Economy & Business

Palmer planners pick four downtown goals from a parking study instead of adopting it

Palmer planners passed on adopting a consultant's parking study and picked four goals instead, from safer walking to a 15 to 20 mph downtown speed limit.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State moves to add land to pipeline lease for rock piles to guard against the Sag River

The state proposed adding 26 acres along the Sagavanirktok River to the pipeline's lease so Alyeska can place rock piles up to a half-mile long by the line.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State gives final OK to dropping two public easements on a Harding Lake lot

DNR finalized the Sampsons' bid to vacate two public easements on their Harding Lake lot. A 50-foot utility strip stays, and a final survey plat is due in two years.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Serve Alaska seeks AmeriCorps planning grant applications by Dec. 1

Serve Alaska is taking AmeriCorps planning grant applications through 5 pm Dec. 1. Grants of $50,000 to $60,000 fund a 12 month design period for groups seeking 2027-28 AmeriCorps program money.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min read

Wright Air keeps Lake Minchumina flights for two more years, with a bigger federal subsidy

Wright Air will keep flying Lake Minchumina's federally subsidized route to Fairbanks for two more years. The feds picked it a day before its contract ran out.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

McGrath's air service contract expires Nov. 30, and the feds haven't named a carrier

McGrath's subsidized air service contract expires Nov. 30, and the feds haven't named a carrier from four bids of about $529,000 to $2.4 million a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Graphite One pushes Graphite Creek mine near Nome to 2030, a year later than planned

Graphite One pushed its Graphite Creek mine near Nome to 2030 and its Ohio battery plant to late 2028, about a year later on both, without saying why.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

AIDEA board weighs Wrangell shipyard loans and a stake in Augustine geothermal

AIDEA's board weighs lending Wrangell up to $22.8M for a shipyard and buying up to $10M of a company chasing geothermal power on Augustine volcano.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago3 min read

Palmer planners deny downtown BBQ parking variance on two 3-3 ties

Palmer's planning commission split 3-3 and sank the parking variance Bear Naked BBQ needs downtown. The owner has until Wednesday to appeal.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 15

Hilcorp seeks renewal of its oil spill plan for 12 Cook Inlet platforms

Hilcorp wants the state to renew its oil spill plan for 12 Cook Inlet platforms and two Kenai Peninsula fields. Public comments are open through Dec. 1.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Contango finishes Johnson Tract access road and builds camp pad a year ahead of plan

Contango finished the Johnson Tract access road and camp pad a year early, ahead of planned 2027 work. The project still faces a beluga whale lawsuit loss and a disputed state reclamation approval.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 28

Assembly weighs using $400,000 in Girdwood reserves for Ruane Road culvert

The Anchorage Assembly votes Wednesday on using $400,000 in Girdwood reserves to match a federal grant. This money funds a $2 million project to replace aging culverts with a fish-friendly design.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State regulators approve APA's takeover of Badami pipelines on the eastern North Slope

State regulators OK'd APA's takeover of the Badami pipelines, part of a $70 million North Slope buy APA expects to support its drilling starting this winter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Kansas Guard engineers raise Cordova staging pad 18 feet for a future deep-sea port

Kansas Guard engineers raised a work pad 18 feet and cut trails in Cordova this year for a planned deep-sea port, working with the Native Village of Eyak.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min readFrom Aug 7

Kodiak weighs two plans to rebuild Trident Basin seaplane base around a new dock

A Kodiak floatplane dock shows signs of sinking. The airport board reviews two plans Wednesday to rebuild the Trident Basin seaplane base around a new one.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage road plan keeps contested Seward Highway and downtown rebuilds

Anchorage's draft road plan keeps a $1.6 billion Seward Highway rebuild and a lane-cutting 5th and 6th redo, counting on federal money above the usual share.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kenai votes Wednesday on claiming gas storage space the state wants to lease to ENSTAR

Kenai's council votes Wednesday on claiming gas storage space partly under its airport. The city lost a 2016 court fight over storage rights elsewhere.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai attorney says city owns underground space the state wants to lease for gas storage

Kodiak Assembly to vote on trash deal raising some business rates up to 43%

Kodiak's only bidder for trash service would charge some businesses up to 43% more and raise bulk pickup from $20 to $50. The Assembly votes Thursday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Homer planners approve cabins and commercial buildings with stormwater plans required

Homer planners OK'd eight Lake Street cabins and two Ocean Drive buildings, with stormwater plans required. A neighbor says a planned ditch was never built.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Appeals send both Woodland Subdivision short-term rental permits to Kenai City Council

Both Woodland Subdivision short-term rental permits, approved by Kenai planners Oct. 14, face appeals heading to City Council.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai planners approve two Woodland Subdivision short-term rentals, one 3-2

