Site Logo
The entrance to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services building in downtown Juneau on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed splitting the department in two to try and spread out the administrative burden, but health care workers and tribal leaders say they weren't consulted on changes and Alaska Natives will likely be negatively impacted. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Health department split would hurt Alaska Natives, leaders say (updated)

Tribal leaders say a proposal to break up the Department of Health and Social Services would worsen outcomes.

Staff pass through a COVID-19 screening checkpoint set up on the ground floor of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. The new session of the Alaska State Legislature starts Jan. 19, and some lawmakers and their staff have already arrived in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

New Legislature, same issues, says Juneau’s delegation

Alaska’s perennial problems are likely to dominate the session that starts next week, lawmakers say.

Alaska’s congressional delegation, from left to right, Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, all Republicans. Following a riot at the U.S. Capitol last week, Democrats and some Republicans have called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

News

Precautions are taken here as inauguration day approaches

Meanwhile, Alaska’s delegation has been mostly quiet on the issue of impeachment.

A sign in the window of a shop in downtown Juneau informs customers of rules for entering the business on Dec. 15, 2020. On Monday the City and Borough of Juneau announced it was relaxing some of the restrictions on businesses as the spread of COVID-19 in the community had decreased. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

City relaxes health restrictions as COVID risk declines

Restaurants can fully open but are strongly urged to ensure distancing among customers.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Lawmakers weren’t at the Alaska State Capitol, seen here on Friday, but the House Finance Committee met electronically to discuss Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget.

News

New revenue or no service, lawmakers weigh options

Time is short.

In this July 13, 2007, file photo, workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, near the village of Iliamma. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)

News

Dunleavy: State will appeal Pebble decision

A “flawed decision.”

Health workers during a mass vaccination event for influzena at Thunder Mountain High School on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. The flu vaccine event served as a practice run for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, according to health officials. Such distribution requires coordination between multiple state and local agencies. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

With covid numbers going down, restrictions could be lifted

It’s all about the numbers.

Tom Wagner, left and Bob Schroeder hold up a banner protesting resource extraction in the Arctic at Saviko Park on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2020. Members of environmental groups 350Juneau and Native Movement held a traveling demonstration Wednesday, taking the banner to several locations in Juneau, including the state capitol. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Environmentalists in Juneau protest Arctic drilling, say fight continues

Similar “banner drops” were happening around the world.

The Holland America Line cruise ships Eurodam, left, and Nieuw Amsterdam pull into Juneau’s downtown harbor on May 1, 2017. Holland America extended its pause on sailings to Alaska until mid-May as the company tries to find ways to sail under new health regulations. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

News

Cruise lines announce sailings pause

Exact dates not set.

Sarah Palmer holds up a swab before administering a COVID-19 test. The City and Borough of Juneau is offering free, asymptomatic testing. The drive-thru testing is available daily through Jan. 10 with the exception of New Year's Day. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

COVID cases trending down

Still on high alert.

A crane sits in the city-owned Aurora Harbor on Nov. 6, there for a project to repair the docks. The construction industry was one of the few in Southeast Alaska which wasn't dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to state economists. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Southeast Alaska’s economic recovery expected to be slow

When will tourists come back?

Residents on Wire Street near Twin Lakes clean up debris from a landslide caused by heavy rains on Dec. 2, 2020. The state of Alaska has set up a website to help people apply for state and federal relief money for damages caused by the storm. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

Application opens for December storm disaster relief

There’s a Feb. 26. deadline.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in rally for Georgia Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in Atlanta. The first full week of 2021 is shaping up to be one of the biggest of Biden’s presidency. And he hasn’t even taken office yet. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

News

Murkowski, Sullivan share plan to affirm election results

Senators share thoughts ahead of unlikely flashpoint procedure.

When lawmakers return to the Alaska State Capitol, seen here on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, they’ll have to decide what to do about Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposals for kickstarting the economy. But some of the proposals are so far too vague for municipalities to know where they stand. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

City leaders want stability, but can lawmakers deliver?

Reaction mixed to governor’s proposed budget, amendments.

stock

News

Alaskans encouraged to ‘Bring Back the Light’

Any kind of light will do.

Douglas Island, part of the Tongass National Forest, breaks through the fog on Dec. 15, 2020. A federal investigation found the U.S. Forest Service violated federal law in 2018 when it appropriated a $2 million grant to Alaska for input on Roadless Rule changes. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Feds say $2 million grant from Forest Service didn’t follow the law

More to come.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s chief of staff Ben Stevens, seen here speaking during the Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, spoke to the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce Thursday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy was proposing bonds for infrastructure projects across the state, Stevens said. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Proposed bonds would fund ‘shovel-ready’ projects, says governor’s chief of staff

Shovel-ready in Southeast?

Juneauites were out and about in the snow on 2nd Street in Douglas Wednesday, but the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for another storm Thursday morning which could bring up to two feet of snow in two days. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

National Weather Service warns 2 feet of snow possible by weekend

Check your boats.

Mike Wiley, left, and daughter Megan Bishop serve a customer at their store, Ben Franklin Store, in downtown Juneau on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. The city extended its mask mandate at a meeting Monday, but Wiley and Bishop said they'd ask customers to wear a mask regardless of the mandate. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau extends mask mandate

Vaccines have arrived, but vigilance remains important, city officials said.

The property at 9290 Hurlock Avenue near the intersection of Egan Drive and Mendenhall Loop Road was vacant Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, but a group of nonprofit organizations are partnering to try and turn the site into a youth homeless center. The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly passed two ordinances Monday which would allow the project to move forward. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Youth shelter awaits funding

Worthy project but funds are tight.