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Staff Picks is a recurring round-up of what the Juneau Empire and Capital City Weekly staff are reading, watching, lighting to and playing. This month's edition focuses on our holiday-themed favorites.

News

Holiday season staff picks

‘Tis the season to make some recommendations.

T

Sports

TMHS girls win tournament in Sitka

They rebounded from a tough first quarter to get the win.

Samuel Lockhart dribbles down the court while looking for a teammate cutting toward the hoop during a drill at Thunder Mountain High School. The 2022-23 iteration of the TMHS boys basketball returns last year's leading scorers.

Sports

Falcons ready to take off

Basketball season is almost underway.

Ashlyn Gates and Cailynn Baxter practice boxing out during practice at Thunder Mountain High School. Gates and the Baxter twins are among the athletic core that gives coach Andly Lee confidence that TMHS can compete with any team on its schedule. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Sports

‘Dangerous’ TMHS girls basketball team readies to start season

Tough schedule, young roster, but optimism abounds.

Gavel (Courtesy photo)

News

Man sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex abuse of a minor

DNA and sex offender registration required as part of sentence.

Lambs Sienna Mueca, Minuet Cryderman, Ari Bay rehearse for "The Nutcracker" ahead of Juneau Dance Theatre's annual production of the ballet. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau Dance Theatre is ready to get cracking

“The Nutcracker” is set to run Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Mile runners takeoff from the starting line during the ninth annual Turkey Trot on Thursday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

And they’re off: Turkey Trot draws hundreds

Fun in the briefly shining sun.

A cellphone screen displays spam text messages. During busy shopping season, scammers pretending to be other people, businesses or agencies frequently attempt to gain personal information via “spoofed” text messages, emails or phone calls. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

‘Criminals do not take the holidays off’

FBI shares tips to avoid being scammed during busy shopping season.

Two bear cubs walk in a Juneau field on a summer evening. Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Friday that highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a bear cub in Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. It's just the second time the virus has been detected in a bear. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Glacier Bay bear cub diagnosed with bird flu in rare case

Health officials say risk to mammals, including people, remains low.

Bree Lee Lo, June Enele, Lemoe Eneliko and Moira Anemia pose for a photo taken by Alexandra and Barron Anemia. All were on hand to celebrate Samoa's Rugby League World Cup run. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Local rugby fans celebrate Samoa’s World Cup run

“Win our lose, we’re still proud.”

The cast of Theatre in the Rough’s production of “Witch” finishes off an unexpected musical number with flourish. From left to right: Stacy Katasse, Ty Yamoaka, Aaron Elmore, Katie Jensen, Cate Ross, Kelsey Riker, Salissa Thole, Dakota Morgan and Patrick Minik. The local company’s production of the play includes a few musical moments unique to the Juneau effort. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Something wickedly funny this way comes

Stagecraft meets witchcraft.

Mari Fester holds up a carved spaghetti squash that filled in for a pumpkin during an underwater carving event held Sunday at Auke Rec. With more standard fare in short supply locally, acorn pumpkins, warty pumpkins and even a pumpkin sourced from Anchorage thanks to a traveler passing through served as canvases for the aquatic artists. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Splashing pumpkins: Underwater carving puts a twist on Halloween tradition

Alternative headline: The knife aquatic.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File The Juneau Huskies offense prepares to line up in last week’s victory against South Anchorage High School.

Sports

Huskies host East with title berth on the line

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

Juneau's high school football team finished the regular season 8-0 (7-0 in conference) after hanging on to win a 19-14 nail-biter against Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Sports

Huskies finish regular season undefeated

Huskies hang on — but not without last-minute drama.

Keagan Hasselquist, 15, holds up a flag bearing the message "Every child matters" during an Orange Shirt Day event Friday morning in Juneau. The event started at 6:45 a.m. Hasselquist said he usually isn't out and about at that time "but I'm doing good with it so far." He said it was awesome to see strong turnout for the event)(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Undoing erasure: Orange Shirt Day brings attention to boarding school history

Too vibrant, too active, too many to go unseen.

A Lucas White (21) block buys Jarrell Williams (1) more room to work during a 49-32 win against Service High School. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau cooks up a conference title

Huskies are back-to-back Cook Inlet Conference champs after lopsided win.

This April 2021 photo shows Thunder Mountain High School. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Police: Man arrested after chasing students, banging on windows at TMHS

No injuries or damage was reported.

Several police vehicles, including a mobile incident command vehicle, were present Wednesday evening near the Kaxdigoowu Héen Dei (Brotherhood Bridge Trail) trailhead. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Police: Death being investigated as homicide

A person of interest and the deceased have been identified.

UNAC supporters Angel Collins, JoMarie Alba and Lisa Hoferkamp hold signs Thursday morning in the middle of a Glacier Highway roundabout near the University of Alaska Southeast campus in Juneau. The University of Alaska Board of Regents began a two-day meeting at UAS on Thursday. University of Alaska and the faculty union have not come to an agreement after over a year of negotiations. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Union rally greets university regents

Faculty union, supporters make presence felt morning of two-day meeting.

A dedicated audio player plays "The Salmon Dance" a 2007 track from electronic duo the Chemical Brothers. The song, which was released as a single 15 years ago, features several salmon facts. Ahead of the oddball milestone, the Empire checked those facts with an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist. (Ben Hohensatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Factual or fishy? Fact-checking ‘The Salmon Dance’ for the song’s 15th anniversary

Fact-checking the “Salmon Dance” on its 15th anniversary