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Alicia Leamer, Visitor Services Manager at Travel Juneau stands ready to welcome visitors at the newly re-opened Visitor Information Center. The Center is now open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. The center, which frequently uses volunteer staff, will try to stay open seven days a week, starting in June. COVID mitigation measures, such as plexiglass partitions and mask-wearing, are in place to keep volunteers and visitors safe. Interested in volunteering? Call the Travel Juneau office at 586-1737. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

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Invite your friends to Juneau

Travel Juneau employs a two-pronged advertising approach

A sign like this one, seen on a downtown Juneau business may soon come down as the city announced an end to the mask mandate for people who are fully vaccinated. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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A breath of fresh air

City updates its mask mandate following CDC guidelines

Adindean Franklin displays her diploma for her family after walking off the stage during the Thunder Mountain High School graduation on Sunday, May 26, 2019. The Juneau School District board is considering temporarily reducing the number of credits needed to graduate from 23 to 22.5, which is still 1.5 credits more than the state requires for high school graduation. The change will help students who are lagging in credits due to pandemic-related school closures and distance learning graduate on time. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)

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School board considers temporary graduation requirement change

Moving the finish line closer.

Fireworks illuminate the night sky over the Mendenhall Valley on New Year’s Eve. At Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, City and Borough of Juneau Assembly members agreed to proceed with a proposed ordinance that governs the local use of fireworks. Members of the public may comment on the proposal at the May 24 City Assembly meeting. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

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Cue the fireworks: City talks proposed ordinance

Public comment on proposed fireworks ordinance set for May 24.

As COVID restrictions ease, assembly members are making plans to move municipal meetings back to the Assembly Chambers in city hall while maintaining the broad public access that Zoom meetings provide. During Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, pictured here, assembly members discussed the transition in advance of the May 24 regular assembly meeting, which will be the first meeting to take place in person in more than a year. (Screenshot)

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Lights, camera, government: Assembly prepares for hybrid meetings

In-person meetings poised to resume later this month.

Fashion enthusiasts and retail boutique buyers and owners from around the state and the Pacific Northwest descended on Juneau to preview fall collections from local and national designers during the first-ever Alaska Fashion Week. Here, Qaulluq of Kotzebue, Inuraaq of Nome, Carley Thayer and Suzanne Nierra, both of Juneau, watch Saturday's runway show from inside the Harris Building. The windows were removed so spectators could watch models as they came down Shattuck Way, which served as the runway for the event. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

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Juneau serves as Alaska’s Fashion Capital

First-ever Alaska Fashion Week in the books

Howard Sherman, executive vice president, onboard revenue and destination development for Norwegian Cruise Lines, sat down with the Empire this week to conduct a wide-ranging interview. He said that Alaska remains an in-demand destination for cruise ship travelers but that he suspects the overall passenger load is close to the cap. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

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Covering the water: Execs talk restarting cruises, industry future and ballot initiatives

There’s a lot to talk about.

Workers with City and Borough of Juneau Parks and Recreation clear the basin at Cope Park of excess sediment and other material washed down the waterway on Sept. 16, 2020. This work is an example of one of the many varied jobs done by public servants and recognized during Public Service Recognition Week, which ends May 8. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

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CBJ employees grow, pivot during an unprecedented year

City manager looks back during Public Service Recognition Week

The cast of Macbeth rehearses in the Treadwell Mine office building as they prepare for the upcoming Theater Alaska Festival, which runs May 11 to 30 and features a Neighborhood Cabaret, readings, and classes in addition to performances of Macbeth. All performances will be free and staged outdoors with no reservations required. (Courtesy Photo/ Flordelino Lagundio)

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Live theatre is coming to a park near you

All the world —or at least most of Juneau —is a stage.

Courtesy Photo/Ron Gile Wearable Art 2021 is newly reimagined and features a variety of pandemic-safe activities. At last year’s event, “La Fauna et La Flore” by Jessica Sullivan and modeled by Jesse Riessenberger earned the third-place juror’s award at Wearable Art 2020: Joie de Vivre.

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Blast off to Wearable Art 2021

Reimagined festival offers something for everyone

Gloria Bixby, a student-athlete at Juneau Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, slides safely into second base and avoids the tag from Thunder Mountain’s Jenna Dobson during the first inning of a drizzly Friday night game. With about three weeks left in the school year, the Juneau School District announced new COVID-19 protocols that let student-athletes compete without masks. The changes begin this week and were shared with families in an email Monday evening. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

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Juneau schools update COVID policies

Mask and travel guidelines changed in light of evolving factors.

Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File Claire Scott, a senior at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, has been named a 2021 National Merit Scholarship winner. She is the only student in Alaska to receive the honor this year. In addition to a perfect grade point average, she has published two graphic novels. Here, she shows off her second published comic book, A Most Peculiar Alarm Clock, at Alaska Robotics Gallery on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019.

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JDHS senior named National Merit Scholar

She is Alaska’s only 2021 recipient

Rev. Simeon Johnson, rector of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in downtown Juneau, celebrates orthodox Easter, or Pascha, with his congregation on Sunday, May 2, 2021. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

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After a missed year, historic church celebrates

Parishioners gather in Juneau, Livestream to villages

The Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, right, pulls into the AJ Dock in Juneau in September 2018. The future of large vessel cruise ship-based tourism is a topic of debate as a group of cruise reform activists are trying to advance ballot measures aimed at limiting cruise ships in Juneau. Another community group has started a Stop the Sign campaign to prevent the questions from appearing on the ballot in October's municipal election. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)

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Cruise control on the ballot?

Not so fast, says Protect Juneau’s Future committee

Courtesy image / Larry Johansen Local author Larry Johansen has written a book about the history of baseball in Alaska during the Gold Rush. The book, called “The Golden Days of Baseball, The Story of Baseball Played in Frontier Alaska and the Klondike” is the first about this previously unexplored topic. The book is available for purchase beginning May 5.

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Baseball in the Land of the Midnight Sun

Local author shares untold story of frontier baseball in a new book

A drop box awaits ballots at Don D. Statter Harbor in late September 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

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Petition seeks to limit local vote-by-mail options

Group wants voters to weigh in on the future of municipal elections

Members of the JDHS boys soccer team help junior Callan Smith celebrate a goal in the season opener against TMHS Tuesday night. In the end, TMHS walked away with a 3-2 victory. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

Sports

High school boys soccer returns

TMHS bests JDHS in first game since 2019

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire A sign seen on a downtown Juneau business reminds customers that masks are required. On Monday night, CBJ officials voted to add flexibility to the city’s COVID-related ordinances and adopted a tiered mitigation strategy within the lowest risk level that changes as local vaccination rates increase.

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CBJ adds flexibility, adopts tiered COVID mitigation strategies

Travel-related testing mandate expires Saturday

Maralee Guiher drops off her ballot during the City and Borough of Juneau Municipal Election on Oct. 6, 2020. On Monday, city assembly members decided to follow the 2020 playbook for the 2021 municipal election. Ballots will be mailed to eligible voters and at least two polling places and drop boxes will be available. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

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Municipal election to be conducted mostly by mail

At least two polling places and drop boxes will be available

Thunder Mountain High School seniors celebrate their graduation on Sunday, May 26, 2019. The class of 2020 was forced to skip graduation ceremonies due to COVID-19 restrictions. Discussions are underway to allow the class of 2021 an opportunity to participate in commencement in accordance with CBJ’s mitigation strategies. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

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Plans coming together for COVID-conscious graduation, prom

Plans coming together for COVID-style graduation, prom