Economy & Business

Federal agency seeks bids to replace a Far North Bicentennial Park trail bridge

The feds want bids by Dec. 1 to replace the North Gasline Trail bridge over Campbell Creek in Far North Bicentennial Park and add wetland boardwalks.

by Alaska News1w ago1 min read

Defense Department official who toured JBER dorms says poor housing drains readiness

A top Defense Department official says moldy, leaky base housing hurts readiness. The department illustrated his speech with a photo from his JBER dorm tour.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read

Coast Guard's top enlisted leader tells Congress he's unfamiliar with any housing bonus plan

Asked about a housing bonus for Coast Guard members in pricey posts like Sitka, the service's top enlisted member told Congress he hadn't heard of one.

by Alaska News1w ago2 min readFrom Sep 16

Volland proposes a task force to streamline Anchorage permitting

Volland wants a task force of builders and others to streamline permitting. A builder says one permit took 9 months; some neighborhood groups want more review.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

East Anchorage Assembly member proposes free People Mover rides for enrolled students 18 and older

An East Anchorage Assembly member wants students who've turned 18 to keep riding People Mover free. Fares covered about a tenth of bus costs in 2024.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly leaders propose keeping multifamily design rules on hold through 2035

Anchorage Assembly leaders want to keep design rules for new apartments and townhouses on hold through 2035, more than seven years past the current end date.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage water utility pulls a well after PFAS tests exceed a proposed standard

AWWU pulled an Anchorage Bowl well after tests found "forever chemicals" above a proposed standard. Most city water comes from Eklutna, where tests found none.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Coast Guard orders $113.7 million water line replacement at Base Kodiak

The Coast Guard ordered $113.7 million in work to replace water lines at Base Kodiak, whose aging system supplies all its drinking and firefighting water.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read

Kodiak man dies after Cessna 185 crashes and sinks in Afognak Island's Blue Fox Bay

Troopers named James Osowski, 33, of Kodiak as the man killed when a Cessna 185 crashed and sank in Blue Fox Bay on Afognak Island Oct. 20. Two others got out.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage optimistic about new contract for bus operators and garbage crews

City Hall says it's optimistic about a new contract for Anchorage's bus operators and garbage crews. The old one runs out Dec. 31. What's on the table? Unsaid.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage-based Koniag company does cybersecurity work for nuclear weapons agency

A Koniag company in Anchorage does cybersecurity work for the agency that maintains America's nuclear weapons. The feds just added another $4.7 million.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read

State plans $5.2 million roundabout at Sheep Creek Road and West Tanana Drive near UAF

Fairbanks drivers who stop to turn left off Sheep Creek Road near UAF could get a roundabout instead. The state's $5.2 million plan is open for comment.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Sitka planning staff recommend denying courthouse move to Sheldon Jackson campus

Sitka planning staff recommend denying the court system's plan to move the courthouse beside a playground and youth camp. The state already funded the purchase.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 23

Few Alaska households just above the poverty line got SNAP in 2024, United Way report says

Only 18% of Alaska households that earn too much to count as poor but too little to cover the basics got SNAP in 2024, a United Way report says.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State approves 25-year renewal of College Road lease, with rent to reset to market value

The state approved renewing the 1971 lease under the Alaska Fun Center on College Road for 25 years. The rent, about $4,000 a year, will reset to market value.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

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

Kenai's city attorney says the city owns the underground space the state wants to lease to ENSTAR for gas storage, and that ignoring that could delay it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: State proposes giving ENSTAR, not Hilcorp, a lease to store natural gas beneath Kenai

Richardson Highway ramp to Mitchell Expressway closes Sunday morning in Fairbanks

DOT will fully close the Richardson Highway ramp to the Mitchell Expressway in Fairbanks Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 am to 1 pm. The corridor carries up to 21,800 vehicles a day.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Multiple crashes in Turnagain Pass slow Seward Highway traffic Friday

Several crashes and poor road conditions in Turnagain Pass on the Seward Highway brought emergency crews and delays Friday afternoon, Alaska 511 said.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Scammers stage fake hearings to take money from Spanish-speaking workers, state warns

Scammers posing as lawyers are staging fake hearings with fake judges to squeeze "court fees" from Spanish-speaking workers, Alaska's labor department warns.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Planners back rezone that would let two Anchorage homes be replaced with duplexes

Planners back letting two Ivan Drive homes become duplexes. Current zoning bars duplexes on lots that small, the owners say. The commission weighs in Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Alaska oil nears its highest price since 2008, far above what the state budgeted

