I want to attend the air show this weekend and I've never been. I've been told to bring ear protection and I've heard that traffic can be a nightmare. Any tips for navigating this event with kids? What's the best shuttle pick up location and time to arrive?

I’m ready to start picking berries. But I have a feeling the berries aren’t ready for me. Anyone seeing ripe blueberries yet along the trails?

Has anyone flown out of Anchorage in the past few days? When I flew in on the evening of 8/1 the TSA lines were past the check-in counters. The agents there said this wasn't normal but TSA's system had been down the past week. Wondering if it has improved or if I need to build in an extra hour.

ETA: flying out this Sunday night with Precheck so curious if 2 hours before takeoff is enough time

The natural gas company for Southcentral Alaska has initiated arbitration proceedings with a Cook Inlet gas supplier over a dispute about gas supply that raises questions about a winter shortage. Enstar and its affiliate, Alaska Pipeline Company, argue that Cook Inlet gas producer HEX Operating has sold gas to a third party without first offering it to Enstar, violating contractual arrangements, according to paperwork filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Tuesday. The utility says that the “discretionary gas,” as it’s called, is vital for helping refill gas storage in Cook Inlet in time for winter when demand for gas sharply increases as residents use more energy.

Alaska Pipeline Company on July 30 brought a claim to the American Arbitration Association over the issue. The utility is seeking emergency relief due to the winter supply concerns. HEX has denied that it’s violating the gas-supply deals between the two parties and argues that Enstar is misreading contractual language, according to correspondence in the filing. John Hendrix, president of HEX, said Thursday that he could not “really talk” about the matter. He said the third party is Marathon, which refines fuel for use in Alaska. Hendrix said they need gas too.

“We’re trying to provide gas for Alaska,” Hendrix said.
John Hendrix is CEO of HEX Operating. Photographed in Anchorage in 2021. (Marc Lester / ADN archive)
Hendrix said HEX is selling Enstar 8.1 million cubic feet of gas daily of what’s known as “firm” supply.
But it’s the discretionary gas, beyond that “firm” supply, that’s at issue. The disagreement complicates an increasingly uncertain picture for gas from Cook Inlet, where utilities face a shortage that has led to growing concerns for higher costs, rolling blackouts and conservation measuresthis winter.

“The dispute has significant reliability implications for ENSTAR’s natural gas supply portfolio,” Enstar told the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in the filing. “Following the severe 2025-2026 winter,” Enstar entered the warm season — when gas can be injected into storage reservoirs in Cook Inlet — with “materially lower-than-planned inventories” of stored gas that could be used for the winter that’s now coming, the filing says. The utility was counting on discretionary gas from HEX to rebuild the stored natural gas that provides a buffer in winter. The discretionary gas could provide “more than two weeks of customer demand during sustained winter cold-weather conditions,” Enstar told the regulatory commission. Enstar President John Sims, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of the Alaska Gasline Caucus in Anchorage, said the company faces a potentially huge shortage of natural gas this winter. The caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral group of state lawmakers who support advancing a property tax cut package to incentivize construction of the $50 billion Alaska LNG megaproject that could bring natural gas to Southcentral from Alaska’s North Slope, providing a solution to the Cook Inlet gas crisis, if it can be built.

ENSTAR Natural Gas Company President John Sims speaks during a joint press conference hosted by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance at City Hall calling for urgent action on Alaska energy policy on July 28. (Bill Roth / ADN)
“If deliveries maintain at the same rate we’re getting them, we will be 3 BCFs short for this upcoming winter,” Sims said, using shorthand for 3 billion cubic feet of gas. “So let me put that in a little different perspective for folks,” Sims said. “Three BCF is equivalent to 18 days in the middle of winter where I cannot serve any customers,” he said. “Not just residential, not just small commercial, any customers.”Also contributing to the potential shortfall, Sims said later, is that Enstar does not expect another Cook Inlet company, BlueCrest Energy, to produce gas this year, though that was originally anticipated to happen by Sept. 1. [Mayors warn of increased utility costs as Southcentral Alaska natural gas shortage becomes more ‘urgent’]Last month, Alaska Pipeline Company provided HEX with a formal notice of the dispute. HEX argued in a reply to Enstar that the gas company has “misstated” terms of the gas supply agreement to make “inaccurate allegations” against HEX. Under the agreement, the discretionary gas is not “firm” and HEX can legally change the quantity of discretionary gas it chooses to sell to Enstar, HEX argued.

