Economy & Business
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Coeur Alaska's Berners Bay dock got federal approval for pile driving
Coeur Alaska got federal approval to disturb marine mammals during dock repairs at Berners Bay — one of Southeast Alaska's richest bays.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on downtown sidewalk and ADA repairs
Anchorage Assembly votes Monday on a $1.77 million contract to repair crumbling downtown sidewalks and fix curb ramps that don't meet federal accessibility rules.

Anchorage Assembly considers $1.75M federal grant to replace port's 1960s electrical system
Anchorage Assembly considered a $1.75 million federal grant to replace the Port of Alaska's 1960s electrical system, but the port must find $33.25 million more for the $35 million project.

Pilot killed in Piper Pacer crash 40 miles southeast of Cordova
A pilot flying solo between Yakutat and Fairbanks was found dead Friday after an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter located the crashed Piper Pacer near Kanak Island, about 40 miles southeast of Cordova.

Alaska Senate passes S-corp LNG tax with 2028 effective date
Alaska Senate passed a tax on oil and gas pass-through entities, effective 2028, after rejecting an immediate start date. The state estimates the tax will recover more than $400 million annually once the LNG project reaches full production.

Senate passes gas-line bill; Dunleavy immediately calls lawmakers back to rewrite it
Special session concludes without passage of a gasline bill, and now the question is if this is an end to negotiations or if they'll continue tomorrow. The Governor thinks they're close.

Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on an $859K Eklutna River study
The Anchorage Assembly's $859K Eklutna study isn't a small procurement — it's part of a decades-long fight over fish, hydropower, and tribal claims.

Tidal energy permit application opens in Isanotski Strait near False Pass
Tidal energy permit in Isanotski Strait. Small ask. Alaska has the biggest U.S. tidal resource, and Cook Inlet gas is running down.

Dunleavy called a second special session over the unresolved LNG tax bill
Long Friday in Juneau: LNG tax bill stuck, second special session called, two vetoes overridden, three failed. Round three starts Saturday.

A new Mat-Su road would cross the ground its drinking water comes from
The Mat-Su drinks only groundwater — and keeps building over it. A new road would cross two drinking-water zones near a creek with a known PFAS problem.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $76M Eagle River road deal with sole bidder
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on a $76 million road maintenance contract for Eagle River, Chugiak, and Birchwood with McKenna Brothers, the only bidder.

UIC just crossed $1 billion in revenue — a milestone almost no village corp reaches
UIC just crossed $1 billion in revenue. Almost no Alaska Native village corporation gets there.

Juneau moves to extend its seawalk to the farthest cruise dock
Juneau's spent 20 years building a waterfront path it still can't finish. Now it wants the stretch to the far cruise dock. Mind the gap.

Juneau clerk certifies 1% seasonal sales tax petition, Assembly has 45 days to act
Juneau citizens got a 1% seasonal sales tax to the brink of the ballot. The Assembly has 45 days to pass it or let voters do it.

Interior Alaska Native groups set aside a day to repair elders' homes — and couldn't meet the demand
Bit off more than we could chew, how about you?

Anchorage seeks $3.5M for plow operators, contracts toward 72-hour standard
Anchorage Assembly will vote June 23 on $3.5 million to hire seven plow operators and expand contracted snow removal, aiming to clear all municipal roads within 72 hours after storms.

Anchorage Assembly will vote June 23 on $214,684 for a pedestrian safety campaign
Anchorage is getting $214K in federal money for pedestrian safety outreach. The city's pedestrian fatality numbers say, maybe it's overdue?

Chugach Electric wants perpetual easements through two Anchorage parks
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on giving Chugach Electric permanent easements through Russian Jack Springs Park and Ira Walker Park to bury aging power lines, affecting nearly 50,000 square feet of parkland at no cost to the city.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $11M Port construction management deal
Anchorage votes June 23 on $11M in Port engineering contracts. The Port handles 90% of Alaska's freight, so worth a look.

Anchorage Assembly to vote June 23 on 5 labor agreements across 4 unions
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on five labor agreements with four unions that relax holiday pay eligibility and add benefits including a steward position and parental leave updates.

