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The front page of the Juneau Empire on Dec. 18, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending Dec. 21

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President-elect Donald Trump (left) will be working as chief executives at opposite ends of the U.S. next year, a face constructed of rocks on Sandy Beach is seen among snow in November (center), and KINY’s prize patrol van (right) flashes its colors outside the station this summer. (Photos, from left to right, from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office, Elliot Welch via Juneau Parks and Recreation, and Mark Sabbatini via the Juneau Empire)

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Juneau’s 10 strangest news stories of 2024

Governor’s captivating journey to nowhere, woman who won’t leave the beach among those making waves.

The city of Hoonah is seeking to incorporate as a borough with a large tract of surrounding area that includes most of Glacier Bay National Park and a few tiny communities. (Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development photo)

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New Xunaa Borough gets OK in published decision, but opponents not yet done with challenges

State boundary commission reaffirms 3-2 vote; excluded communities likely to ask for reconsideration.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Dec. 27, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending Dec. 28

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Juneau City Manager Katie Koester (left) and Mayor Beth Weldon (right) meet with residents affected by glacial outburst flooding during a break in a Juneau Assembly meeting Monday night at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau’s mayor gets an award, city manager gets a raise

Beth Weldon gets lifetime Alaska Municipal League honor; Katie Koester gets bonus, retroactive pay hike.

Juneau Board of Education members vote during an online meeting Tuesday to extend a free student breakfast program during the second half of the school year. (Screenshot from Juneau Board of Education meeting on Zoom)

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Extending free student breakfast program until end of school year OK’d by school board

Officials express concern about continuing program in future years without community funding.

Common murres are clustered together on a cliff ledge in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge on July 30, 2019. Annual monitoring of key nesting sites has found that the common murre population has yet to recover from the massive die-off caused by the marine heatwave known as the “Blob.” It was the biggest wildlife die-off in modern times, a new study says. (Photo by Brie Drummond/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

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Alaska birds suffered biggest die-off in recorded history in ‘Blob’ heat wave, new study says

4 million deaths of common murres during the intense North Pacific marine heatwave.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Police calls for Thursday, Dec. 12, 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, Dec. 13, 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 Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024

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

Travelers using the all-gender restroom at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on Dec. 3. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

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New this holiday season for travelers in transit at Sea- Tac: All-gender restroom and autonomous wheelchairs

Facilities installed earlier this year in Alaska Airlines concourse; single-sex bathrooms still available.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (left) talks with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and local leaders during an Aug. 7 visit to a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood hit by record flooding. (Photo provided by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office)

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Dunleavy to Trump: Give us Mendenhall Lake; nix feds’ control of statewide land, wildlife, tribal issues

Governor asks president-elect for Alaska-specific executive order on dozens of policy actions.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Police calls for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024

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

A family ice skates and perfects their hockey prowess on Mendenhall Lake, below Mendenhall Glacier, outside of Juneau, Alaska, Nov. 24, 2024. The state’s capital, a popular cruise port in summer, becomes a bargain-seeker’s base for skiing, skating, hiking and glacier-gazing in the winter off-season. (Christopher S. Miller/The New York Times)

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NY Times: Juneau becomes a deal-seeker’s base for skiing, skating, hiking and glacier-gazing in winter

Newspaper’s “Frugal Traveler” columnist writes about winter side of summer cruise destination.

Dozens of residents pack into a Juneau Assembly meeting at City Hall on Monday night, where a proposal that would require property owners in flood-vulnerable areas to pay thousands of dollars apiece for the installation of protective flood barriers was discussed. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Assembly OKs lowering flood barrier payment for property owners to about $6,300 rather than $8,000

Amended ordinance makes city pay higher end of 60/40 split, rather than even share.

A map shows properties within a proposed Local Improvement District whose owners could be charged nearly $8,000 each for the installation of a semi-permanent levee to protect the area from floods. (City and Borough of Juneau map)

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Assembly holding public hearing on $8K per-property flood district as other agreements, arguments persist

City, Forest Service, tribal council sign $1M study pact; citizens’ group video promotes lake levee.

Members of the Home Health and Hospice program at Bartlett Regional Hospital, and family members of people who’ve been in such programs, gather for “Light Up a Life” community celebration Friday evening at the hospital. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Stabilizing local hospice and home health services celebrated as a gift at holiday gathering

“Light Up a Life” at Bartlett Regional Hospital offers tributes to those receiving end-of-life care.

Law enforcement officers from several agencies accompanied by local youths purchase Christmas gifts at Fred Meyer on Saturday during the annual Shop With a Cop event. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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In the presents of peace officers: Record-high 61 kids pick out gifts in annual Shop With A Cop

Officers from multiple agencies help pick out and wrap gifts for 32 families Saturday.

Students arrive at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé for the first day of the 2024-25 school year Aug. 15. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Allure of student-created viral videos is fueling vicious brawls at U.S. schools

JDHS assistant principal: Cellphones are top way of soliciting, advertising “and almost glorifying” fights.

A network of pipelines, seen on Aug. 23, 2018, snakes through a portion of the Greater Prudhoe Bay Unit on Alaska’s North Slope. Oil production is expected to increase in coming years, but revenue is expected to decline, in large part because of lower oil prices, accordign to the newest forecast from the Alaska Department of Revenue. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

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Lower prices dim expectations for Alaska oil earnings in coming years, revenue forecast says

North Slope production is expected to start rising, but revenues to state will decline this decade.