Economy & Business

Hilcorp says the North Slope is running short of gravel and wants a new mine

Hilcorp is seeking state approval for a 64-acre gravel mine seven miles northwest of Deadhorse, with public comment due Sept. 28, as the company's existing North Slope gravel sources run low.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 28

A housing-zoning fix has stalled for months before Anchorage's appeals board

A housing-zoning fix has stalled before Anchorage's appeals board since spring — set aside twice — even as the administration pushes housing as a priority.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago3 min readFrom Jun 11

Follows: Anchorage's planning director could approve bigger encroachments alone

ConocoPhillips drilled in the NPR-A this winter and has not said what it found

ConocoPhillips drilled multiple wells in the NPR-A this winter and added $104 million to costs it has not resolved. It has not said what it found.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 31

USDA's Rural Housing Service awards $1.35 million cybersecurity contract to Anchorage's Koniag IT Systems

Kodiak's regional corporation has built a federal contracting arm holding well over $150 million in work, from immigration records to Pentagon cybersecurity.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

An Alaska village-owned firm services a Queens federal building

A company owned by four small interior Alaska villages is keeping the AC running at a Queens federal building that mails Social Security checks to millions.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years, with comments due Sept. 11

Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years at no cost to the state, with public comments due Sept. 11.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Juneau grants pay up to $13,500 to add a second unit, and a contractor list is coming

Juneau is offering homeowners up to $13,500 grants to build accessory dwelling units, with 16 awards available annually.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Juneau gathers its senior-housing help into one guide

Homer economic commission to finalize short-term rental recommendation to City Council

Homer's Economic Development Advisory Commission finalizes a short-term rental recommendation to City Council on Tuesday after a five-month review.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

NIH gives Anchorage's Olgoonik $5.1 million in three uncompeted contracts

NIH awarded Olgoonik General $5.1 million this month for maintenance at its Bethesda campus under a no-bid program for Alaska Native firms.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Coast Guard awards Anchorage firm $1.7 million amid 8(a) freeze

Anchorage-based Old Harbor Solutions, an Alaska Native Corporation-owned firm, won two Coast Guard contracts worth $1.71 million for administrative and logistics support through 2027.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks' utility is writing down when it would start turning off your power

Fairbanks' electric co-op is writing rules for when it would start rotating outages. It has run short on reserve power 236 of the last 250 days.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak's hospital runs on power switches nobody makes parts for anymore

The power switches at Kodiak's hospital are 27 years old and out of production. Crews scavenge parts from other sites. The borough is now replacing them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Jun 29

The White House wanted the Denali Commission closed, and it grew instead

The White House proposed closing the Denali Commission. Congress funded it, and the agency ended up administering money many times its own budget.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom Jan 22

Juneau bought two fire trucks. Passengers will pay for them until 2035.

Juneau's airport wants to charge passengers through 2035, with 40 percent of the money going to two fire trucks it has already bought.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Hertz leaves Juneau airport Sept. 30, and three rental counters stay

Hertz ends car rentals at Juneau airport Sept. 30, freeing terminal space the airport will seek to fill through a competitive bid process.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Juneau is weighing its first cap on whale watch operators

Juneau has never capped its whale watch fleet. The task force weighing whether to start is the same one weighing cruise ship passenger limits.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

ENSTAR wants to raise most gas hookup charges in Southcentral Alaska in 2027

ENSTAR wants to raise most natural gas hookup charges in Southcentral Alaska in 2027, with the basic service-line fee up about $46 and higher meter costs.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Bids open for flights to seven roadless Alaska communities

The federal government is taking bids for subsidized air service to seven Alaska communities, with deadlines ranging from October through early 2027, as the per-passenger subsidy cap drops to $850.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Federal orders reach Alaska's beef labeling and processing gaps

Alaska has 19,000 cattle, and just 772 went through federally inspected plants here last year. Two executive orders take up labeling and processing.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Sitka's Assembly takes up how to pay for child care

Sitka's Assembly takes up a possible child care funding source Tuesday. A survey found most parents struggle to find care and employers are feeling it too.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Homer Electric reports $2.2 million June operating loss as purchased power costs run over budget

