Site Logo
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo Cars drive past the building where the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. is headquartered on Sept. 21, 2023.

News

Accusations of threats, closed-door decisions and other improprieties raised at Permanent Fund board meeting

Special meeting resulting from leak of emails about one board member leads to wider allegations.

With snow steadily falling and daylight fading, career fair participants pitched in with a final task for Angoon. Earlier in the season, the boys’ basketball team had split firewood as a fundraiser. Wood stoves heat many of the older homes in Angoon. They are a reprieve from high electricity and fuel prices, but only as long as a household can chop and move their own firewood — making the deliveries a lifeline for elders and their families. Participants help load and deliver firewood to elders and families in need. (Photo by Jenny Starrs)

News

Resilient Peoples and Place: An energy-secure Angoon

Career fairs involve youth in community’s future.

Hiker Linda Kruger reaches Father Brown’s Cross on Mount Roberts in this July 2020 photo. Kruger has organized the annual trail race to the cross for the past ten years. This year’s race is scheduled for Saturday, July 6, although the cross is no longer there. (Photo courtesy Jeff Gnass)

News

Crossed off: Famous Mount Roberts cross lies flat

Father Brown’s Cross destroyed during winter for reasons not fully known; restoration plans underway.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks on the House floor in 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

By wide, bipartisan margin, Alaska House puts finishing touches on state capital budget

The Alaska House of Representatives approved a major increase to state spending on school repairs and renewable energy…

Deputy Mayor Michelle Bonnet Hale (left) talks with Assembly members (from right to left) Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake and Ella Adkison following an Assembly Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night. Hale and Blake, whose terms expire this fall, say they are not seeking reelection. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Two Assembly members say they won’t seek reelection ahead of annual ‘run for office’ workshop

Michelle Bonnet Hale and Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake cite family and time considerations.

City Manager Katie Koester (center) explains options for a budget item to members of the Juneau Assembly’s Finance Committee during a meeting Wednesday night as Deputy City Manager Robert Barr and Finance Director Angie Flick listen. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

With city taking over school buildings, leaders balk at funding for newly built projects

Assembly members reject $4M for new nonprofit family center site, suggest using existing facilities.

Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee, at left, listen to budget aide Remond Henderson during a break in amendment discussions on Monday, March 27, 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska House committee kills state-owned corporation’s plan to borrow up to $300 million

AIDEA did not identify specific projects or a timeline for spending.

Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee discuss their first-draft budget on Tuesday, March 12. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska House nears vote on big increase for public school maintenance statewide

House Finance Committee approved the most school maintenance funding since 2011.

Members of the state House and Senate look at a tally board showing the failure of Bob Griffin to be confirmed to the Alaska state school board on Tuesday. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

Alaska Legislature rejects Dunleavy-nominated state school board member

Two other nominees for boards and commissions fail to gain approval as lawmakers approve 78 of 81.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore berths in Juneau Harbor in late October of 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Cruise ship employee arrested after stabbing multiple people aboard with scissors

South African man tried to deploy lifeboat, then attacked security staff, nurse and a passenger.

An airplane equipped with instruments to allow for flight in cloudy conditions is ready for passengers at the Haines airport on Thursday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

News

Local air carrier adopts new tech with aim to make travel in Southeast Alaska safer, more reliable

More precise GPS, FAA OK for new routes expected to lead to fewer cancellations, increased safety.

Lt. Daniel Schuerman, the ship’s operations officer, shows the 5-inch/54-caliber Mark 45 gun on the foredeck of the USS William P. Lawrence during a tour Sunday in Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Navy brings out big guns for visitors aboard destroyer as crew works on community projects during Juneau stop

USS William P. Lawrence open to public tours until its scheduled departure Wednesday

Rep. Andi Story, a Juneau Democrat, listens to a presentation during a House Education Committee meeting on Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Juneau lawmaker’s bill adding four Indigenous languages to state’s official list unanimously passes Senate

Legislation by Rep. Andi Story also renames, expands size of state Native languages council.

The University of Alaska Southeast class of 2024 receive their degrees during a commencement ceremony Sunday at the UAS Recreation Center. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

New University of Alaska Southeast graduates cherish the moment and the challenges yet to come

More than 300 degree recipients honored during Sunday’s commencement ceremony.

Red clothing is worn and displayed as a sign of a unified call for action during a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday to commemorate the annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Rally seeks future where Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day is not necessary

More than 50 people gather at Capitol to share stories of missing family, efforts to address issue.

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board members including Gabrielle Rubenstein (wearing white) meet with staff and advisors on Oct. 30, 2023, to discuss a proposal to raise the fund’s rate of return by making riskier investments. The idea stalled when advisors suggested the strategy and timing are ill-advised. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Permanent Fund board calls special meeting Wednesday due to leaked emails alleging improper behavior

Ellie Rubenstein accused of setting up meetings between APFC staff and her business associates.

Peyton Wheeler takes a shot for Juneau Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé during Friday’s game against Thunder Mountain High School at Adair-Kennedy Field. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS boys, girls soccer teams get shutout wins against TMHS

Crimson Bears boys’ 7-0 win on Thursday followed by girls’ 6-0 victory over Falcons on Friday.

Thunder Mountain High School boys’ basketball coach John Blasco and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé coach Robert Casperson talk following the final local game between the two schools on Feb. 24, due to a consolidation plan taking effect during the coming school year. Blasco said Monday he is stepping down with the intent of letting Casperson coach the consolidated team. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Sports

Juneau School District coaches and advisors being released due to consolidation, will have to reapply for jobs

Preference will be given to “successful incumbents” and certified staff, according to district letter.

The Alaska Supreme Court is seen on Thursday, Feb. 8, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

News

State seeks quick Alaska Supreme Court ruling in appeal to resolve correspondence education issues

Court asked to decide by June 30 whether to extend hold barring public spending on private schools.

Visitors on Sept. 4, 2021, stroll by the historic chapel and buildings used for classrooms and dormitories that remain standing at Pilgrim Hot Springs. The site was used as an orphanage for Bering Strait-area children who lost their parents to the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. Pilgrim Hot Springs is among the state’s 11 most endangered historic properties, according to an annual list released by Preservation Alaska. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

News

Boats, a lighthouse, churches among sites named as Alaska’s most at-risk historic properties

Wolf Creek Boatworks near Hollis tops Preservation Alaska’s list of 11 sites facing threats.