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(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Police calls for Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Police calls for Friday, Feb. 23, 2024

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

Rep. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage, speaks in favor of House Bill 143 on Friday. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

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Alaska House approves relaxed environmental rules for ‘advanced recycling’

Applies to facilities using high heat or chemicals to turn plastic garbage into raw materials.

Jirdes Winther Baxter chats with Wayne Bertholl during her 100th birthday celebration Saturday at the Juneau Yacht Club. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Jirdes Winther Baxter, last survivor of 1925 Nome serum run, celebrates 100th birthday in Juneau

Five generations of family, dozens of friends and a coalition of political leaders offer tributes.

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives celebrate the passage of a sweeping education bill on Thursday. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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House passes $680 BSA increase, with other education provisions

Bill now returns to Senate, which must pass it unchanged before it can head to the governor’s desk.

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon (right) discusses the Juneau School District’s financial crisis with school board Vice President Emil Mackey (right) and City Attorney Robert Palmer during a meeting Thursday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Meetings to comment on Assembly’s proposed $9.6M of help to school district scheduled next two Mondays

Plan includes $4.1 million no-interest loan, picking up “shared costs” this year and next.

The Senate chambers are seen at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, May 13, 2022. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

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Alaska Senate approves permanent extension of senior benefits program and three other bills

The Alaska Senate voted without dissent on Wednesday to permanently extend a state program that pays up to…

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Police calls for Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024

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

Mendenhall Tower Apartments, the tallest building in Juneau, seen during a rainy morning Feb. 22. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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The building that saved Juneau

Mendenhall Tower Apartments and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Reps. Sara Hannan (right), D-Juneau, Andy Josephson (middle), D-Anchorage, and Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, discuss proposed amendments to an education bill during a break in Wednesday’s House floor session. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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House rejects sweeping changes in education bill, scheduled to resume debate Thursday

Lawmakers considered six different increases in per-student funding over several hours Wednesday.

The cereal aisle in an Anchorage supermarket in 2022. Alaska public assistance officials have been working through a backlog in the state’s food stamp applications. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

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As Alaska food stamp backlog dwindles, Public Assistance balances federal requirements, local need

A state division head says the feds are working with Alaska as the state works to comply with…

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Feb. 21, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Feb. 25

Three decades of capital city coverage.

A previously unidentified Eastern North Pacific right whale surfaces in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska in September 2023. The discovery of this whale was hailed by scientists studying the critically endangered population. Members of the public are being asked to choose a name for the animal through an online contest that will use bracketed competition. (Photo by Bernardo Alps/NOAA Fisheries, International Whaling Commission and WildSea Inc.)

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Agency asks public to name, get to know member of highly endangered Alaska whale population

NOAA wants people online to name Eastern North Pacific right whale spotted in September.

Musicians perform Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at Devil’s Club Brewing. The event was among the first three allowed under a newly amended state law. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

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Three Alaska alcohol manufacturers sue state over rule limiting live music and entertainment

Plaintiffs say limit of four events annually at breweries and distilleries violates First Amendment.

House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, speaks during Thursday night’s floor debate on an education bill. (Screenshot from akl.tv livestream)

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House approves $680 BSA increase, extra support for charter schools in education bill

Bill passes by 38-2 vote, Senate expected to concur with changes after days of negotiations.

A crowd overflows the library at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé on Thursday night as school board members meet to select a consolidation option to help resolve the Juneau School District’s budget crisis. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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School district leaders approve putting grades 9-12 at JDHS, 7-8 and HomeBRIDGE at TMHS

Elementary schools will be K-6; Marie Drake, Floyd Dryden to close this fall if plan gets final OK.

An underwater image captured in 2016 shows sockeye salmon swimming up the Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park to spawn. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is buying about 50 million pounds of Alaska fish — pollock, pink salmon and sockeye salmon — to use in its food and nutrition-assistance programs. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)

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Agriculture Department commits to big purchase of Alaska salmon and pollock for food programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase about 50 million pounds of Alaska seafood to use in national…

Paul Peterson, author of the Harvard study on national charter school performance. (KTOO 360TV screenshot)

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Alaska lawmakers grapple with test-score performance gap between charters and other public schools

Charter study does not show how their testing success can be replicated in regular public schools.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

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Police calls for Monday, Feb. 19, 2024

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

Andy Mills (left), legislative liaison for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and Commissioner Ryan Anderson testify before the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday about an executive order that would give the governor full control of the Alaska Marine Highway System’s operations board. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Governor says he wants control of ferry board so it’s not ‘at odds’ with him; senators express skepticism

Resolution to reject Dunleavy’s executive order among many being considered by legislators.