Economy & Business

Port of Alaska seeks road realignment for Chugach Electric substation

Anchorage Platting Board will vote Wednesday on letting the Port of Alaska shift an unbuilt road so Chugach Electric can build a power substation on port land.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A rural Alaska phone company says a subsidy cut costs $185 per connection

Alaska Power & Telephone told the FCC that ending a rural subsidy would cost the company $1.1 million yearly across its 40 remote communities.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Homer's zoning rewrite gets its first public hearing Wednesday

Homer's Planning Commission takes testimony Wednesday on a zoning rewrite. An earlier draft drew 905 comments and two petitions with about 600 signatures.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Why the Coast Guard is paying a Homer helicopter company to reach roadless villages

The Coast Guard is paying a Homer helicopter company $345,000 to fly inspectors to roadless Alaska villages to reach the fuel facilities it regulates.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Comment open on Pilot Station Airport permit for mail-delivery ATV storage

Alaska transportation department is seeking public comment on a five-year permit to store a mail-delivery ATV in a shipping container at Pilot Station Airport, with annual rent around $676.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

Comment closes Thursday on 18-year rent-free FAA lease at Chenega Bay Airport

Alaska is deciding whether to give the FAA an 18-year rent-free lease for weather equipment at Chenega Bay Airport. Comments close Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Federal grant of $1.63 million funds Muddy Creek bridge on the Glenn Highway

Federal Highway Administration awarded Alaska DOT 1.63 million dollars to replace a seasonal culvert with a bridge at Muddy Creek on the Glenn Highway near Milepost 94.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Hilcorp wants to fill 95 acres of Arctic wetlands for a gravel mine — comment by Sept. 4

Hilcorp wants to fill about 95 acres of Arctic tundra wetlands near Prudhoe Bay for a gravel mine, with no offset for the loss. Comment is open until Sept. 4.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage weighs selling city land for housing by units built, not just the highest bid

Anchorage would rank housing density and affordability over sale price when selling city land, prioritizing multifamily projects and permanently affordable housing over highest bidder.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks votes Sept. 3 on a $699,500 indoor playground contract

Fairbanks votes Sept. 3 on a $699,500 contract for an indoor playground built for all abilities and ages. The project has already slipped a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

An Anchorage firm fell to six employees and built itself back up

ASCI Federal Services fell from 125 employees to six, then rebuilt to nearly 50 and grew its annual revenue from $1.4 million to almost $8 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

AIDEA commits $25 million to drill under the West Susitna road

AIDEA committed up to $25 million to drill under a road with no buildable design yet, and its resolution names the three resource projects it would serve.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Wright and Dunleavy insist the Alaska LNG project is alive

At an Anchorage conference, the U.S. energy secretary and Gov. Dunleavy insisted the stalled Alaska LNG project is alive, pointing at different obstacles.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Sullivan and Peltola clash in a combative first forum, previewing a bitter Senate race

Sullivan and Peltola clashed sharply in their first post-primary forum, trading shots over Willow, their records and who's really on Alaska's side.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's first boat is getting a refit

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's original boat, the MV Prince of Wales, is getting a $658,041 refit. It has been the backup since the Stikine took over.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Federal grant of $545,820 funds Geist Road and Chena Pump Road corridor study

Fairbanks will study Geist Road and Chena Pump Road with a $545,820 federal grant to identify safety improvements on a corridor flagged for high crash rates and pedestrian-bicycle conflicts.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, above and below

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, for the aircraft passing above them and the boats passing below. The whole project costs $170,000.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage may let its planning director redraw wetland maps as wetlands shift and dry up

Anchorage may let its planning director redraw wetland maps as wetlands shift and dry up — a faster fix in a city with thousands of acres of wetlands.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Hecla is hiring for six jobs at the Greens Creek mine near Juneau

Hecla is hiring for six jobs at Greens Creek, the round-the-clock silver mine on Admiralty Island near Juneau — from mining engineer to mill operator.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A vehicle fire shut a Richardson Highway lane Thursday morning

A burning vehicle shut a lane of the Richardson Highway near mile 349 Thursday morning, drawing police and ambulance crews inside an active work zone.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Wasilla company sweeps a Detroit dock and runs five border ports

