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An artist’s depiction shows the public meeting space for a proposed new city hall in Juneau. The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to vote Monday on allocating $6.3 million in general funds toward the project expected to cost roughly $40 million, accepting public testimony beforehand. The Assembly is also scheduled to take final votes on other major items including next year’s budget and property tax mill rate. (SRS Architecture)

Big action on big local issues Monday

Final votes on next year’s budget and property tax mill rate among items at Juneau Assembly meeting

An artist’s depiction shows the public meeting space for a proposed new city hall in Juneau. The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to vote Monday on allocating $6.3 million in general funds toward the project expected to cost roughly $40 million, accepting public testimony beforehand. The Assembly is also scheduled to take final votes on other major items including next year’s budget and property tax mill rate. (SRS Architecture)
This photo shows a ballot and return envelope for the special primary election for Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ballots must be postmarked by June 11. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: How the Second Amendment informed my special election primary vote

By Rich Moniak Jeff Lowenfels was at the bottom of my short list in the special primary election to complete Congressman Don Young’s term. Then… Continue reading

  • Jun 11, 2022
  • By Rich Moniak
This photo shows a ballot and return envelope for the special primary election for Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ballots must be postmarked by June 11. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Update: Judge rules against state in ballot access case

DOL: Agency is working on an emergency petition for review to the Alaska Supreme Court.

Gavel (Courtesy photo)
Performers and their families wave to the crowd at the end of the Toddler Regalia Review at Centennial Hall on Friday, June 10, 2022, part of Celebration 2022. Performers were aged 2-5, and wore regalia made for them by friends and family. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Kids take the stage for toddler regalia review

Cutest show in town.

Performers and their families wave to the crowd at the end of the Toddler Regalia Review at Centennial Hall on Friday, June 10, 2022, part of Celebration 2022. Performers were aged 2-5, and wore regalia made for them by friends and family. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Project Gabe, named after a young man who died of an opioid overdose, aims to bring overdose kits to the fisheries industry in the Southeast. Volunteers assembled 150 kits on Friday, June 10, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

‘This is stoppable’: Program works to bring opioid OD kits to seafood industry

The project began with a tragic death, but proponents hope it can prevent more.

Project Gabe, named after a young man who died of an opioid overdose, aims to bring overdose kits to the fisheries industry in the Southeast. Volunteers assembled 150 kits on Friday, June 10, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Ricardo Worl, left, congratulates 2022 Celebration traditional food contest winners Mike Allard (seaweed), Sharon Olsen (seal oil) and Donna James (dried fish) at Centennial Hall on Thursday shortly after a secret judging at the Walter Soboleff Building(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Traditions set the table for Celebration food contest winners

Winners say subsistence traditions feed bodies and souls during pandemic.

Ricardo Worl, left, congratulates 2022 Celebration traditional food contest winners Mike Allard (seaweed), Sharon Olsen (seal oil) and Donna James (dried fish) at Centennial Hall on Thursday shortly after a secret judging at the Walter Soboleff Building(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
FILE - Rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Members of the House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 will hold their first prime time hearing Thursday, June 9, 2022, to share what they have uncovered. (AP Photo / John Minchillo)

Capitol riot an ‘attempted coup,’ prime-time hearing told

“President Trump summoned a violent mob,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

  • Jun 9, 2022
  • By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri Associated Press
  • Nation-World
FILE - Rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Members of the House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 will hold their first prime time hearing Thursday, June 9, 2022, to share what they have uncovered. (AP Photo / John Minchillo)
Juneau Police Department Chief Ed Mercer speaks during a department event on June 9, 2022. The department has made three major drug busts in the last week, seizing illegal drugs valued at more than $300,000 locally. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire) Juneau Police Department Chief Ed Mercer speaks during a department event on June 9, 2022. The department has made three major drug busts in the last week, seizing illegal drugs valued at more than $300,000 locally. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

‘It’s more than what we’ve seen in the past’: Police talk flurry of recent drug busts

A number of major busts have occurred in 2022, with three in the last week alone.

Juneau Police Department Chief Ed Mercer speaks during a department event on June 9, 2022. The department has made three major drug busts in the last week, seizing illegal drugs valued at more than $300,000 locally. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire) Juneau Police Department Chief Ed Mercer speaks during a department event on June 9, 2022. The department has made three major drug busts in the last week, seizing illegal drugs valued at more than $300,000 locally. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
The copper sculpture “Mussel” by Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger is the Best of Show winner in the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s 11th biennial Juried Art Show and Competition featured at this year’s Celebration. Entries in the competition will be exhibited at the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Walter Soboleff Building through Dec. 3. (Courtesy Photo / Sealaska Heritage Institute)

Opposite attraction: Winner of art competition at Celebration is an Eagle carver who is ‘drawn to Raven when I am creating’

She knows the value of strong mussels.

The copper sculpture “Mussel” by Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger is the Best of Show winner in the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s 11th biennial Juried Art Show and Competition featured at this year’s Celebration. Entries in the competition will be exhibited at the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Walter Soboleff Building through Dec. 3. (Courtesy Photo / Sealaska Heritage Institute)
Hundreds of regalia-clad dancers lined Willoughby Avenue behind Centennial Hall on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in preparation for Celebration 2022's grand procession through the hall. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Hundreds gather for Celebration grand procession

Day one.

