Site Logo
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a crater and an ash cloud after the Shiveluch volcano erupted in Klyuchi village on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka Peninsula’s most active volcanoes, started erupting early Tuesday, spewing ash more than 300 miles (500 kilometers) northwest. Several Russian villages were covered in grey volcanic dust in the largest fallout in nearly 60 years. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

News

Russia eruption sets off chain of flight cancellations in Juneau and across the state

A volcanic eruption more than 2,500 miles away from Juneau on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has caused dozens of…

Members of the Juneau Assembly’s Finance Committee meet Wednesday as they hear department presentations about next year’s proposed budget. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Opinion

Opinion: Spending up, taxes up, population stagnant in Juneau

Last week, during a scheduled CBJ Assembly Finance Committee meeting, City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) staff introduced…

Photos by Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Lisa Puananimôhala’ikalani Denny sings while on stage at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar during the Alaska Folk Festival side-stage event “Unceded” Tuesday evening. Below, Lester Joel Rodriguez also performed during the event.

News

‘Unceded’ Folk Fest event celebrates artists of color and the diversity of folk music

Nearly a dozen Southeast Alaska-based Black, Indigenous and other artists of color took the stage.

City and Borough of Juneau Treasurer Angie Flick has been selected to replace outgoing Jeff Rogers as Finance Director. Flick is expected to begin her new post with the city Monday. (City and Borough of Juneau)

News

City selects new finance director

CBJ Treasurer Angie Flick to begin job on Monday, overlapping with departing Jeff Rogers

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire A LifeMed Alaska aircraft sits outside near Juneau International Airport on Monday afternoon. The nonprofit air medical service announced it will be closing its base in Juneau.

News

Air ambulance service set to close base in Juneau

The nonprofit air medical service will continue to service Southeast Alaska, officials say.

(Clarise Larson/ Juneau Empire File)

Sports

JDHS boys soccer starts season on the right foot

JDHS beat TMHS 6-1.

Alaska House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, right, confers with other House members during a break in the floor debate last Wednesday about next year’s proposed budget. She said the original plan of passing a budget last week has shifted due to discussions with the Senate about resolving differences in their spending plans, with a floor vote now planned by early next week.

News

Budget stalls in House as leaders confer with Senate

Lawmakers trying to work out differences on PFD, education, deficit as final month of session nears

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Apayauq Reitan, the first transgender woman to participate in the Iditarod, tells the House Education Committee on March 30 why she opposes a bill restricting sex and gender content in schools. A second meeting for public testimony is scheduled Thursday.

News

Public gets another chance to opine on ‘parental rights’ bill

Supporters hoping for bigger presence than first meeting when 90% of testimony opposed proposal

Courtesy Photo / Sunny Pittman Artwork by Skate Board member Jordan Kendall can be seen behind a skater at the Pipeline.

News

The Pipeline timeline, and where the Juneau skate park is wheeling off to next

The story starts with a group of teens in the mid-’90s. Now, the park is heading toward a…

This photo shows Resurrection Lutheran Church which provides a warming shelter to Juneau patrons during the winter months. The shelter is set to close for the season following Sunday night, and on Monday, the City and Borough of Juneau’s seasonal campground, the Mill Campground will open. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

Warming shelter set for season closure, Mill Campground to open the following day

Shelter to close after Sunday night, campground to open Monday.

Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, appears at the Juneau Courthouse late Tuesday afternoon. Watley is being charged with one count of felony terroristic threatening and faces up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine for reportedly posting transphobic notes that referenced shooting children at three public locations in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

Man arrested for threatening notes appears in Juneau Courthouse

Mitchell Thomas Watley is being charged with one count of felony terroristic threatening.

Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire Beth Leibowitz, Cecily Morris, Jacque Farnsworth, Phyllis Scott, Steve Tada, Jean Butler, Delores O’Mara and Steve Winker of Escape from Brooklyn perform for the 48th Annual Alaska Folk Festival which kicked off on Monday at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.

News

Folk Fest returns

New locations, same great time for 48th annual Alaska Folk Festival

Graphic: Business Wire Characters explore the landscape in the Roblox game Beyond the Stars. A presentation to Alaska lawmakers this week by a Homer police official asserts that such games are used by child sex predators to lure victims.

News

Capitol’s culture wars get graphic

Presentation about proper parenting features mature imagary, talk of arresting librarians

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File A “sold” sign hangs outside the former Walmart building that was empty for many years until U-Haul purchased it late last year. A bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday would allow municipalities to impose tax penalties on blighted properties, while offering breaks for owners doing development projects.

News

Legislature looks at more property tax shakeups

Bill allows municipalities to give breaks for economic development, penalize blighted properties

The JDHS softball team poses for team photo on Saturday before delivering eggs to families across Juneau as part of the team’s third annual Egg My House event. (Courtesy Photo / Lexie Razor)

Sports

Egging for a good cause

JDHS softball teams holds annual fundraiser.

Capital City Fire/Rescue firefighters move to extinguish a trailer fire in early March. CCFR officials talk about the importance of staying fire safe as spring approaches. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

News

Recent fires emphasize importance smoke detectors, fire awareness

Two recent fatal incidents, illegal burns prompt reminders from local fire officials

A U.S. Forest Service crew works on a riverbed project in the Tongass National Forest. (U.S. Forest Service)

News

Public ideas sought for long-term Tongass strategy

U.S. Forest Service to conduct online, in-person sessions during coming weeks for 10-year plan

Guy Archibald collects clam shell specimens on Admiralty Island. Archibald was the lead author of a recently released study that linked a dramatic increase of lead levels in Hawk Inlet’s marine ecosystem and land surrounding it on Admiralty Island to tailings released from the nearby Hecla Greens Creek Mine. (Courtesy Photo / John Neary)

Opinion

Opinion: Questions linger amid mine permitting process

How much pollution has already taken place and how damaging is it?

Myrna Gardner drops off a completed Easter Basket near several others Saturday inside the Juneau Moose Family Center. The baskets were dropped off with AWARE later in the day. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Women of the Moose decide it’s eggs-actly the right time for giving

Volunteers prep Easter baskets for AWARE.

A snowboarder stays afloat on the skim pond at Eaglecrest Ski Area as they partake in the return of the Slush Cup Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

News

Slush Cup returns to Eaglecrest

The ski area waves goodbye to the 2022-2023 winter season.