Dana Zigmund

Adriana Northcutt has been the principal at the Juneau Community Charter School. (Courtesy photo/Juneau School District)

Juneau Community Charter School names new principal

Adriana Northcutt currently serves at TMHS

Adriana Northcutt has been the principal at the Juneau Community Charter School. (Courtesy photo/Juneau School District)
Courtesy photo/Troop 11 
Scouts from BSA Troop 11 gathered and donated 562 pounds of food to the food bank at Resurrection Lutheran Church on April 17. The troop meets at the downtown church and collected food from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Scouting for Food helps stock local food pantries

Local Scouts collected more than 9,000 pounds of food

Courtesy photo/Troop 11 
Scouts from BSA Troop 11 gathered and donated 562 pounds of food to the food bank at Resurrection Lutheran Church on April 17. The troop meets at the downtown church and collected food from the surrounding neighborhoods.
Mayor Beth Weldon speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2019 Community Celebration at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. On Friday, she announced that she is running for another term as mayor. (Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File)
Mayor Beth Weldon speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2019 Community Celebration at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. On Friday, she announced that she is running for another term as mayor. (Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File)
Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines, the members of the New Squids on the Dock were able to gather and look over the hardware they won in the Tsunami Bowl, a regional ocean science academic competition. The team from Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé is now busy preparing for the upcoming national competition. From left to right, team members include Elin Antaya, Jack Marx, team captain Tias Carney, Adrian Whitney and Addy Mallot. (Courtesy photo/Shannon Easterly)

Swimming in the intellectual deep end

JDHS NOSB team prepares for the national competition

Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines, the members of the New Squids on the Dock were able to gather and look over the hardware they won in the Tsunami Bowl, a regional ocean science academic competition. The team from Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé is now busy preparing for the upcoming national competition. From left to right, team members include Elin Antaya, Jack Marx, team captain Tias Carney, Adrian Whitney and Addy Mallot. (Courtesy photo/Shannon Easterly)
Jeff Rogers, CBJ's finance director, joined the April 22 Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce Alaska Business Roundtable's Zoom meeting to explain why commercial properties have recently been reassessed and what it means for business and property owners in the borough. (Screenshot)
Jeff Rogers, CBJ's finance director, joined the April 22 Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce Alaska Business Roundtable's Zoom meeting to explain why commercial properties have recently been reassessed and what it means for business and property owners in the borough. (Screenshot)
A student in Hoonah celebrates Herring Week by taking a close look at herring eggs. (Courtesy Photo / Mark Browning)

Hoonah students welcome herring

School-wide festivities mark return of the fish

A student in Hoonah celebrates Herring Week by taking a close look at herring eggs. (Courtesy Photo / Mark Browning)
Thunder Mountain High School will be closed to in-person attendance until Monday, April 26, Juneau School District announced Tuesday afternoon. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

New COVID cases reported at Thunder Mountain High School

There are five active cases associated with the school

Thunder Mountain High School will be closed to in-person attendance until Monday, April 26, Juneau School District announced Tuesday afternoon. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Alex Alf, cultivation manager at Stoned Salmon Farms, displays a marijuana variety called Blissful Wizzard, on April 16. He said this variety of marijuana was developed to relieve epilepsy symptoms. Alf said that cultivating marijuana in Alaska requires experimentation to fine-tune the final product. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Checking in on a budding local industry

Even in the face of pandemic, business stays high.

Alex Alf, cultivation manager at Stoned Salmon Farms, displays a marijuana variety called Blissful Wizzard, on April 16. He said this variety of marijuana was developed to relieve epilepsy symptoms. Alf said that cultivating marijuana in Alaska requires experimentation to fine-tune the final product. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
Staff at Bartlett Regional Hospital, seen here on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, will be among some of the first to receive a vaccine for COVID-19 once federal authorities give the go-ahead. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Bartlett Hospital considers 4% price increase

Despite the increase, fees remain low compared to other hospitals.

Staff at Bartlett Regional Hospital, seen here on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, will be among some of the first to receive a vaccine for COVID-19 once federal authorities give the go-ahead. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
A skier makes a run at Eaglecrest Ski Area in January 2021. A perfect storm of heavy snow coupled with pandemic-weary residents eager for outside recreation resulted in an excellent season on the mountain and money in the bank. Ski area officials shared budget projections for the 2022 season with the city’s finance committee Wednesday night. (Courtesy Photo / Eaglecrest Ski Area)

Heavy snow drives successful ski season

Eaglecrest expects to bank money, reduce reliance on city money in 2022

A skier makes a run at Eaglecrest Ski Area in January 2021. A perfect storm of heavy snow coupled with pandemic-weary residents eager for outside recreation resulted in an excellent season on the mountain and money in the bank. Ski area officials shared budget projections for the 2022 season with the city’s finance committee Wednesday night. (Courtesy Photo / Eaglecrest Ski Area)
Arriving passengers walk past a sign in the arrivals area at Heathrow Airport in London, during England’s third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. On Tuesday, City and Borough of Juneau officials said the city has confirmed the first local case of a COVID-19 variant first detected in Britain. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

State lab ID’s British COVID variant in Juneau resident

Public health officials say variant acquired via community spread

Arriving passengers walk past a sign in the arrivals area at Heathrow Airport in London, during England’s third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. On Tuesday, City and Borough of Juneau officials said the city has confirmed the first local case of a COVID-19 variant first detected in Britain. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A sign seen on a downtown Juneau business reminds customers that masks are required. As the percentage of vaccinated community members rises, officials are looking to the future and considering which COVID-19 mitigations to jettison and when. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

How will climbing vaccine rates affect the local mask mandate, traveler testing?

City officials consider future of mitigation measures.

