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Members of the Juneau Assembly and Juneau Board of Education, along with top administrators for the city and school district, meet jointly on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Local leaders considering ranked choice voting for CBJ elections — with a strong ‘undecided’ tally so far

School board opts to delay its stance until Assembly, which meets Monday, gets more public clarity about proposal.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on May 26, 1995. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending May 31

Three decades of capital city coverage.

State Rep. Sara Hannan (D-Juneau) addresses children’s programs advocates during a rally on April 29, 2025, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

From education wins to financial losses, mood swings were many at the Capitol, local delegation says

Juneau’s three Democratic state lawmakers each saw priorities advance, but wary of state’s ill fortunes.

Olga Lijo Serans, owner of Hearthside Books, discusses its inclusion in USA Today’s voting competition to determine the “10 Best Independent Bookstores” in the U.S. at her Nugget Mall branch on Monday, May 26, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Hearthside Books and Toys among 20 contenders in online vote for 10 best independent bookstores in US

USA Today contest that ends June 2 also includes famous stores such as Strand Book Store in NYC.

KINY’s “prize patrol” vehicle is parked outside the Local First Media Group Inc.’s building on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

KINY’s parent company enters Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings; local co-owner says operations unaffected

Company that owns 11 Southeast Alaska radio stations placed in receivership over defaulted $8.2M loan.

Juneau ranked eighth out of 12 communities in an annual study asking business leaders how they feel about the business climate in Southeast Alaska. (City and Borough of Juneau)

News

Uncertainty dragging down mood of Southeast business leaders in annual survey

Tariffs, layoffs, other Trump policies result in “second-lowest levels of positivity” since 2010.

Juneau singer/songwriter Annie Bartholomew rehearses with the Juneau Symphony on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé auditorium. Two folk songs by Bartholomew about women during Klondike Gold Rush will be featured in rearrangements for orchestra during performances Saturday and Sunday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau Symphony’s last mainstage concert of season features some notable firsts

First music by Indigenous composer, local folk singer’s songs rescored for orchestra among weekend’s works

Jason Williams, a Juneau resident experiencing homelessness and suffering from multiple medical ailments, lies on a cot in a tent on the edge of a ditch on Teal Street on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau’s homeless camping crisis: ‘They don’t feel safe around us? We don’t feel safe around them’

Business, home dwellers agree with unhoused that city’s “dispersed camping” remains dangerously unhealthy.

Hayden Aube is the first student to receive his diploma from Principal Paula Casperson during Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s graduation ceremony Sunday, May 25, 2025. Aube, a multisport star athlete for the Crimson Bears, was in a wheelchair after sustaining an injury Saturday competing in the Region V Track and Field Championships. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Class of 2025: Expanding by consolidating

Former TMHS students get tributes as nearly 300 seniors walk the stage in first post-merger commencement.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on May 21, 1985. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending May 24

Three decades of capital city coverage.

The Taku River as seen Monday, May 19, 2025, from an Alaska Wildlife Troopers helicopter carrying U.S. Border Patrol agents during a patrol flight. (U.S. Border Patrol Blaine Sector photo)

News

Border Patrol, state troopers take patrol flight over Taku River looking for drugs, other illegal activity

Troopers: “No enforcement action was taken”; Border Patrol: “We are just getting started.”

Juneau Assembly members discuss a proposed increase in the mill rate for the fiscal year starting July 1 during a meeting of the Assembly’s Finance Committee on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Increasing mill rate to 10.24, rather than 10.19 in earlier versions of city’s budget, gets OK from Assembly

Extra costs in budget, loss of federal funds cited for higher increase from current rate of 10.04 mills.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill earlier this session at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. He vetoed a second such bill on Monday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Gov. Dunleavy vetoes second bill increasing education funding; override vote by legislators likely Tuesday

Bill passed by 48-11 vote — eight more than needed — but same count for override not certain.

Visitors walk along the downtown cruise ship dock on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Initiative to limit number of cruise ship passengers, shorten season fails to get signatures to make ballot

“Enthusiasm for this just wasn’t there in the same way as Ship-Free Saturday,” author of proposal says.

Juneau Assembly members hear a report from Eaglecrest Ski Area leaders during a Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Juneau Assembly taking on pretty much the entire town with 59-item agenda Monday night

Items include mutitude of projects, faster release of police bodycams, stopping Mendenhall Glacier from being sold.

Legislators and staff huddle to discuss adjustments to a final compromise spending plan during a budget conference committee meeting on Sunday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

$1,000 PFD approved by legislative conference committee as part of final compromise state budget

Lower-than-expected oil prices results in lowest inflation-adjusted dividend since payouts began in 1982.

Steve Whitney (left) is sworn in as a Juneau Board of Education member by Superior Court Judge Amy Mead in the library at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday, May 17, 2025, after five candidates were interviewed by the other board members to fill the seat vacated when Will Muldoon resigned last month. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Steve Whitney returns to Juneau school board six years after departure to temporarily fill vacant seat

Fisheries manager and parent selected from among five candidates to serve until October’s election.

Adam Telle, nominee for assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, answers questions during a confirmation hearing this week. (Senate Armed Services Committee photo)

News

Trump’s nominee to head Army Corps of Engineers vows ‘expedited’ fix for Juneau’s glacial outburst floods

Adam Telle says “it’s going to require creativity,” without offering a specific timeline, at confirmation hearing.

A used gondola purchased from an Austrian ski resort is seen as the key to Eaglecrest Ski Area’s year-round operations and a secure financial future. (Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)

News

Board chair: Eaglecrest’s gondola pushing limits of 2028 completion deadline under Goldbelt agreement

Company can nix $10M deal if work not finished on project ski area calls vital to its financial…

Eaglecrest Ski Area Board President Mike Satre (left) confers with Juneau Assembly member Christine Woll during an Assembly Finance Committee meeting Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Assembly’s budget deep dive: Debate spans from $3M to support Eaglecrest to $2,000 for veterans’ events

City leaders spend marathon evening seeking to resolve notable items during year when funds are short.