Hundreds of regalia-clad dancers lined Willoughby Avenue behind Centennial Hall on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in preparation for Celebration 2022's grand procession through the hall. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Fran Houston, cultural Leader of the A'akw Kwáan, dances during Celebration in downtown Juneau. Wednesday, the biennial celebration of Alaska Native peoples and cultures brought song, dance and the opening of a new arts campus to the capital city. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Celebration opens with Sealaska campus debut

Dances, ceremonies, Alaska’s first 360-degree totem and a new discovery about old times mark event

Fran Houston, cultural Leader of the A'akw Kwáan, dances during Celebration in downtown Juneau. Wednesday, the biennial celebration of Alaska Native peoples and cultures brought song, dance and the opening of a new arts campus to the capital city. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Kristall Bullock, 16, right, a Ketchikan resident whose Native-themed vest is part of the Sealaska Heritage Juried Youth Art Exhibit, examines works by her peers during the debt of the exhibit Friday at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. She said she saw works at the exhibit during Celebration in 2018, when she was with one of the dance groups, and “I was thinking I want to have a piece.” Viewing other works at the exhibit with Bullock are her sister, Anna Lindgren, and 8-month-old niece, Evelyn. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Healthy outlook for return of Celebration

Landmark Alaska Native event returns to Juneau starting Wednesday, with strict COVID-19 rules.

Kristall Bullock, 16, right, a Ketchikan resident whose Native-themed vest is part of the Sealaska Heritage Juried Youth Art Exhibit, examines works by her peers during the debt of the exhibit Friday at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. She said she saw works at the exhibit during Celebration in 2018, when she was with one of the dance groups, and “I was thinking I want to have a piece.” Viewing other works at the exhibit with Bullock are her sister, Anna Lindgren, and 8-month-old niece, Evelyn. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows Cowee Meadows at the end of May presented a flower show featuring buttercups and the taller lupines; shooting stars bloomed below the yellow canopy. (Mary F. Willson / For the Juneau Empire)

On the Trails: Cowee Meadows observations

Building up buttercups.

  • Jun 8, 2022
  • By Mary F. Willson
This photo shows Cowee Meadows at the end of May presented a flower show featuring buttercups and the taller lupines; shooting stars bloomed below the yellow canopy. (Mary F. Willson / For the Juneau Empire)
The Capitol is seen in Washington, early Friday, April 1, 2022. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will go public with its findings starting Thursday, June 9. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Jan. 6 insurrection hearings: How to watch and what to know

Nearly a year since its inception, the House committee will go public.

The Capitol is seen in Washington, early Friday, April 1, 2022. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will go public with its findings starting Thursday, June 9. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage speaks during a rally urging the Alaska government, particularly the Permanent Fund Corp., to divest itself from any Russian investment. Legislation to require divestment did not pass the Legislature. The state still holds millions of dollars in Russian investments. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

State still holds millions in Russian investments

Llegislation that would have required the state to sell its Russia holdings did not pass.

Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage speaks during a rally urging the Alaska government, particularly the Permanent Fund Corp., to divest itself from any Russian investment. Legislation to require divestment did not pass the Legislature. The state still holds millions of dollars in Russian investments. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
There have been reports of wolves, like the one shown in this public domain image, near the Mendenhall River Community School in early June, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game hasn’t received any reports of wolves being a nuisance, said a state biologist. (Milo Weiler / Unsplash)

Not-so-dire wolf: Animal sighting near school not necessarily cause for concern, says biologist

Its presence on a road in daylight is unusual, but not unheard of.

There have been reports of wolves, like the one shown in this public domain image, near the Mendenhall River Community School in early June, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game hasn’t received any reports of wolves being a nuisance, said a state biologist. (Milo Weiler / Unsplash)
This April photo shows the Juneau International Airport. On Tuesday two Juneau residents were arrested on multiple drug-related charges at the airport. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Two Juneau residents arrested for drugs at airport

It’s the third six-figure bust this week.

This April photo shows the Juneau International Airport. On Tuesday two Juneau residents were arrested on multiple drug-related charges at the airport. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
Former Gov. Bill Walker, right, and his running mate former commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Heidi Drygas, speak to Juneauites gathered for a fundraiser at a private home in Juneau on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Walker’s run for governor comes to Juneau

A crowded field.

Former Gov. Bill Walker, right, and his running mate former commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Heidi Drygas, speak to Juneauites gathered for a fundraiser at a private home in Juneau on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The 10 participants in season 9 of “Alone,” premiering on May 26, 2022, on the History Channel. Terry Burns of Homer is the fifth from left. Another Alaskan in the series, Jacques Tourcotte of Juneau, is third from left. (Photo by Brendan George Ko/History Channel)
Features

Homer man goes it ‘Alone’

Burns brings lifetime of wilderness experience to survival series.

The 10 participants in season 9 of “Alone,” premiering on May 26, 2022, on the History Channel. Terry Burns of Homer is the fifth from left. Another Alaskan in the series, Jacques Tourcotte of Juneau, is third from left. (Photo by Brendan George Ko/History Channel)
The Coast Guard medevaced two people from shore after their plane crashed in the water near Outer Point on Douglas Island, Alaska, June 7, 2022. The two survivors immediately swam ashore after their plane crashed approximately 100 feet from shore. (Courtesy Photo / Coast Guard)

2 stable following plane crash near Outer Point

The plane’s sole two occupants immediately swam to shore.

The Coast Guard medevaced two people from shore after their plane crashed in the water near Outer Point on Douglas Island, Alaska, June 7, 2022. The two survivors immediately swam ashore after their plane crashed approximately 100 feet from shore. (Courtesy Photo / Coast Guard)