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Spruce tip fireweed jelly. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For Capital City Weekly)

Planet Alaska: The magic of jam and jelly

There’s a lot of magic happening around us in nature and even in our kitchens.

Spruce tip fireweed jelly. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For Capital City Weekly)
Claire Richardson, director of constituent services for U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, offers a toast at a watch party McGivney’s Sports Bar & Grill as the incumbent emerges with a strong lead on Election Night. But Richardson said the state’s new ranked choice voting makes it likely the winner won’t be known until second- and third-choice ballots are tallied Nov. 23. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Update: Ranked choice seems set to decide congressional races

More to come, but no set schedule, per Division of Elections.

Claire Richardson, director of constituent services for U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, offers a toast at a watch party McGivney’s Sports Bar & Grill as the incumbent emerges with a strong lead on Election Night. But Richardson said the state’s new ranked choice voting makes it likely the winner won’t be known until second- and third-choice ballots are tallied Nov. 23. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Democrat Wes Moore, his wife Dawn, and their children, react after Moore was declared the winner of the Maryland gubernatorial race, in Baltimore, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.  (AP Photo / Bryan Woolston)

GOP, Democrats notch victories in competitive midterm races

WASHINGTON — Control of Congress hung in the balance early Wednesday, with both parties notching victories in some of the most competitive races in a… Continue reading

Democrat Wes Moore, his wife Dawn, and their children, react after Moore was declared the winner of the Maryland gubernatorial race, in Baltimore, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.  (AP Photo / Bryan Woolston)
Courtesy / Huna Totem Corp.
This rendering depicts a proposed community park that is included in Huna Totem Corp.’s plans to develop a new pier and cruise terminal for the downtown waterfront.

Big change could be on deck for Juneau’s waterfront

Huna Totems plan for developing the land is still on track

Courtesy / Huna Totem Corp.
This rendering depicts a proposed community park that is included in Huna Totem Corp.’s plans to develop a new pier and cruise terminal for the downtown waterfront.
KinderReady Preschool students from Harborview Elementary frolic in a pile of dried leaves at Evergreen Cemetery on Tuesday. The leaf jump is an annual event organized by Linda Torgerson and has been happening in Juneau for around 25 years. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
KinderReady Preschool students from Harborview Elementary frolic in a pile of dried leaves at Evergreen Cemetery on Tuesday. The leaf jump is an annual event organized by Linda Torgerson and has been happening in Juneau for around 25 years. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
CCFR firefighters working to extinguish a fire at a mobile home in Sprucewood Park on Monday morning. One man was reported to have escaped the fire with minor injuries and was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital. (Courtesy Photo / CCFR)

Person escapes trailer fire with minor injuries

Second fire at Sprucewood Park in a week.

CCFR firefighters working to extinguish a fire at a mobile home in Sprucewood Park on Monday morning. One man was reported to have escaped the fire with minor injuries and was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital. (Courtesy Photo / CCFR)
A sign directs early voters to the polling station at the Mendenhall Mall on Monday. The mall is one of two early voting locations in Juneau, but more than a dozen polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Election Day is finally here

Many winners of Alaska’s first ranked-choice general election won’t be known until Thanksgiving

A sign directs early voters to the polling station at the Mendenhall Mall on Monday. The mall is one of two early voting locations in Juneau, but more than a dozen polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A map showing Alternative 2, the most aggressive of four original options for expanding the Mendenhall Glacier Recreational Area, includes a dock for commercial motor boats that would carry passengers to a new visitor area at the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. That alternative is the “proposed action” by the U.S. Forest Service, but a revised draft Environmental Impact Statement scheduled to be released Tuesday adds three new lower-impact alternatives to three others already being considered. (U.S. Forest Service)
A map showing Alternative 2, the most aggressive of four original options for expanding the Mendenhall Glacier Recreational Area, includes a dock for commercial motor boats that would carry passengers to a new visitor area at the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. That alternative is the “proposed action” by the U.S. Forest Service, but a revised draft Environmental Impact Statement scheduled to be released Tuesday adds three new lower-impact alternatives to three others already being considered. (U.S. Forest Service)
Thunder Mountain girls varsity volleyball team celebrating their championship victory against JDHS on Saturday, Nov. 5. TMHS now heads to the state tournament in Anchorage to face Colony in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 10. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

TMHS volleyball team advances to state tournament

Falcons will take on Colony in Anchorage Nov. 11

Thunder Mountain girls varsity volleyball team celebrating their championship victory against JDHS on Saturday, Nov. 5. TMHS now heads to the state tournament in Anchorage to face Colony in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 10. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Alison Bremner Nax̲shag̲eit smiles in front of some of her pieces displayed in her new solo exhibit “Midnight at the Fireworks Stand” featured at the Alaska State Museum. Bremner’s 17 piece-collection of contemporary art depicts different stories and aspects of Tlingit and Indigenous life that often go unnoticed, through bright colors, unusual objects and humor.(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Alison Bremner Nax̲shag̲eit smiles in front of some of her pieces displayed in her new solo exhibit “Midnight at the Fireworks Stand” featured at the Alaska State Museum. Bremner’s 17 piece-collection of contemporary art depicts different stories and aspects of Tlingit and Indigenous life that often go unnoticed, through bright colors, unusual objects and humor.(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Artist Kerry Kirkpatrick answers questions about her latest exhibition “Capturing the Light” at a recent QA held at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Saturday. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Artist Kerry Kirkpatrick answers questions about her latest exhibition “Capturing the Light” at a recent QA held at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Saturday. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Derry, N.H., on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa)

Vocabulary of voting: A glossary guide to the 2022 midterms

From “advance voting” to “too close to call.”

