Government
RSSAlaska News tracks coverage of Alaska government including state legislature, municipal assemblies, and state agencies addressing public policy and community.
Anchorage weighs $470,000 no-bid sale of Government Hill lot
Anchorage would sell Chugach a Government Hill lot for $470,000 without taking bids, about $49,000 under what a broker valued it at in June.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage fills a watershed commission seat before its sunset date
Mayor LaFrance appointed wetland delineator Kara Dunham to Anchorage's Watershed Commission, with Assembly confirmation set for Sept. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly to vote Tuesday on $6.7 million wastewater bleach contract with lone bidder
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on a $6.7 million bleach contract with the only bidder, raising the price from $7.96 to $9.96 per gallon for wastewater disinfection.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago2 min read
Mental Health Trust weighs a below-market lease for a youth treatment provider
The Mental Health Trust may lease an Anchorage office to a youth behavioral health nonprofit for $3,266 a year, against market rent near $327,000.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago2 min read
Jai Mahtani is running for the Ketchikan council seat he resigned after a state settlement
Jai Mahtani quit the Ketchikan council two weeks after settling a state case over jewelry sold as Alaskan. He filed on the last day to win the seat back.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage homeowners wanted every big assessment rechecked. They got a narrower fix
Anchorage homeowners who saw assessments jump as much as 40% asked for a do-over. Three Assembly members proposed one. The Assembly passed something smaller.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage wants $202,468 back from the owner of the Big Timber Motel it demolished
Anchorage spent $202,468 tearing down the Big Timber Motel after 14 years of code violations. Now it is trying to get the money back from the owner.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read
State note says AMCO wrongly made Metlakatla gather a liquor petition
State regulators made Metlakatla gather a public-support petition it did not need, an error staff blamed on a database and left noted in the file.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago1 min read
Wasilla golf course seeks state license to serve beer and wine on the course
Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Wasilla wants to pour beer and wine across its grounds, range and deck. The state alcohol board takes it up Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago1 min read
Anchorage wetlands commission faces Oct. 14 sunset unless Assembly reauthorizes it
Anchorage's wetlands commission disappears Oct. 14 unless the Assembly votes to keep it, just as its own recommended wetlands plan update moves forward.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kenai council to hear public testimony Sept. 2 on $75,000 home tax exemption ballot question
Kenai City Council hears public testimony Sept. 2 on a ballot measure that would exempt the first $75,000 of assessed home value from city property tax, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Four signatures clear a liquor store at a remote Alaska fishing lodge
A remote fly-in fishing lodge off Prince of Wales Island wants a guest-only liquor store, and its public approval came from the four people who live nearby.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs surveillance rules 11 months after buying the system
Anchorage approved an $11.8 million surveillance system in 2025 and wrote no rules for it. The Assembly takes up those rules Tuesday, eleven months later.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to waive protest on six marijuana license renewals
Anchorage Assembly will waive objections to six marijuana license renewals for four businesses, clearing the way for state approval by September and October deadlines.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska's marijuana board will decide whether to erase a violation against its chair's own store
The Marijuana Control Board chair's own store is on its September agenda, and the agency's director wants her $100 violation wiped off the record.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Juneau arts council refuses to sign FY27 grant over how $202,000 can be spent
Juneau Arts and Humanities Council rejected its $202,000 city grant over spending rules, wanting to shift money from pass-through grants to staff and youth programming instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sitka's Planning Office will be closed for a full week in September
Sitka Planning Office closes Sept. 8-11 for internal work on code updates and land management, with no walk-in, phone, or email service during those four days.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alcohol board denies a second bar at a Wasilla wedding venue
A Wasilla wedding venue was denied a second plumbed bar because state law requires fixed counters in the same building. The owner plans a rolling bar.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Fairbanks man's fourth liquor license reaches the state board Tuesday, with no store attached
Michael Rasmussen applied to take over a Fairbanks package store liquor license, adding it to three other Alaska alcohol businesses he already owns.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak Island Borough clerk drafts ordinance to tighten Assembly vacancy rules
