to replace generator after four tries drew no bidders

Cordova's hospital got $3 million to replace a backup generator it says can't power the building in an outage. Its last four tries drew no bidders.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Federal grant offers Native homeowners in Anchorage and Mat-Su a savings match and repair money

Native homeowners in Anchorage and Mat-Su who save $2,000 in a year could get an $8,000 match and up to $10,000 in repairs under a new grant program.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State tells drivers to stay off the Denali Highway as seasonal maintenance ends

The Denali Highway goes unplowed until spring starting today. Unless you've got a snowmachine or a dog team, the state says stay off it until May 15.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Calista Education and Culture gets $900,000 to pay 16 young adults for village-based internships

Calista Education and Culture will pay 16 young adults from the Middle Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon for village-based internships with a $900,000 federal grant.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Platting Board to consider combining industrial lots and vacating unused rail easement

An industrial lot in South Anchorage wants to shed a railroad easement that never saw a train and some extra street. The Platting Board takes it up Oct. 7.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Juneau task force to review draft rules that could license and cap whale-watching boats

Juneau may license whale-watching boats the way it licenses marijuana shops, and cap how many can run. A city task force takes up the idea Oct. 10.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau committee to review bid to list Telephone Hill as national historic district

A historical group wants Juneau's Telephone Hill named a national historic district. The city plans to tear down its seven homes for new housing.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Juneau's Alaska Shoppe seeks wider Front Street entrance in historic Blomgren Building

Alaska Shoppe wants to widen its Front Street door in Juneau's historic Blomgren Building. The city's preservation committee reviews the plan Wednesday.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Senate vote to advance data center utility cost bill fails 57-43

Senate blocked a bill asking states to consider making big data centers pay for grid upgrades. Alaska's senators voted yes; most Democrats called it optional.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage names police Lt. Brian Fuchs municipal Employee of the Year

Anchorage police Lt. Brian Fuchs won Employee of the Year for leading homeless outreach units that answered 3,300 crisis calls and cut unsheltered homelessness by nearly 30%.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kenai City Council postpones vote on Mission Street bluff erosion contract until Oct. 7

Kenai's council was set to award a bluff erosion contract a day after bids closed. It punted to Oct. 7 instead, and nobody said why on the record.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai's council will award a bluff erosion contract the day after bids close

Ketchikan Gateway Borough staff propose allowing housing on commercial waterfront land

Ketchikan Gateway Borough staff want to let housing onto commercial waterfront land and relabel seven parcels. The Planning Commission picks it back up Oct. 13.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Trump says South Korea will put more than $50 billion into the Alaska gas line. Seoul says the project still has to prove it can make money before it commits.

by Alaska News1mo ago3 min read

MEA bills drop about $5 a month, giving back part of summer increase

MEA power bills drop about $5 a month starting Thursday. Good news, sort of: it gives back a little over a third of the increase that hit in July.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su power bills climb about $15 a month, with more increases expected

Written comments on Willow drilling and injection rules are due Tuesday unless a Nov. 4 hearing is held

BLM wants to approve some NPR-A oil sites in 60 days by doing the big review once, up front. Here's what that means, and where Nuiqsut and others stand.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min readFrom Sep 21

Touchmark breaks ground on 244-home senior campus in South Anchorage

A private Oregon company broke ground on a 244-home senior campus in South Anchorage, with help from a city property tax break that can last up to 28 years.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal grant puts $18.2 million toward Seppala Drive rebuild in Nome

Nome's long-planned Seppala Drive rebuild now has $18.2 million in federal highway money committed, and the water line under it could be replaced next summer.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly to consider two Port of Alaska corrosion-protection contracts worth up to $2 million each

Salt water and steel don't mix. Two firms could each earn up to $2 million keeping the Port of Alaska's pilings and pipelines from rusting away.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Jul 29

Sitka gets $1.1 million state grant to upgrade Eliason Harbor electrical systems and floats

Sitka landed a $1.1 million state grant to fix aging floats and electrical systems at Eliason Harbor, where most visiting boats tie up. Design is nearly done.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read