Wire Service

A demonstrator holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as arguments are heard about the Affordable Care Act, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)

My Turn: The U.S. is under health care duress

When millions become uninsured, it will strain the entire health care system.

A demonstrator holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as arguments are heard about the Affordable Care Act, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis is underway, June 3, 2025, from Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Storis is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker acquisition in 25 years and will expand U.S. operational presence in the Artic Ocean. (Photo courtesy of Edison Chouest Offshore)

My Turn: Welcoming the Coast Guard for a brighter future

Our community is on the verge of transformation with the commissioning of the icebreaker Storis.d

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis is underway, June 3, 2025, from Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Storis is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker acquisition in 25 years and will expand U.S. operational presence in the Artic Ocean. (Photo courtesy of Edison Chouest Offshore)
A whale tale sculpture on the downtown docks glows on New Year’s Day 2026. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

January’s First Friday: Here’s what to see

Juneau Arts Humanities Council announced a preview of community events on First Friday.

A whale tale sculpture on the downtown docks glows on New Year’s Day 2026. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)
Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Photo courtesy Fred La Plante)

Living and Growing: You are not alone

Those words can pull us back toward hope, especially when we’ve just heard painful news.

Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Photo courtesy Fred La Plante)
Photo by James Brooks / Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy greets a child during the governor’s annual holiday open house on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2022 at the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau.

Pipeline deal and disasters were highlight and low point of 2025, Alaska governor says

Alaska’s traditional industries got a boost from the Trump administration, but more drilling and mining are likely years away

Photo by James Brooks / Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy greets a child during the governor’s annual holiday open house on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2022 at the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau.
Photo by Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal
Text messages between Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump.

Commentary: Alaska’s governor said he texts Trump. I asked for copies.

A couple of months ago, I was reporting on the typhoon that hit Western Alaska and stopped by a news conference convened by Gov. Mike… Continue reading

Photo by Nathaniel Herz/Northern Journal
Text messages between Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump.
Faith Myers stands at the doors of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. (Photo courtesy Faith Myers, file)

Alaska’s system of protecting Trust beneficiaries is 40 years behind best practice

The lower 48 has a 3-century headstart on protecting people in locked psychiatric facilities.

Faith Myers stands at the doors of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. (Photo courtesy Faith Myers, file)
The whale sculpture at Overstreet park breaches at sunrise on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire)

Weekly events guide: Juneau community calendar for Dec. 22-28

Visit Juneau Arts and Humanities Council at JAHC.org for more details on this week’s happenings.

The whale sculpture at Overstreet park breaches at sunrise on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire)
Jeff Lund photo 
The author practices in case he had the chance to be Jimmy from the 1986 movie Hoosiers. He never got the chance on the basketball floor, but had moments in life in which he needed to be clutch.

Opinion: Everyone wants to be Jimmy

Sports, and the movie “Hoosiers,” can teach you lessons in life

Jeff Lund photo 
The author practices in case he had the chance to be Jimmy from the 1986 movie Hoosiers. He never got the chance on the basketball floor, but had moments in life in which he needed to be clutch.
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File Photo 
Community organizations that serve food at their gatherings can do a lot by making menus of whole, nutritious offerings according to health and wellness coach Burl Sheldon.

Food served by “groups for good” can be health changemakers

Health and wellness coach thinks change can start on community event menus

veggies
File Photo 
Community organizations that serve food at their gatherings can do a lot by making menus of whole, nutritious offerings according to health and wellness coach Burl Sheldon.
Laura Rorem (courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: Gracious, gentle power

Gracious power is grace expressed with kindness and mercy.

Laura Rorem (courtesy photo)
Juneau as pictured from the Downtown Public Library on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire)

Weekly events guide: Juneau community calendar for Dec. 15-21

Visit Juneau Arts and Humanities Council at JAHC.org for more details on this week’s happenings.

Juneau as pictured from the Downtown Public Library on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire)
Hiking down from Dan Moller cabin in mid-January 2025. (photo courtesy John Harley)

Sustainable Alaska: Skiing on the edge

The difference between a great winter for skiing and a bad one can be a matter of a few degrees.

Hiking down from Dan Moller cabin in mid-January 2025. (photo courtesy John Harley)
Patrick Sullivan stands by an acid seep on July 15,2023. Sullivan is part of a team of scientists who tested water quality in Kobuk Valley National Park’s Salmon River and its tributaries, where permafrost thaw has caused acid rock drainage. The process is releasing metals that have turned the waters a rusty color. A chapter in the 2025 Arctic Report Card described “rusting rivers” phenomenon. (Photo by Roman Dial/Alaska Pacific University)

Ecosystem shifts, glacial flooding and ‘rusting rivers’ among Alaska impacts in Arctic report

NOAA’s 2025 report comes despite Trump administration cuts to climate science research and projects

Patrick Sullivan stands by an acid seep on July 15,2023. Sullivan is part of a team of scientists who tested water quality in Kobuk Valley National Park’s Salmon River and its tributaries, where permafrost thaw has caused acid rock drainage. The process is releasing metals that have turned the waters a rusty color. A chapter in the 2025 Arctic Report Card described “rusting rivers” phenomenon. (Photo by Roman Dial/Alaska Pacific University)
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Moderate US House Republicans join Dems to force vote on extension of health care subsidies

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in the U.S. House will face a floor vote in early 2026 on Democrats’ plan to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act… Continue reading

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
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Letter: Trump’s language seeks to diminish an entire community

“Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”

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Construction equipment operating at night at the White House. (photo by Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Opinion: Gold at the center of power

What the White House’s golden ballroom reveals about Modern America

Construction equipment operating at night at the White House. (photo by Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Gift card displays, such as this one in a CVS in Harlem, N.Y., have been a source of concerns for lawmakers hoping to combat gift card fraud. “Card draining,” or stealing numbers from poorly packaged cards, is one of the costliest and most common consumer scams, and states are trying to combat it with consumer alerts, arrests and warning signs on store displays. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)

Alaskans targeted by scammers posing as government officials, FBI warns

The FBI reports Alaskans lost over $26.2 million to internet-based scams in 2024, with $1.3 million of those losses due to government impersonation scams

Gift card displays, such as this one in a CVS in Harlem, N.Y., have been a source of concerns for lawmakers hoping to combat gift card fraud. “Card draining,” or stealing numbers from poorly packaged cards, is one of the costliest and most common consumer scams, and states are trying to combat it with consumer alerts, arrests and warning signs on store displays. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)
The trans-Alaska pipeline, seen on Oct. 8, 2008, threads over snow-covered terrain in the Brook Range foothills. A gryfalcon is perched on one of the pipeline’s thermosphyons in the lower center of the photo. (Photo by Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)

Alaska revenue forecast predicts more oil, but its importance to the state budget is declining

The Permanent Fund, not oil, is Alaska’s No. 1 source of general-purpose money and has been for years

The trans-Alaska pipeline, seen on Oct. 8, 2008, threads over snow-covered terrain in the Brook Range foothills. A gryfalcon is perched on one of the pipeline’s thermosphyons in the lower center of the photo. (Photo by Craig McCaa/U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
Downtown Juneau experiences its first significant city-level snow fall of the season as pictured on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

Weekend guide for Dec. 12-14

Visit Juneau Arts and Humanities Council at jahc.org for more details on this week’s happenings.

Downtown Juneau experiences its first significant city-level snow fall of the season as pictured on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)