Cook Inlet Tribal Council seeks a bigger K'teya center for the same $36.5 million

Cook Inlet Tribal Council restarted its builder search for the K'teya center with a bigger building, the same $36.5 million and more for that money to cover.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Northrim still expects its Oregon bank purchase to close around Jan. 1

Northrim told the SEC it still expects to own an Oregon bank around New Year's, its first step outside Alaska. Deal costs ran about $1 million last quarter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Regulators approve ENSTAR plan to borrow MEA's gas to shore up winter storage

Regulators OK'd ENSTAR borrowing MEA's gas from Hilcorp this winter to top off storage. MEA gets it back by 2028, and gas customers cover the cost.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: ENSTAR asks regulators to fast-track a deal to borrow MEA's gas for this winter

Regulators cut Manley Hot Springs power surcharge and let utility count its solar

Manley Hot Springs' power surcharge drops about $43 a month for a typical home, and regulators are letting the utility count the solar power it already makes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly weighs just under $300,000 to help price a trash-burning power plant

The Anchorage Assembly may pay its only bidder just under $300,000 to help price a trash-burning power plant, on top of up to $700,000 it approved to design it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Anchorage Assembly to consider $700,000 to start designing trash-burning power plant

Assembly to weigh a helipad for military helicopters at the Port of Alaska

Anchorage's port could get its own helipad so Army and Air Force helicopters can deploy through it. The Assembly votes Wednesday on a deal worth up to $3.9M.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Windstorm cut power to at least 11,800 Chugach Electric members in Anchorage

Friday's windstorm drove trees into power lines, cutting power to at least 11,800 Chugach Electric members. A few hundred were still out early Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Windstorm gusts hit 70 mph south of Eagle River, cutting power to over 13,500 MEA members

Seward moves toward transferring Jesse Lee orphanage cemetery to the Qutekcak Native Tribe

Seward takes a first step Tuesday toward transferring the Jesse Lee Cemetery, which holds burials from a former orphanage, to the Qutekcak Native Tribe.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Apr 13

Pogo gold mine seeks to fill 9 more acres of wetlands for rock and equipment storage

Pogo gold mine's owner wants to fill 9 more acres of wetlands near the Goodpaster River to make room for waste rock and equipment. Comments are due Dec. 1.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kodiak spaceport looks for a site to make liquid oxygen for rockets from the air

Kodiak's spaceport wants to make its own liquid oxygen for rockets, literally out of thin air, and is looking for engineers to find the best spot for the plant.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Whittier council to discuss buying railroad land in closed session Nov. 17

Whittier wants to buy about 85 acres in town from the Alaska Railroad. The council discusses it behind closed doors Nov. 17, and the price hasn't been released.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 20

Anchorage has gone over a year without a traffic safety coordinator, report says

Anchorage's job for leading its push to cut traffic deaths has sat empty for over a year, a draft report says. Planners take it up Thursday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage planners seek a new look at why traffic deaths haven't dropped

Anchorage planners want a $250,000 look at why traffic deaths haven't dropped, as people walking or biking make up nearly half of those killed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage planners take up a redrawn transportation map as federal deadline nears

Anchorage's transportation planners redrew the map of where they steer federal road money, trailheads and all. The state has to sign off, and Dec. 29 is coming.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Semi and car collide at Parks Highway Mile 186 as a second truck jackknifes

A semi and a car collided Friday night at Mile 186 of the Parks Highway, and a second semi jackknifed avoiding them. All declined medical care, troopers said.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Mental Health Trust OKs old-growth logging above Hollis' historic Wolf Creek Boatworks

The Mental Health Trust approved a timber sale with 800 acres of old growth on the hillside above Prince of Wales' historic Wolf Creek Boatworks.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Alaska Railroad seeks outside IT help, including industrial control system security

The Alaska Railroad wants tech firms on call for eight IT areas, cybersecurity for industrial controls included. Bids due Dec. 9; emailed ones won't count.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read

Anchorage overlay developers would pay full cost of water and sewer extensions, AWWU says

Anchorage's water utility says Missing Middle builders would pay for new water and sewer lines themselves, and the price can change across a street.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago3 min read

Planners say Missing Middle overlay fits Anchorage's comprehensive plan

Anchorage planners say the Missing Middle overlay fits the city's comprehensive plan, a plan they also say contradicts itself. The Assembly gets the final word.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Sales Copilot takes first place at Techstars Startup Weekend in Seward

Sales Copilot won Techstars Startup Weekend in Seward, where six teams got about 50 hours to shape an idea, test it on locals and pitch it to judges.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read