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A sculpture of a bear reading a book is seen in front of Auke Bay Elementary School on July 12, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

School district leaders rank ‘add-back’ priorities for $5.2M in extra funds OK’d in state budget

List to be considered by school board Saturday includes HomeBRIDGE, special eduction, tech staff.

Meilani Schijvens (center), owner of Rain Coast Data, talks with attendees at a Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday before presenting results from an annual economic survey by her company. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Survey: Optimism of Southeast Alaska businesses down this year, but still second-highest since 2010

Tourism leaders most optimistic in Juneau, seafood industry most pessimistic, annual report states.

McHugh Pierre, Goldbelt’s president and CEO, discusses the Alaska Native Regional Corporation’s operations during its 50th-anniversary celebration at its Vintage Park Campus on Jan. 4. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Goldbelt seeks dismissal of $30M lawsuit by medical company, argues alleged ‘oral’ agreement unenforceable

Juneau Native corporation also denies the agreement exists in COVID-19 needle contract dispute.

Tents occupied by people experiencing homelessness stand across the street from the Glory Hall on June 10. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Ban on homeless sleeping outdoors upheld by U.S. Supreme Court in case watched by Juneau leaders

Some local leaders suggesting restrictions in areas near social service providers.

The U.S. Supreme Court, pictured, issued a decision on a case dealing with a legal precedent that gave federal agencies broad discretion to use their judgment to resolve any ambiguity Congress left in a federal statute. (Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

News

U.S. Supreme Court flips precedent that empowered federal agencies

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a precedent Friday that had for decades limited judicial power to strike…

(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Juneau man arrested on 17 sex crime charges involving teenager a decade ago

Brian H. Kurtzman, 50, sexually abused victim in Juneau and Haines, according to police.

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, cuts a cake at an event at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office on Thursday to celebrate Juneteenth’s new status as an official state holiday. The celebration followed a bill-signing ceremony at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Anchorage office. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Dunleavy signs bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday in Alaska

On Thursday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill to make Juneteenth a legal holiday in the state.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy hands out pens he used to sign the budget bills for the fiscal year beginning July 1 to state lawmakers during a private ceremony in Anchorage on Thursday. (Official photo from The Office of the Governor)

News

Dunleavy signs state budget with $680 BSA increase, vetoes tens of millions in other education spending

Broadband for rural schools, K-3 reading assistance, disaster aid, ferry system among other vetoes.

Alaska Department of Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg gave an update on the backlog of food aid applications in the Division of Public Assistance at a news conference for Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed FY 2025 budget in Juneau on Dec. 14, 2023. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

News

USDA penalizes Alaska $12 million for overpaying food stamp benefits

State denies mistake, but says officials disobeyed federal rules during the backlog crisis.

Elbert Lin, a Virginia attorney contracted by the state of Alaska to argue its appeal in the State of Alaska, Department of Education and Early Development v. Alexander case, addresses Alaska Supreme Court justices on Thursday in Anchorage. (Andrew Kitchenman/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska Supreme Court reverses homeschool allotment ruling

Alaska’s Supreme Court justices on Friday reversed a Superior Court ruling that struck down key components of the…

Hilcorp’s Alaska headquarters in Midtown Anchorage are seen on Feb. 7. The company, now a dominant operator in Alaska, announced it has struck a deal to expand its North Slope holdings by buying Eni’s Alaska assets. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Hilcorp announces plan to buy Eni’s oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope

Deal would expand company’s operations to offshore Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq oil fields.

“Woven” is a new digital and print publication by the Sustainable Southeast Partnership. (Photo courtesy of Sustainable Southeast Partnership)

News

Woven Peoples and Place: ‘We are tired of being resilient’ — Introducing ‘Woven’

New name emphasizes the interconnectedness, strength and balance of our communities.

The burning cruise ship Prinsendam 200 miles from Juneau in the Gulf of Alaska in October 1980 after 519 people abandoned ship into lifeboats and were rescued. An oil leak in the engine room started a fire just as Juneau was celebrating its 100th birthday on Oct. 4. (Credit ASL-P313-12-06)

News

A dramatic sea rescue saved all from a cruise ship fire on Juneau’s 100th birthday; what would happen today?

519 Prinsendam passengers saved from lifeboats; now officials say best hope is another cruise ship.

Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Henderson, left, asks a question during oral arguments in a case concerning correspondence education allotments on Thursday in the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage. (Andrew Kitchenman/Alaskaa Beacon)

News

Alaska Supreme Court weighs whether correspondence education lawsuit wrongly targeted state

Plaintiffs aim to block public dollars benefiting private schools, defense focuses on parents’ rights

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden listen to the moderators during the first 2024 presidential election debate at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta on Thursday. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

News

Biden struggles, Trump aggressively lies during first presidential debate between likely nominees

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly delivered aggressive, often misleading attacks against a shaky President Joe Biden during a…

The RTK drone flies on Tuesday near Snowslide Creek in Juneau. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities uses drones to evaluate snowpack and prepare for avalanches by increasing the collection of data. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Alaska leads the nation in drone innovation, wants to use it to save more lives

Visibility, data collection for disaster management reaching new heights, experts visiting Juneau say.

Deputy Attorney General Cori Mills explains the administration’s understanding of a ruling that struck down key components of the state’s correspondence school program, in the Alaska State Capitol on May 1. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

News

What you need to know about Alaska’s contested homeschool allotments

Alaska’s Supreme Court hears state’s appeal of ruling that allotments are unconstitutional Thursday.

A courtroom at the Juneau Courthouse. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photpo)

News

Juneau man gets 7½-year sentence for sexually abusing 14-year-old family member in his home

Randy Willard, 39, also gets 16½ years suspended jail time, must register as lifetime sex offender.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on June 25, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending June 29

Three decades of capital city coverage.

The ballot drop box at Don D. Statter Harbor was one of a few places voters in Juneau cast their ballots during the City and Borough of Juneau municipal election in the fall of 2022. Vote-by-mail elections are now the default in Juneau. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Effort to repeal local mail-in voting ordinance called ‘huge success’ despite not enough signatures

Petition to repeal measure OK’d last year raises awareness, may fuel future effort, organizer says.