Wire Service

A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)

Amid national measles outbreaks, vaccination rates for Alaska children have fallen, report says

Measles, once thought eliminated in the U.S., has spread among unvaccinated people.

A vaccine dose is prepared at a mass vaccination site in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 2021. Vaccination rates for Alaska children have declined in recent years, the state reports. (Maryland Executive Office of the Governor photo)
Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)

Longtime Southeast Alaska sports reporter Klas Stolpe wins ASAA’s annual Gold Lifetime Pass award

Honor recognizes “significant service to high school students of Alaska” for at least 20 years.

Klas Stolpe, a sports reporter for the Juneau Empire and multiple other publications since the mid-1990s, receives the Alaska School Activities Association’s Gold Lifetime Pass for Region V this year during a ceremony at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday. (Melissa Bastable Ganey / Mel G Photography)
The Lewis Glacier on Mount Kenya, one of the few glaciers in Africa, in March. (Luis Tato/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

Some glaciers will vanish no matter what, study finds

Glacial ice will melt for centuries even if global temperatures stop rising now, according to new research.

The Lewis Glacier on Mount Kenya, one of the few glaciers in Africa, in March. (Luis Tato/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
Sitka Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson, left, looks over paperwork from precinct 1 with Holley Bayne, Precinct 1 chair Alix Snelling and deputy Clerk Jess Earnshaw. durinng Wednesday night’s tally of votes at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Unofficial results have 773 in favor and 2,071 against the proposition which would have limited cruise visitors ashore to 300,000 annually, and 4,500 daily; required at least one quiet day a week with no large ships; and implemented a permit system for cruise ships. (James Poulson / Daily Sitka Sentinel)

Sitka voters reject cruise ship limits

By a more than 2-to-1 margin, voters in Wednesday’s special election turned down a ballot proposition to limit cruise ship visitation in Sitka. The vote… Continue reading

Sitka Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson, left, looks over paperwork from precinct 1 with Holley Bayne, Precinct 1 chair Alix Snelling and deputy Clerk Jess Earnshaw. durinng Wednesday night’s tally of votes at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Unofficial results have 773 in favor and 2,071 against the proposition which would have limited cruise visitors ashore to 300,000 annually, and 4,500 daily; required at least one quiet day a week with no large ships; and implemented a permit system for cruise ships. (James Poulson / Daily Sitka Sentinel)
An employee stocks the shelves in the cereal aisle of a store in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 12, 2016. (Melissa Lukenbaugh/The New York Times)

Gimme A Smile: Post-pandemic, pre-tariff grocery shopping

We survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we survived the Terrible Toilet Paper Troubles. Nothing like a shortage of toilet paper to make us all take… Continue reading

An employee stocks the shelves in the cereal aisle of a store in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 12, 2016. (Melissa Lukenbaugh/The New York Times)
Barbecued baby back ribs finishing up on the grill. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Cooking For Pleasure: Barbecued baby back ribs

This time of year, my barbecue grill starts calling to me. So despite the temperatures in the mid-40s with drizzling rain, I decided I was… Continue reading

Barbecued baby back ribs finishing up on the grill. (Photo by Patty Schied)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Wednesday, May 28, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
With graduation looming, life as a trail is a popular analogy, though the author prefers a menu metaphor. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Ordering off life’s menu

My favorite restaurant in Tucson served the best chips and salsa I have ever had. Granted, I was in college when I first had them,… Continue reading

With graduation looming, life as a trail is a popular analogy, though the author prefers a menu metaphor. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in Washington, Feb, 28, 2025. Trump’s preference for praising and excusing Vladimir Putin’s actions has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion: Slaves to Trump’s whims

The TACO trade isn’t a new restaurant. It stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” The acronym is Wall Street’s response to his on-again-off-again tariffs. John… Continue reading

President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in Washington, Feb, 28, 2025. Trump’s preference for praising and excusing Vladimir Putin’s actions has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
A hemp crop waits to be harvested in Lincolnshire for British CBD oil producer Crop England on Aug. 27, 2021, in Grantham, England. The farm supplies Crop England, a British CBD oil producer founded in 2019 by Mike and Jackie Lamyman. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Judge: Alaska limits on intoxicating hemp products do not violate the U.S. Constitution

Ruling may end 2023 legal challenge and mean such products are restricted to marijuana retailers here.

A hemp crop waits to be harvested in Lincolnshire for British CBD oil producer Crop England on Aug. 27, 2021, in Grantham, England. The farm supplies Crop England, a British CBD oil producer founded in 2019 by Mike and Jackie Lamyman. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Butch Laiti is president of the Douglas Indian Association, a tribal government in Juneau. The association has purchased a fishing boat and wants to buy a commercial fishing permit for its members to share, but a state law bars it from doing so. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)

Coastal Alaskans see commercial fishing limits as a ‘crisis.’ Lawmakers don’t.

Legislature adjourned without addressing expanding access to commercial fishing careers.

Butch Laiti is president of the Douglas Indian Association, a tribal government in Juneau. The association has purchased a fishing boat and wants to buy a commercial fishing permit for its members to share, but a state law bars it from doing so. (Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal)
(Photo provided by Laura Rorem)

Living and Growing: Hypernormalization

Let us practice true patience and love, trusting God is at work while we wait in the not knowing and become “instruments of God’s peace.”… Continue reading

(Photo provided by Laura Rorem)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Tuesday, May 27, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Monday, May 26, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
A group of fourth-grade Harborview Elementary School students share the digging and planting task at Juneau’s newest accredited arboretum on Arbor Day, celebrated Monday, May 19, 2025. (Laurie Craig / For the Juneau Empire)

Planting of new trees at Evergreen Cemetery celebrate its new status as an arboretum

More than 100 donated trees of 42 varieties planted during past decades.

A group of fourth-grade Harborview Elementary School students share the digging and planting task at Juneau’s newest accredited arboretum on Arbor Day, celebrated Monday, May 19, 2025. (Laurie Craig / For the Juneau Empire)
(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: City spending relies on cruise visitor spending

The recent failure of activists to gain sufficient signatures to put yet another anti-cruise initiative on the ballot in October is evidence that Juneau residents… Continue reading

(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
A payday advance neon sign is seen in this undated photo. (EHStock/Getty Images)

Alaska Legislature votes to limit high interest rates and fees for payday loan lenders

On the 120th and last day of Alaska’s annual legislative session, the state House passed a bill that would curb high interest rates and fees… Continue reading

A payday advance neon sign is seen in this undated photo. (EHStock/Getty Images)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Sunday, May 25, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
The F/V Liberty, captained by Trenton Clark, fishes the Pacific near Metlakatla on Aug. 20, 2024. Over the last few years, the $6 billion Alaskan wild seafood market has been ensnared in a mix of geopolitics, macroeconomics, changing ocean temperatures and post-Covid whiplash that piled on top of long-building vulnerabilities in the business model. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)

My Turn: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities. The air is full of anticipation as we prepare for the inevitable surprises… Continue reading

The F/V Liberty, captained by Trenton Clark, fishes the Pacific near Metlakatla on Aug. 20, 2024. Over the last few years, the $6 billion Alaskan wild seafood market has been ensnared in a mix of geopolitics, macroeconomics, changing ocean temperatures and post-Covid whiplash that piled on top of long-building vulnerabilities in the business model. (Ash Adams/The New York Times)
Angela Rodell is a member of the Affordable Juneau Coalition. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: It’s time for a government that works for working people

The Juneau Assembly voted to raise your property taxes — again. They did this while the cost of living continues to climb, while residents struggle… Continue reading

Angela Rodell is a member of the Affordable Juneau Coalition. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)