MEA is building a 40-acre substation in Meadow Lakes for Mat-Su's growing grid
Mat-Su is getting a 40-acre substation in Meadow Lakes — major infrastructure for the fastest-growing Alaska region. Take that, Anchorage!

Kodiak Borough OKs Water Upgrade for Village of Karluk
Kodiak Island Borough Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a water treatment upgrade for the Native Village of Karluk, adding storage and lines for year-round drinking water.

Chugach and Glenfarne Alaska LNG signed a non-binding LOI — a step, not a contract
Chugach and Glenfarne signed a non-binding letter of intent. The pipeline still hasn't broken ground. One of many Chugach hedges.

Alaska Senate minority demands clean floor vote on LNG tax bill
Alaska Senate Republicans demanded a floor vote on HB 381, the LNG volumetric tax bill, without amendments. • The majority has not said whether it will attach an S-corporation tax provision the minority opposes. • Minority senators cited lower energy costs as the project's main public benefit for Alaskans.

Chugach is pursuing four hydroelectric projects to hedge against Cook Inlet gas decline
Chugach's gas-to-renewables shift has its first concrete entries: four hydro projects on four Southcentral creeks, 52 MW total.

Alaska's biggest utility may start importing the gas its own region once exported
Then on the sixth day, god said: "Let there be LNG" And it was goooooood

Anchorage homeless residents tell Assembly: shelters worse than jail
Two sets of lived experience meet at Anchorage's homelessness debate: those in shelters and those who watched encampments grow.

True North dropped crisis services from Fairview plan after months of pushback
Fairview pushed back. True North revised. No more crisis services in the Fairview building — outpatient and a mobile van instead.

Alyeska Seeks Land to Armor the Pipeline Against Floods
Alyeska wants more North Slope land to wall the pipeline off from flooding — the same week the rivers are rising, and a year after the Sag took out the Dalton Highway for real.

Two Anchorage housing votes on June 23: a tax break and new fees on the same new homes
Anchorage's June 23: a tax break for starter-home buyers, plus new utility fees on the same construction. The math depends on builders.

Anchorage Assembly weighs $254K economic development grant to AEDC
The Anchorage Assembly will vote on a $254,000 grant to the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation to fund economic development work through 2026, including a federal economic strategy.

Anchorage Assembly to vote June 23 on $2.57M in HUD housing grants
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on a $2.57 million federal housing grant plan, but more than $1.2 million has no specific projects assigned yet and will be decided later.

Teller pressed Graphite One on subsistence risks at the Graphite Creek mine
Teller residents pressed Graphite One on subsistence risks from the proposed Graphite Creek mine at a June 2026 meeting, raising concerns about caribou, fish, and marine mammal impacts. • Community members questioned spill response plans, dust and traffic in harvesting areas, and how the company would enforce hiring and revenue commitments rather than merely promise them. • The company met privately with Native entities before the public meeting, a sequencing that drew scrutiny from attendees.

Murkowski and Sullivan split on a motion to discharge an Iran War Powers Resolution
Iran War Powers Resolution: Murkowski yes, Sullivan no. The 2020 version went the same way. Pattern noted.

Alaska AFL-CIO endorsed Peltola for Senate and Hill for House Wednesday
Alaska AFL-CIO endorsed Peltola and Hill. The federation traditionally goes Democratic. The other side wasn't asked.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $1.35M in supportive housing grants
Five Anchorage nonprofits would split $1.35M for supportive housing on June 23. The pandemic-era funding clock is still ticking.

Ben Eielson High lab rebuild is part of Eielson AFB's F-35-era buildout
Army Corps of Engineers is upgrading science labs at Ben Eielson High School with new propane safety controls, part of a decade-long federal buildout tied to the base's role as a primary F-35 fighter hub for the Pacific region.

Senate Finance presses Alaska LNG spur line: who builds, who pays, who regulates
Senate Finance gets into the numbers of the LNG line in a hot and spicy day of meetings

Alaska DOT&PF Awards $2.2M to 15 Trail Projects Statewide
Trail fail? No. Trail $2m bail out.

Anchorage Press plans return, with Northern Journal folding into revived paper
Nathaniel Herz and Veri di Suvero are reviving the Anchorage Press, an alternative weekly that closed years ago, by folding Northern Journal into it and launching a print edition this fall with arts, culture and Alaska politics coverage.