Alaska built its budget on $75 oil. North Slope crude hit $129.71 Wednesday, and if prices stay high the state could take in about $1.7 billion extra.

by Alaska News2w ago3 min read

State proposes 320-acre Dalton Highway gravel site near the Ambler road's start

The state wants to open a 320-acre gravel site at Dalton Highway Milepost 165, about four miles from where the Ambler road would start. DOT gets the first load.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Contractor barged in whole plants to repair King Salmon's military airfield

No road to King Salmon, so a North Pole contractor barged in its own asphalt, concrete and rock-crushing plants to repair the military side of the airport.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Alaska's state farmland auction draws 55 bids on 19 parcels

Bidders offered $1.17 million for 17 state farm parcels near Nenana and Anchor Point. Now they have five years to make half the cropland farmable, or no title.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Forest Service gives shipyards another week to bid on its Tongass floating barracks

The Forest Service gave shipyards until Nov. 6 to bid on hauling out and repainting the Misty, a 1979 floating barracks. It needs hull work every five years.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read

Regulators let Alaska Power Company waive reconnection charges after natural disasters

Regulators approved letting Alaska Power Company waive reconnection fees and months of back charges for customers whose power a natural disaster knocked out.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Kodiak wins $26 million for St. Herman Harbor but is still $45 million short

Kodiak won about $26 million to rebuild part of St. Herman Harbor, where 1982 floats are failing. It's still about $45 million short of a new harbor.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Kodiak's new trash contract would raise business dumpster rates up to 43%

Kodiak businesses could pay up to 43% more for dumpsters under a new Alaska Waste contract, while home roll carts would rise 5%. The Assembly votes Nov. 5.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Juneau manager seeks Tlingit & Haida partnership to house Coast Guard crews

Juneau's city manager says the icebreaker Storis won't make Juneau home without housing. She wants to team up with Tlingit & Haida to open land at Kowee Creek.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly to weigh how it will pick a developer for Telephone Hill housing

Juneau is about to go shopping for a developer to put up to 155 homes on Telephone Hill. The Assembly gets one shot Monday at changing how it picks.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Cordova budget leaves water crew a worker short as it plans a Heney line rebuild

Cordova's water crew hiked in again and again to find at least five breaks in the Heney line. Next year's budget leaves it a worker short for a bigger fix.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Juneau assessor trims contested Glacier Highway value but says it appears undervalued

Juneau's assessor trimmed a Glacier Highway property's value by $217,500 after seeing its rent roll, but says the property still appears undervalued.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fairbanks planning staff back data center pause and urge a 40,000-square-foot threshold

Fairbanks borough planners back the mayor's pause on big data centers and want it to reach smaller ones, starting at 40,000 square feet instead of 50,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Fairbanks borough mayor proposes pause on large data center permits through 2027

North Pole needs $3.5 million to move its sewage outfall before daily fines start

After 13 or 14 years of back-and-forth with the state, North Pole must find $3.5 million to move its sewage outfall in about 3.5 years or face daily fines.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Haines Assembly will start weighing two bids to run its cruise dock Nov. 17

Two companies want to run Haines' cruise dock for up to 35 years. The Assembly will start comparing them Nov. 17 but has no date to pick one, if either.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Follows: Huna Totem group and a global port operator bid to run Haines' cruise dock

State approves APA's plan for two winter exploration wells near Badami

The state approved APA's plan for two winter exploration wells near Badami, reached by 58 miles of ice road. APA has also agreed to buy Badami's operator.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage homes can now be framed with lumber graded at Alaska sawmills

Anchorage builders can now frame homes with Alaska wood graded by the sawmill that cut it, an alternative to stamped lumber from Canada and the Northwest.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Kenai parks commission to weigh dropping park status from Ahlstrom Park lot

Kenai wants to drop the park label from a 2.32-acre lot to help redraw a 1955 subdivision with largely unbuilt roads for homes. Parks panel weighs in Nov. 5.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

State plans to sell DOT 50,000 cubic yards of rock from a Lowe River quarry

DOT wants 50,000 cubic yards of rock from a Lowe River quarry near Keystone Canyon. When it opened for Alyeska in 1983, some rocks came out 10 feet across.

by Alaska News2w ago2 min read

State to show Kodiak residents options for replacing two cracked bridges

Two cracked bridges are the only road link between Kodiak and a neighborhood of about 800 beyond Womens Bay. The state shows replacement options Nov. 18.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read