Homer Electric lost $2.2 million in June as purchased power costs ran over budget, pushing year-to-date margins $1 million below target.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 11

A proposed rule would cut years of NPR-A oil review down to 60 days

Building an oil site in the NPR-A takes years of review. A proposed rule makes it 60 days for anything within 25 miles of existing infrastructure.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read

Registration opens for Oct. 12-13 Employment First Conference in Anchorage

Alaska's Employment First Conference opens registration for Oct. 12-13 in Anchorage, with scholarship tickets available for those needing reduced rates.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Rural Alaska's internet funding is changing hands as an old federal program ends

The federal program funding phone and internet in remote Alaska is ending, and three co-ops just drew some of its last payments — $14.86 million.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

West Tudor Road down a lane each way through Sunday for asphalt patching

West Tudor Road near Cambridge Way loses a left lane each way through Sunday for asphalt patching — the latest closure on a road with bigger safety problems.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Denali's new bridge is finished, and buses still cannot cross it until 2027

Denali's Pretty Rocks bridge is finished, years later than promised. Buses still will not reach Wonder Lake or Kantishna until the 2027 season.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Follows: The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind, new permits suggest

Metlakatla wins federal money to protect the hydro plant its island runs on

Metlakatla, Alaska's only Native reserve, gets $166,000 to protect the aging hydro plant its island depends on — a power source strained as its lakes run low.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

GCI is buying the only fiber link connecting Alaska's Arctic coast to the state

GCI, Alaska's biggest telecom, is buying the only wired link between the Arctic coast and the rest of the state for $310 million, a route rivals depend on.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Graphite Creek permit decision pushed to September 2027

The Army Corps of Engineers delayed the Graphite Creek mine permit to September 2027 and upgraded the review to a full environmental impact statement.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Kaktovik leaders back 1002 Area development and press AIDEA to weigh local knowledge

Kaktovik leaders told AIDEA board members that oil and gas decisions in the Arctic refuge's 1002 Area must include local residents and traditional knowledge, not just outside voices.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Planners urged cutting the overlay's R-1 height break. The sponsors kept it.

Anchorage planning staff told the sponsors of a housing overlay to drop its special height rules for single-family zones. The sponsors kept them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Juneau Hydropower asks FERC for two more years to start Sweetheart Lake dam

Juneau Hydropower asked federal regulators to delay the Sweetheart Lake dam completion deadline by two years, to September 2031.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

DOT&PF opens bidding to resurface Glacier Highway from Juneau's ferry terminal to South Lena

Alaska DOT&PF opened bidding to resurface 2.4 miles of Glacier Highway between Juneau's ferry terminal and South Lena, with $8.8 million in federal funding and work planned to start in August.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Cordova wary as pipeline operator seeks a fast-tracked 30-year renewal

Alyeska seeks early renewal of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline permit with a faster review. Cordova wants a shorter term and money set aside to decommission aging infrastructure.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Cordova raises its tax on rooms, rentals and alcohol to 14 percent

Cordova raised its tax on hotel rooms, alcohol, tobacco and rentals to 14 percent, and pulled boat rentals into it. Collections are running behind last year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The Permanent Fund wants $215 million to run itself

The Permanent Fund wants $215.4 million to run itself next year, three-quarters of it going to the outside firms that manage the money.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Northrim's Oregon deal is on the record. The approvals are not.

Northrim's $167.3 million Oregon bank purchase is on the record, and none of the four regulatory approvals it needs has surfaced publicly.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A power surcharge in Manley Hot Springs would nearly triple

The fuel surcharge on Manley Hot Springs electric bills would nearly triple under a new filing, while state rural power assistance stays where it is.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A fourplex would install no landscaping under this Anchorage ordinance

A builder putting four homes on an Anchorage lot would install no landscaped buffer under an ordinance up for public hearing Oct. 6.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Extending the Coastal Trail north may take a land deal, not an easement

Anchorage wants to extend the Coastal Trail north across Eklutna land. The corporation would rather sell or trade than grant an easement, citing trespassers.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read