A Wasilla company is getting $3,419 to sweep a Detroit loading dock. It also cleans four federal buildings there and runs five border ports in California.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Three Merbok-damaged stretches of the Nome-Council Highway are finally getting permanent repairs

Federal grants totaling $2.4 million will repair three stretches of the Nome-Council Highway damaged by ex-typhoon Merbok in 2022, with work running through April 2028.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

An Interior Alaska village company maintains a Boston courthouse

A company owned by four Koyukuk River villages maintains a federal courthouse in Boston. This month it fixed the boilers, a heat pump and the drains.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Alaska's transmission tariff would grandfather 11 existing agreements

Alaska created a body to end the tolls utilities charge each other for moving power. Its plan would leave 11 existing agreements in place indefinitely.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Chugach wants another cent for the gas it sells to itself

Chugach wants to raise the price it charges itself for its own gas to $8.14. It was $2.73 in early 2021, and surcharges are driving the climb.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Four killed in Piper crash in Seldovia Slough; NTSB investigating

All four people aboard a small plane died Wednesday when it crashed into the water near Seldovia, the second fatal plane crash in Alaska in less than a week.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The pipeline's owners want another 30 years, seven years before they have to ask

The trans-Alaska pipeline's owners want another 30 years on federal land, seven years before they need to ask. Scoping comment closes Sept. 10.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A Juneau task force wants congestion data to support limiting cruise calls

A Juneau task force wants a congestion study, partly to support a case for limiting cruise ship port calls. A cap ordinance is already pending.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Juneau's task force weighs crowding fixes amid a bigger question on how much tourism is enough

Juneau task force weighs reviving 2001 heliport study that projected 6,037 homes out of noise corridors

Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force will decide Thursday whether to update a 2001 study that found moving helicopter tours could remove 6,037 homes from noise corridors.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

A Native corporation's cleanup arm is monitoring a fuel spill in the Sound

A cleanup arm of Alaska Native corporation Calista won an FAA contract to monitor a former diesel spill and buried dump site in Prince William Sound.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A tiny Copper River village corporation is quietly renovating federal courthouses across Tennessee

A company owned by tiny Chitina Native Corporation, from a Copper River dipnetting town of about 260 shareholders, is racking up federal courthouse renovation jobs across Tennessee.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild goes to public comment Sept. 22

The state wants to rebuild 20 miles of the Seward Highway as a four-lane divided road for more than $1.5 billion. Public comment opens Sept. 22.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: A $1.5 billion Seward Highway plan pits safety against the Turnagain Arm viewshed

State begins emergency repairs at Skagway ferry terminal with no reopening date

Skagway still has no state ferry service and no reopening date as crews race emergency repairs on its cracked ferry terminal, with chain work set this weekend.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

A crash closed a lane of the Seward Highway on Wednesday afternoon

A crash closed a southbound lane of the Seward Highway at Mile 24.5 on Wednesday afternoon. Law enforcement directed traffic, and no injuries were reported.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage permits more housing than last year, but from a near-record low

Anchorage permitted more housing this year than in 2024 or 2025, the mayor says — but those were near-record lows, still far below its 1,000-a-year target.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Heads up, Sitka flyers: the airport's pre-security restrooms close for six weeks in September

Sitka's airport closes its pre-security restrooms for about six weeks starting in September for a remodel — part of a $40M terminal expansion. Temporary restrooms will sit outside in the loading zone.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Nikiski inventor patents heated tailgate to keep drill slurry from freezing

A Nikiski oilfield-services president earned a patent for a heated tank door that keeps drilling waste from freezing before crews can dump it.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

Alaska electricity prices eased in June, but not for households

Alaska's overall electricity price dropped in June, but the savings went almost entirely to industry while residential bills stayed flat and are still higher than last year.

by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage's proposed tax break caps at $497,000. New homes average $750,000.

A first-time buyer of a new Anchorage home could skip property tax for 10 years, if it sells under about $497,000. New builds average near $750,000.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly weighs 10-year tax break for condos above shops and offices

Eagle River lot could shed 2002 limits at a Sept. 15 hearing

Anchorage Assembly will hear Sept. 15 whether to remove 2002 building limits from a 1.04-acre Eagle River commercial lot, allowing broader business use.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read