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Derry, N.H., on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire 
A variety of fliers with varying amounts of accuracy from candidates and groups are filling mailboxes leading up to the Nov. 8 general election. TV and other ads also range from pure nonsense to completely accurate, although many fall into the “true from a certain point of view” category.

Fact-checking political advertisements

What’s accurate, what’s nonesense and what’s “true from a certain point of view”

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire 
A variety of fliers with varying amounts of accuracy from candidates and groups are filling mailboxes leading up to the Nov. 8 general election. TV and other ads also range from pure nonsense to completely accurate, although many fall into the “true from a certain point of view” category.
Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire 
Floyd Dryden Middle School teacher James White poses with seventh graders with mustaches as a way of recognizing Movember, a movement raising awareness of men’s health issues throughout the month of November.
Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire 
Floyd Dryden Middle School teacher James White poses with seventh graders with mustaches as a way of recognizing Movember, a movement raising awareness of men’s health issues throughout the month of November.
The fifth Governor of Alaska, Bill Sheffield, second from right, speaks to Alaska State Archives staff during a visit to present a copy of his book, “Bill Sheffield: A Memoir, From the Great Depression to the Governor’s Mansion and Beyond” at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building in September 2018. Admiral Richard Knapp, right, who was Commissioner of Transportation during Gov. Sheffield’s administration, also attended the event. Sheffield died Friday at age 94. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Former Gov. Bill Sheffield dies at 94

Bill Sheffield, Alaska’s fifth governor and a prominent public service figure in the state, died in his Anchorage home Friday morning at the age of… Continue reading

The fifth Governor of Alaska, Bill Sheffield, second from right, speaks to Alaska State Archives staff during a visit to present a copy of his book, “Bill Sheffield: A Memoir, From the Great Depression to the Governor’s Mansion and Beyond” at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building in September 2018. Admiral Richard Knapp, right, who was Commissioner of Transportation during Gov. Sheffield’s administration, also attended the event. Sheffield died Friday at age 94. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Jessica Cook, right, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in Tuesday’s election, shows plans for her visit to Juneau to supporter Monica Southworth at the downtown Heritage Coffee on Friday afternoon. Cook, visiting town Thursday and Friday, was hoping to meet volunteers there to distribute “turf packets” that would assign them neighborhoods for last-minute door-to-door campaigning, but none showed up. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Cooking up the campaign’s final days

Candidates and supporters plot door-knocking, phone-banking and sign-waving for last-minute frenzy.

Jessica Cook, right, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in Tuesday’s election, shows plans for her visit to Juneau to supporter Monica Southworth at the downtown Heritage Coffee on Friday afternoon. Cook, visiting town Thursday and Friday, was hoping to meet volunteers there to distribute “turf packets” that would assign them neighborhoods for last-minute door-to-door campaigning, but none showed up. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows downtown Juneau in late October. A recent study looked at the causes of worsening affordability and availability of housing in Juneau and found that demographic change in Juneau’s population is among the largest factors. ( Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows downtown Juneau in late October. A recent study looked at the causes of worsening affordability and availability of housing in Juneau and found that demographic change in Juneau’s population is among the largest factors. ( Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A Juneau Police Department vehicle parks in front of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalè in early September. Two high school students were arrested Thursday after reports that the students had allegedly communicated a plan to commit acts of violence toward a group of students from JDHS, according to Juneau Police Department. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Police say no increased threat day after students arrested

The two boys are being held at the Johnson Youth Center

A Juneau Police Department vehicle parks in front of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalè in early September. Two high school students were arrested Thursday after reports that the students had allegedly communicated a plan to commit acts of violence toward a group of students from JDHS, according to Juneau Police Department. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Alaska State Museum conservator Ellen Carrlee stands in a raised bucket of a truck provided by Alaska Electric Light & Power as she inspects the Yaxté Totem Pole at the Auke Village Recreation Area. (Courtesy / Pete Schneider)
Alaska State Museum conservator Ellen Carrlee stands in a raised bucket of a truck provided by Alaska Electric Light & Power as she inspects the Yaxté Totem Pole at the Auke Village Recreation Area. (Courtesy / Pete Schneider)
Participants sit in “jail” Wednesday afternoon at a reentry simulation at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall hosted by the Juneau Reentry Coalition. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Reentry simulation gives a glimpse of life after incarceration

Juneau residents and stakeholders learn about the challenges faced by former convicts

Participants sit in “jail” Wednesday afternoon at a reentry simulation at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall hosted by the Juneau Reentry Coalition. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)