Economy & Business

Alaska counts 900 fewer jobs in August as federal payrolls shed 1,300

Alaska lost 900 jobs in the year to August, with 800 private-sector gains offset by 1,700 public-sector losses, 1,300 of them federal. The federal shortfall has narrowed from 1,900 in April and has held at 1,300 since June. Unemployment was 4.3 percent.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A hydro plant sat on state land five years after its easement expired

A hydro plant east of Palmer has sat on state land for five years with no authorization to be there. The state now proposes to lease it the ground.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 14

Petition would vacate Eek Street; comment by Oct. 20 or lose the right to object

A public street in Eek would become private property of the city and AVEC, no one has said why, and anyone who wants to object later has to speak up by Oct. 20.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau's flood protection should be everyone's bill, three members say

Juneau's flood protection should be paid for by everyone, not just the people on the river, three Assembly members say. The bond vote slipped to 2027.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau's flood fix could top $600 million, and the city has $11 million

Juneau needs more than $600 million to hold back the glacial flood. It has $11 million so far, and no plan for where its share comes from.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 31

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes on all public property

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes from all public property, citing safety concerns and comparing high-powered models to unlicensed motorcycles.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau committee sends an unrequested $6 million state grant to the downtown Seawalk

Juneau got $6 million from the state it never asked for and is putting it toward the downtown Seawalk, enough to build the first phase without borrowing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 31

Juneau committee to weigh 10% tax on rental cars staged near cruise docks

Juneau is weighing a 10% excise tax on rental cars picked up near the cruise docks, which would push the total on some rentals to 24 percent.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Nome weighs what to do with the boats that never leave its port yards

Boats and dredges that haven't floated in years are clogging the Port of Nome's yards, and the Port Commission is weighing higher fees or clearing them out.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Spur demolition begins for Nome's planned Arctic deep-draft port

Kiewit has begun removing Nome's port spur. Phase 1A extends the causeway, while separate dredging will create the 40-foot basin.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A Southeast power agency seeks to free a line from federal terms

SEAPA wants to pull a 30-mile transmission line out of its Swan Lake hydro license before a 40-year relicensing, keeping the line but shedding the terms.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange design study goes to Anchorage hearing Nov. 2

The state wants to rebuild the Seward Highway interchange at Tudor Road. It goes to a public hearing Nov. 2, with most of the funding still unbuilt.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A magnitude 6.5 quake hit west of Nikolski, the third big one this year

A magnitude 6.5 quake hit west of Nikolski with no tsunami and no expected damage — the third magnitude-6 quake near the village this year.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Port of Alaska must ship contaminated soil out of state after storm drain dig

Crews at the Port of Alaska hit soil dirtier than testing predicted. It's now headed out of state, on a project with a grant deadline attached.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Visitors keep walking into Seward's industrial port

Cruise passengers in Seward keep wandering into the industrial port instead of onto the sidewalk. The city is paying $79,920 to sort out the signs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau taxpayers at large would carry $4.7 million of the Mendenhall barrier bill as a quarter of the district objects

Juneau Assembly appropriated about $1 million in tribal and FEMA grants for additional phases of Mendenhall River flood barriers and 2024 flood response after an August 2024 glacial outburst flood damaged roughly 290 residences.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Juneau would shift $4.5 million from barrier construction to repairs and debt

Three of 20 Alaska aviation accidents since July 19 were fatal

Twenty aircraft have crashed in Alaska in eight weeks. Three were fatal. The state's accident rate runs more than twice the national average.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly shelves mayor's homebuyer tax break 11-1

Anchorage Assembly indefinitely postponed a 10-year property-tax exemption for first-time buyers of newly built homes on an 11-1 vote, with members questioning the proposal's target and who would benefit.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage's new-home tax break would reach pricier houses under a revision

Anchorage housing overlay hearing carries to Oct. 6 after divided testimony

Anchorage heard nearly 90 minutes of divided housing testimony, then ran out of time. The 30,000-parcel overlay returns Oct. 6

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage wants 10,000 homes. Its zoning fight is over where they can fit.

