North Slope oil: $69.91, up $0.71

Southwest Airlines says it is making a firm offer to buy Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy protection at an auction this week.

Sentec Surveying and Engineering, a division of Enterprise Engineering Inc., is pleased to announce that Jeremy A. Hurst, PLS has successfully completed the Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Training Program, making him a certified wetlands delineator. Hurst has nine years of surveying experience and has been with Sentec for three years. He holds bachelor’s degrees in geology and surveying and mapping and is currently pursuing a certificate in geographical information systems from UAA.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is holding hearings this week on the Alaska Railroad’s request to use herbicides along parts of its track between Seward and Indian.

Q: I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

Overall construction in Alaska is down an estimated 10 percent statewide this summer from the same time last year, an industry official says.

FAIRBANKS — When Gwen Holdmann reached Fairbanks with three sled dogs in 1994, the graduate student had little else.

Buying and selling real estate takes sharp peripheral vision. You focus on the events in front of you, only to find you aren’t seeing what clearly affects you most. Unfortunately, many events have ripple effects. One of these events — the financial crisis — has prompted a number of changes. One change is the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), enacted May 1, 2009, in response to concerns that appraisers were being unduly influenced by outside forces. It was hoped that the HVCC would provide guidelines to insure appraiser independence. One safeguard in the HVCC required that someone uninvolved and independent of the mortgage loan process select the appraiser. Thus emerged a new entity, the Appraisal Management Company (AMC). Buyers, sellers or Realtors no longer have any input regarding appraisers. The most restrictions are on employees involved with the mortgage lending process; they are not allowed to have an appraisal-related conversation with either the appraiser or AMC.

SITKA — Sitka municipal officials have drawn a line on the pavement to shield cruise ship visitors from aggressive vendors.

FAIRBANKS — The checks won’t rival last year’s windfall, but the bounce-back in worldwide investment markets means Alaskans should get a decent Permanent Fund Dividend this fall.