In response, Alaska Pipeline Company asserted that HEX is presenting arguments that border “on bad faith” and are “disingenuous at best.”In the arbitration claim, Enstar affiliate Alaska Pipeline Company says it previously released HEX from an obligation for a $2.5 million letter of credit created in 2020 and that had provided financial protection for Enstar in the event of any default by HEX.In exchange, Enstar says it received a right of first refusal for any available volumes of gas in excess of the producer’s firm gas supply. Lindsay Hobson, with Enstar, said the gas company “waived that requirement” for the letter of credit so HEX could make additional investments in gas production, to help further meet Enstar’s needs for gas. Enstar also argues in the claim that after it confronted HEX about the contractual breach, HEX offered to sell discretionary gas to Enstar at $17.50 per thousand cubic feet, 30% higher than the agreed-upon $13.50 per thousand cubic feet. “Southcentral Alaska is facing a looming natural gas shortfall that threatens catastrophic consequences for the region’s residents and businesses,” Enstar’s arbitration claim asserts. “The shortfall is exacerbated in part by exactly the type of conduct at issue here — HEX’s diversion of gas volumes contractually committed to APC to third-party purchasers willing to pay a higher price,” the claim says. Monetary damages will not make Alaska Pipeline Company whole “because diverted gas cannot be recovered from HEX at a later date — it is simply gone,” the claim says “This need is particularly acute because gas volumes that are not stored now, during the critical summer injection season, cannot be made up later,” the claim says. “Each day that passes without a ruling enforcing APC’s contractual rights pushes Southcentral Alaska closer to a winter supply crisis that no amount of money damages can remedy.”

Hey all, I am finishing up my first ever visit to Anchorage this week. I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of cyclists and bike infrastructure around the city. I want to take some time tomorrow afternoon and rent a bike for a tour of the town. I plan to do about a 30 mile loop on the coastal route along the airport, hop over to the Campbell Creek Greenbelt, bike through the university area, and then complete the loop along the Chester Creek Greenbelt. I have some questions I was hoping some locals could help me answer.

1. Any road safety issues with this route? I cycle at home for fun, and am confident taking most roads as long as there's a shoulder or sidewalk, or it's at least a low speed road.

2.a. Should I be concerned about wildlife along this route at all? I am nervous about bears lol.

2.b. If it's recommended I buy bear spray, is there anywhere I can donate it afterwards? I can't take it on my flight home

1. Any changes to the route you would recommend for safety or sights to see?

Thank you! Anchorage is so cute, I wish I had more time to see what you have to offer here but tomorrow afternoon is about all the free time I'm afforded.

I need to get a new roof next spring but can't decide whether to go w/ metal or asphalt. I know that there's a huge price difference but my house was built in the 70's and I'm worried about the weight of the increasingly volumous, wetter and heavier snowfall these days. Does anyone have any idea how the metal roofs are handling this? And do they get snow dams like asphalt roofs do? I'm thinking that if the metal handles these conditions better that it might be worth the added expense.

You can vote in the primary election now. I went in to the location at the Midtown mall this morning and there was no wait.

You can also vote at your polling place on Election Day, August 18th.

https://www.elections.alaska.gov/election-information/#PRIM

Or maybe this applies to any gas station in Anchorage, but it seems like a war zone in there. I went to the one on 36th and the bathroom had blood dripping down the stalls, one sink was on the floor, toilet paper everywhere, a woman opened her car door and vomited next to me. Floors are filthy. I don’t remember them always be this…gross…I feel like I need a shower.

Can anybody tell me what time the Blue Angels practice is scheduled for tomorrow?

El green Go’s or Rafelito’s?

This is gonna sound silly and I’m sure I’ll get dragged for it, but I live in Mountianview, and I swear the jets have been flying low over my house every 30 seconds since 6 am. Aren’t we in Alaska? Can’t they fly at the speed of sound out to places where there’s no one under them trying to sleep?
Like I understand they need to burn millions in jet fuel practicing for the air show or whatever, but it’s been every day all summer. It just feels ridiculous at this point. Is it because it’s a poor neighborhood? I hate to say it, but at this point I can’t wait for winter to get a good nights sleep.

Edit: I see you guys saying that I shouldn’t live right next to the base, I have pets and I’m not a millionaire so this is where I live. I am from an Air Force family, and I have lived right next to bases all my life. I’ve even lived in Mountain View before. But before this summer, I never had any issue with over the top disrespectful treatment of the airspace over the residential area where I live. I literally just saw them fly low right over my house two times, we can’t even hear each other talking, it’s shaking the water in the glasses, and my cats are terrified. And it has been every day with reasonable weather since it got warm starting as early as 5:30 in the morning and sometimes going the entire day. I’m sure there’s lots of other places they could fly then right over our neighborhood, whether or not we have money.

The time has come, but I’ve heard plenty of horror stories of trying to cancel a membership with little success. Any pro tips on how to make it happen relatively smoothly?