An Anchorage firm will run Job Corps in the South Bronx and Brooklyn

The Labor Department tried to shut down Job Corps last year and lost in court. Now it's signing new contracts, and an Anchorage firm got two in New York City.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Bethel council to vote Sept. 22 on paying utilities for Atsaq Place supportive housing

Bethel City Council votes Sept. 22 on paying water, sewer and waste utilities for Atsaq Place supportive housing, a 24-unit shelter for people experiencing homelessness.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A fishing advocate warns Kenai over an undersea Cook Inlet data center

A fishing advocate told the Kenai council the federal application for an undersea data center off Nikiski has no thermal modeling, in endangered beluga habitat.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Massachusetts firm seeks study permit for a 66-pod undersea data center in Cook Inlet

Cordova's winter ferry hope hinges on a Whittier dock question

Cordova Mayor Kristin Smith plans to meet with Alaska's transportation commissioner Tuesday to discuss winter ferry service and road safety issues.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su picks a pricier road route over its advisors and landowners

Mat-Su picked a $21–31 million road route over a $9–10 million one, against every advisory body and landowners who won't sell, on a vote that first failed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska towns can build housing with this grant now, up to a point

Alaska communities can finally use block grant money to build housing. The most any one of them could put toward construction is about $170,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Two men die in a plane crash near Aniak, Troopers say

Two men were killed when a small plane crashed after taking off from a moose camp near Aniak, Alaska State Troopers said.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Childcare center at downtown Anchorage church set to open Oct. 1 with municipal funding

Alaska's first worker-run childcare center opens in downtown Anchorage next month, with room for 82 kids and $200,000 in marijuana tax money behind it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

ConocoPhillips' Disclosed Alaska Royalties Fell 58% in Two Years

ConocoPhillips paid $37.97 million in royalties on its federal Alaska leases last year, down 58 percent from 2023, partly on lower oil prices.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage police launch phased pre-arrest deflection pilot Sept. 23

Anchorage's deflection pilot begins Sept. 23. Police make the referral, True North handles navigation and community providers deliver treatment.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

BBNC seeks permanent Bristol Bay protections as Alaska challenges EPA's Pebble restrictions

BBNC wants Congress to protect Bristol Bay permanently as Alaska challenges the EPA's narrower Pebble restrictions in a consolidated federal case.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A House committee cited Alaska while advancing a drilling bill for elsewhere

A House committee voted to drop federal drilling permits on 4 million acres. None are in Alaska, but the chairman held up Alaska as the model.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

AIDEA will discuss the Ambler road in Kotzebue, with the public out

AIDEA's board will talk about the Ambler road in Kotzebue next week, behind closed doors. The public portion covers meeting dates and a conference.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Two Anchorage men patented a plier jaw built to stop slipping

Two Anchorage men just patented a plier jaw with V-shaped teeth meant to stop tools slipping off rounded hardware. No company, no product, just the patent.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

A hiring fair comes to the Fairbanks Job Center on Thursday

Job seekers can meet retail, grocery, restaurant and banking employers at a hiring fair Thursday at the Fairbanks Job Center, 11 am to 3 pm.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Air taxi operators said they overpaid. Juneau is redoing its fees.

Juneau's airport would cut fuel fees by two-thirds and raise landing fees, after air taxi operators said a 2019 error had them overpaying for years.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Van Horn Road is closed at University Avenue with no detour posted

an Horn Road is closed at University Avenue in Fairbanks for paving, with no detour and no reopening time. The state's alert can't decide which road is shut.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Housing on the Tozier Tract would likely close off a planned road

Opening a Tudor Road parcel to housing would probably kill a road connection the city has planned for years. The state planner said so and did not object.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage's own campground isn't allowed under its park zoning

Anchorage's 84-site Centennial campground isn't permitted under the city's own park zoning. A proposed fix would legalize what's already there.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Three outhouses east of Cordova, and a $1 million to $5 million estimate

The Forest Service wants three outhouses replaced near Cordova, plus picnic shelters and camping pads. It estimates the job at $1 million to $5 million.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Cordova's only ATV trail gets fixed, once the ground freezes

Cordova's only managed ATV trail is eroding into the river, and the repair cannot start until the ground freezes solid for five straight days.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read