A sign seen on a downtown Juneau business reminds customers that masks are required. As the percentage of vaccinated community members rises, officials are looking to the future and considering which COVID-19 mitigations to jettison and when. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy Photo / Kristin Bartlett Juneau School District
Charlee Gribbon, infection preventionist at Bartlett Regional Hospital, vaccinates Juneau School District staff member Megan Freas. Freas was one of 86 people to get vaccinated on Friday as Juneau Public Schools hosted onsite vaccine clinics at Thunder Mountain High School and Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School. Students age 16 and older and staff members were eligible to be vaccinated at the clinic.

CBJ introduces new vaccine strategy

Pop up clinics to replace mass vaccination clinics

Courtesy Photo / Kristin Bartlett Juneau School District
Charlee Gribbon, infection preventionist at Bartlett Regional Hospital, vaccinates Juneau School District staff member Megan Freas. Freas was one of 86 people to get vaccinated on Friday as Juneau Public Schools hosted onsite vaccine clinics at Thunder Mountain High School and Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School. Students age 16 and older and staff members were eligible to be vaccinated at the clinic.
After over 30 years at 3100 Channel Drive, the Juneau Empire offices are on the move. (Ben Hohenstatt /Juneau Empire File)

The Juneau Empire is on the move

Advertising and editorial staff are moving to Jordan Creek Center.

After over 30 years at 3100 Channel Drive, the Juneau Empire offices are on the move. (Ben Hohenstatt /Juneau Empire File)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire 
At Wednesday night’s budget kick-off, officials said the city expects $12.8 million in revenue from the federal government, based on the American Rescue Plan. While this cash infusion is helping to stabilize the budget, another season without large cruise ship traffic is putting pressure on the sales tax revenue the city collects. In a typical year, businesses would be getting ready for the flood of local tourists but with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, Alaska’s cruise ship season remains uncertain and Juneau’s downtown waterfront sits empty on Monday, April 5, 2021.

City kicks off the budget-review process

Federal money provides relief from lost cruise ship sales tax revenue.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire 
At Wednesday night’s budget kick-off, officials said the city expects $12.8 million in revenue from the federal government, based on the American Rescue Plan. While this cash infusion is helping to stabilize the budget, another season without large cruise ship traffic is putting pressure on the sales tax revenue the city collects. In a typical year, businesses would be getting ready for the flood of local tourists but with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, Alaska’s cruise ship season remains uncertain and Juneau’s downtown waterfront sits empty on Monday, April 5, 2021.
At Thursday's ribbon-cutting, Governor Mike Dunleavy said the electric bus is a “terrific bargain” as it only costs about 5 cents a kilowatt-hour to charge the 40-foot vehicle, which seats 40 people and can accommodate larger standing crowds if needed. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

Running on rain

Capital transit harnesses local hydropower

At Thursday's ribbon-cutting, Governor Mike Dunleavy said the electric bus is a “terrific bargain” as it only costs about 5 cents a kilowatt-hour to charge the 40-foot vehicle, which seats 40 people and can accommodate larger standing crowds if needed. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
Members of the Argus String Quartet play a Brown Bag Concert at the State Office Building on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, during the annual Juneau Jazz Classics Festival. COVID-19 forced the festival online in 2020, but organizers are looking forward to a hybrid festival in May. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)
Members of the Argus String Quartet play a Brown Bag Concert at the State Office Building on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, during the annual Juneau Jazz Classics Festival. COVID-19 forced the festival online in 2020, but organizers are looking forward to a hybrid festival in May. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)
The city's COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Centennial Hall are now Juneau's premier concert venue. On April 3, local strings group Dynamics followed Grammy-award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey in a live concert at the clinic. Jayda Skeek, far left, musical coach and teacher Guohua Xia second to the left, students Jin Yue Trousil and Creys Hudson flank Bailey from left to right. (Courtesy Photo / Jim Pfitzer)
The city's COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Centennial Hall are now Juneau's premier concert venue. On April 3, local strings group Dynamics followed Grammy-award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey in a live concert at the clinic. Jayda Skeek, far left, musical coach and teacher Guohua Xia second to the left, students Jin Yue Trousil and Creys Hudson flank Bailey from left to right. (Courtesy Photo / Jim Pfitzer)
Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File 
COVID-19 is preventing the Marie Drake Planetarium from hosting in-person Earth Day events. Instead, volunteers invite the submission of videos about caring for the Earth. The best videos will be shared in the fall when the planetarium re-opens and starts using the new digital projector. Rosemary Walling, a volunteer and board member of Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium, views Saturn and its moons’ orbits as projected by a visiting digital projector from Seattle’s Museum of Flight in October 2019.

Planetarium prepares to celebrate COVID-cautious Earth Day

Submit a video about caring for the planet

Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File 
COVID-19 is preventing the Marie Drake Planetarium from hosting in-person Earth Day events. Instead, volunteers invite the submission of videos about caring for the Earth. The best videos will be shared in the fall when the planetarium re-opens and starts using the new digital projector. Rosemary Walling, a volunteer and board member of Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium, views Saturn and its moons’ orbits as projected by a visiting digital projector from Seattle’s Museum of Flight in October 2019.
Teachers greeted students as they reentered school on Jan. 11 with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place at Floyd Dryden Middle School. After several months of partial week attendance to accommodate student cohorts, the school district is expanding in-person learning opportunities. Next week, middle and high school students will return to in-person school four days each week. Many elementary school students returned to four days this week. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

School district announces expansion of in-person learning

Middle and high school students to attend four days a week

Teachers greeted students as they reentered school on Jan. 11 with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place at Floyd Dryden Middle School. After several months of partial week attendance to accommodate student cohorts, the school district is expanding in-person learning opportunities. Next week, middle and high school students will return to in-person school four days each week. Many elementary school students returned to four days this week. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)