Economy & Business

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

Kenai's council votes Sept. 30 on an erosion contract with blanks where the contractor and the price go. Bids do not close until the day before.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Nome utility board member says new housing project's septic units will need heavy upkeep

New Nome housing will run on above-ground septic units with grinders, pumps and UV lights. A utility board member says they will need a lot of babysitting.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks job fair Thursday: retail, grocery, restaurant and bank employers

Fifteen employers including Fred Meyer, Walmart, and McDonald's are hiring at the Fairbanks Job Center on Thursday from 11 am to 3 pm.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Public comment is open on Cook Inlet subsea data-center plan

Comments close Nov. 2 on a proposed tidal-powered subsea data center off Nikiski. The permit would authorize study, not construction.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau's planning commission approved a subdivision plat it rejected in July

Juneau's planning commission turned this subdivision down in July over drainage. The Assembly sent it back, and on Tuesday it passed it.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Juneau Planning Commission approves second commercial tenant at Clinton Drive Domino's building

Juneau approved a second commercial tenant next to the Clinton Drive Domino's. Who actually moves in is still unknown, and no parking was added.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Juneau commission to weigh second tenant on Clinton Drive Domino's lot with no added parking

Coast Guard awards nearly $5 million to fix moisture damage in Cordova family housing

The Coast Guard is spending nearly $5 million to fix moisture damage in its Cordova duplexes. In fairness to the duplexes, they do live in Cordova.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Federal grant of $310,307 funds condition survey of Alaska's ferry fleet

Alaska is paying $310,000 to survey a ferry fleet whose flagship turns 62 this year. The bid to replace it came in $49 million over budget.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

CBP awards Teya Diversified $23.3 million for border port repairs

Anchorage-based Teya Diversified won three CBP contracts worth $23.3 million for repairs at northern border ports, though records do not confirm whether any work occurs in Alaska.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Denali Borough needs 150 more housing opportunities, assessment says

Denali Borough counts 1,301 homes and only 565 are lived in year-round. Employers say they still need at least 150 more units on top of that.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Denali Borough adds $130,710 to fix roads damaged fighting a fire

Denali Borough is spending another $130,710 on June Creek roads chewed up during the Bear Creek Fire. One official wore waders to do his chores.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

EPA proposes $21,618 penalty over Red Dog Mine spill into Red Dog Creek

EPA proposed a $21,618 penalty against Teck Alaska Inc. for a May 2025 leak of process water into Red Dog Creek near Kotzebue after a pump failure at the mine.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State denies Florida company's bid to expand oil unit on the Arctic refuge border

A Florida company wanted three more leases added to its oil unit on the Arctic refuge border. The state says the leases had expired and showed no oil or gas.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 18

Hemp plant proposal asks Houston council for land and permitting help

A foundation wants a hemp processing plant near Houston to serve Alaska fiber growers. The state's hemp registry currently lists only retailers.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Soldotna weighs letting rural lots hold two homes instead of one

Soldotna may let rural residential lots hold two homes instead of one, partly because people east of the highway are already building without permits.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Southeast's freight surcharge hits its highest published level

The fuel surcharge on Southeast freight hits 22.5 percent, the highest on record. Nobody outside the company can check the number against anything.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 18

Governor candidates split over how to close Southcentral gas gap

All four candidates want more Cook Inlet gas. They differ over lease enforcement, production incentives, tax stability and power diversification.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Follows: Southcentral is 3 Bcf short this winter, and producers told lawmakers the gas runs out in 2029

Ketchikan's new tourism board will not include the cruise line agencies

Ketchikan is seating a tourism board without the cruise agencies on it. Whether the industry has grown too fast stays with the city council.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Senate Indian Affairs Committee advances Native housing rewrite to full Senate

A Senate committee advanced a rewrite of the law funding village housing. It would let aid reach teachers and nurses who earn too much to qualify now.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska Power Company asks to waive charges for customers cut off by disasters

