Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal

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a building

Alaska development authority signs contracts with ex-Dunleavy aides, paying up to $295/hour

Rex Rock and John Moller, both former rural affairs advisors to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, were hired by AIDEA through a competitive procurement process.
a Chugach electric sign

Green energy advocates say Anchorage utility ‘freezing out’ efforts for gas-saving price structure

An Anchorage nonprofit wants state regulators to force Chugach Electric Association to hand over detailed data on customers’ energy consumption.
a pipeline

Political pressure builds as state-led Alaska LNG project goes another year without a deal

Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to spend another $4.5 million on marketing and development the project. But lawmakers sound increasingly skeptical.
skiffs

Peter Pan’s King Cove plant will stay closed this winter as fishing industry turmoil spreads

“It's one of the most difficult days of my life,” said Rodger May, one of the company’s owners and a longtime player in Alaska’s seafood industry.
a Chinook salmon

Washington conservation group proposes listing Alaska king salmon under Endangered Species Act

The Wild Fish Conservancy says the chinook are threatened by climate change and competition from hatchery-raised fish.
an oil drilling site

As Conoco’s Willow project advances, 2 local governments have withdrawn their criticism

Nuiqsut's tribal and city councils last year blasted the “endless expansion of oil development and the complete encirclement of our village."
a proposed bridge

Alaska transportation leaders weigh Knik Arm tunnel

State officials say “significant increases in tunneling technology” have prompted a new look at a Knik Arm crossing first proposed as a bridge.
a drilling rig

There’s lots of gas in Cook Inlet — here’s why some companies aren’t drilling

Leaders of Alaska’s biggest utilities say they don’t want to risk investing in drilling, when imported LNG appears reliable and competitive.
a stethoscope and a calculator

Monthly premiums for health insurance on the federal marketplace will rise 16% in Alaska next year

The spike comes after an 18% increase the previous year, which means prices have risen more than one-third in two years.
thousands of fish released from a net on a boat

With little movement on salmon bycatch, Alaska advocates look to Biden administration for executive action

The move comes amid catastrophic shortfalls in salmon harvests in some of Alaska’s rural, Indigenous communities.
a pipeline

Amid natural gas crunch, an Alaska utility asks to resurrect in-state gas pipeline

Enstar wants to take over the estimated $10 billion project, but its own CEO says the pipeline isn’t viable without massive state subsidies.
a village on the water

Alaska watches, nervously, as Ukraine war pushes more Russian oil through Bering Strait

While the ships are free to pass through the Bering Strait, its 55-mile width means that any spills would be likely to drift toward Alaska communities.
fishing boats

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy names ad consultant, talk show host Porcaro to commercial fisheries agency

Mike Dunleavy has appointed ally Mike Porcaro, a longtime GOP consultant and talk radio host, to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.
fishing boats in the water

Alaska salmon fishers fume over low prices, but processors say they’re hurting too

Bristol Bay fishers are calling for strikes, lawsuits and “picket signs and pitchforks” in response to low salmon prices. But an industry expert says processors have been hurt too.
a Sitka Sound troller

In ‘major victory’ for Southeast Alaska trollers, federal appeals panel reverses fishery closure

In a five-page ruling, a federal appeals panel stayed a lower court ruling suspending the fishery to protect Southern Resident killer whales.
a Chinook salmon

Washington-based conservation group wants Endangered Species Act protections for Alaska king salmon

The Wild Fish Conservancy already closed an iconic Alaska fishery with a lawsuit.
wind turbines

As natural gas shortage looms, Alaska utilities and advocates feud over renewable power bill

The two sides agree on the need to wean Alaska’s power grid from its deep dependence on natural gas, but they disagree on how quickly.
a Sitka Sound troller

To protect orcas, federal judge orders closure of iconic Southeast Alaska troll fishery

A federal judge issued an order Tuesday voiding an environmental review that helped authorize the small-scale $30 million fishery.
many fish in water

Fish hatcheries, long seen as a last resort, get a new look amid Yukon River salmon crisis

First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations.
a Tanner crab

Inside Kodiak’s crab standoff

Crews from more than 100 boats are waiting for a higher price, but experts say they are facing global market forces unlikely to budge.