Kodiak Island Borough Clerk Nova Javier drafted an ordinance requiring Assembly vacancy applicants to certify voter registration, residency, and willingness to file financial disclosures upfront.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Unalaska paid for library internet for three years before the council approved it
Unalaska ran a library internet contract for three years without the council vote its code required. The council approved it this month, going back to 2023.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
AIDEA's board will sign off on refreshing its due diligence fund
AIDEA's board took back authority over a $4.5 million planning fund. The same meeting ran about four hours in executive session on ANWR and Ambler.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State to train home care providers on the record-keeping rules behind recoupment
Alaska is holding an online training for home care providers on record-keeping — the paperwork rules that, done wrong, let the state claw back payments.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's new emergency plan still has no chapter for disease outbreaks
Anchorage's new emergency plan has no communicable disease appendix. The plan lists 34 changes; the memo to the Assembly itemizes none of them.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
In Anchorage, SNAP recipients now face work requirements
Anchorage SNAP recipients now have to meet federal work requirements, while the rest of Alaska is covered by a waiver through October 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage's drone report leaves out the one thing the code requires
Anchorage police have flown drones hundreds of times since 2022. City code says the report must note search warrants. The report has no warrant column.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Utqiagvik council weighs finance and executive director appointments
The Utqiagvik City Council will vote Thursday on new appointments for two top administrative offices, a finance director and an executive director, with no explanation given in the agenda for the changes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Anchorage Assembly may audit every member's spending
The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on auditing every member spending account back to 2023. The review seeks to identify potential inconsistencies in how members use their annual budgets.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Utqiaġvik hears a marijuana tax rise from 8% to 10% tonight, and voters decide Oct. 6
Utqiaġvik City Council hears a proposal tonight to raise the marijuana sales tax from 8% to 10%, with voters deciding Oct. 6.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to waive protest of Serrano's liquor license renewal
Serrano's Mexican Grill on East Tudor Road is set to renew its liquor license with no objections, as the Anchorage Assembly waives its right to protest.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Legislature will spend $675,000 to renovate its own Capitol parking garage
The Alaska Legislature is spending $675,000 to renovate its own parking garage at the Capitol — though the winning bid came in under the engineer's estimate.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A little Unalaska park keeps its tax break one last time before the lease runs out
A small community park in Unalaska keeps its property tax exemption one last time before the city's lease runs out, joining the tax rolls in 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Kenai could put school board term limits to voters under a new state law
Kenai Peninsula Borough voters will decide on school board term limits at a Sept. 1 public hearing, after state law changed to allow municipalities to propose them.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Former Rep. Carl Morgan, mayor of Aniak and Kuskokwim Native leader, has died
Former state Rep. Carl Morgan of Aniak, who served in the House from 1999 to 2004 and led communities along the Kuskokwim River, has died. Gov. Dunleavy will order flags lowered statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Alaska Legislature weighs new rules on animals in the Capitol
The Alaska Legislature is weighing new rules on animals in its buildings, banning most pets but keeping ADA protections for service dogs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's next park would sit on the Knik Arm bridge route it has long fought
A cleaned-up fuel depot above the Port of Alaska could become a park — on the route of a Knik Arm bridge the state wants and Anchorage has long fought.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska Legislative Council approves $851,400 for KTOO's Gavel Alaska coverage
Alaska lawmakers voted 8-0 to pay KTOO up to $851,400 to keep streaming their own floor sessions after federal public broadcasting funds were cut.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
State disability council offers free online advocacy training Sept. 1-2
The state's disability council is holding a free two-day virtual advocacy training Sept. 1-2, for self-advocates, families and the staff who serve them.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Homer signs off on a change of ownership at a Homer Spit seafood plant, after the fact
Homer's council signed off on a change of ownership at a Homer Spit seafood plant after the fact — the second corporate handoff on the lease in six years.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su assembly member proposes borough ban on license plate readers
Mat-Su would ban license plate readers outright, including querying outside networks. Nothing in the record names a borough program it would end.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