Alaska Power Company wants to stop charging people to reconnect after a disaster. Its customers pay about twice what Anchorage pays for power.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska will spend up to $250,000 studying a ferry terminal in Hyder

Alaska wants to study a ferry terminal for a town of 41 people. The reason is Canada: Hyder's road runs south through B.C., and Prince Rupert may not last.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

People Mover puts up its first artwork bus stop sign on Muldoon Road

Anchorage bus stops are getting artwork and metal signs to replace paper schedules, starting at Muldoon Road and Northern Lights Boulevard.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Payless would pay more than $500,000 over document fees under proposed settlement

More than 5,000 Alaskans paid a $499 fee that was not in the online price. They are getting $100 back, and the state says that is on purpose.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA seeks new power supply as its Hilcorp gas contract winds down

MEA is shopping for new power supply before its Hilcorp gas contract ends in 2029, and asking members how they feel about data centers arriving.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Palmer's plan to test whether its two main wells can produce more clears state review

Palmer's plan to study and possibly expand Wells 4 and 5, which supply 90 percent of the city's water, cleared state environmental review. The city has requested a $1.5 million state loan for it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Cook Inlet gas storage at 69.5% as winter nears, with one field shut in for maintenance

Southcentral's gas storage fields are still filling and sending nothing out, at 69.5 percent full with winter coming and Enstar 3 Bcf short.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Southcentral's gas storage is two-thirds full with winter coming

The Alaska Court System awarded a $5.25 million contract to expand the Palmer Courthouse

The Legislature gave Palmer a fifth superior court judge this summer. The courthouse did not have room for the four judges it already had.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Wasilla commissioner asks if city should pause commercial development

A Wasilla commissioner floated halting commercial development over road funding. The chair noted commerce is what pays the city's share of road projects.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla's road plan expired on a population forecast 38 percent too high

Nome's utility is five years behind on audits and borrowing costs more

Nome's utility hasn't finished an audit since 2021, and its manager says the delay is probably raising the interest rate on its annual fuel loan.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

The King Cove road is under construction, but the refuge corridor is still blocked

Bulldozers are on the first 2.8 miles of the King Cove road. The 10.5 miles through the refuge that would finish it are still blocked by a judge.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 16

A Palmer barbecue restaurant's parking variance waits another month after neighbors object

A Palmer barbecue joint with zero parking spots says it counted 698 nearby on Google Earth. A dozen neighbors said that's not how this works.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau moves to ban electric motorcycles on nearly all public property

Juneau would ban electric motorcycles on nearly all public property, with exemptions for Montana Creek Trail and the off-road vehicle park.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA surveys members on potential data center development

MEA is polling members about data centers while the state weighs handing 20,000 acres in its territory to AIDEA for a plan that lists data centers.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Left lane closed on O'Malley Road northbound until 4 p.m. Tuesday

One northbound lane of O'Malley Road is closed until 4 pm Tuesday for guardrail and fence repair. The road itself stays open the whole time.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Three Homer Electric generators failed at once, and hydro covered the gap

Three of Homer Electric's generators failed at once in August. It bought hydro to cover, from a dam whose lines cannot carry its full output.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Homer's tsunami evacuation route is being raised and widened

The road Homer would use to get people off the Spit ahead of a tsunami is being raised and widened, with $1.17 million obligated toward it so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

FAA awards Sitka $2 million for seaplane base land and final design

Sitka has federal money to buy land and finish designs for a new floatplane base. The $34 million to actually build it hasn't turned up yet.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Kodiak's health center is getting its own heating unit, off the hospital's

Kodiak's community health center shares aging air handling with the hospital next door. A $300,000 earmark buys it a rooftop unit of its own.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

North Pole's bed tax collections are up 137% and headed for a record year

North Pole's bed tax collections more than doubled this year, likely because short-term rentals are finally paying up. A magazine also called it charming.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

The line that powers Petersburg would leave federal license oversight

Petersburg gets its power over an 80-mile line from Tyee Lake. The agency running it wants that line out of its federal license, the second this year.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read