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Juneau’s first electric bus, parked in the Capital Transit garage on April 8, 2021. As more electric busses join the fleet and the new Valley Transit Center opens, existing bus routes will be reconfigured. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire File)

Valley Transit Center on track to open next summer

New bus routes, new shelters coming

Juneau’s first electric bus, parked in the Capital Transit garage on April 8, 2021. As more electric busses join the fleet and the new Valley Transit Center opens, existing bus routes will be reconfigured. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire File)
A sign points the way to the weigh station at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during last year's Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 16, 2020. This year is the derby's 75th year and organizers have added additional prizes in celebration of the event. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Salmon derby celebrates 75 years with new ways to win

Derby days are here again.

A sign points the way to the weigh station at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during last year's Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 16, 2020. This year is the derby's 75th year and organizers have added additional prizes in celebration of the event. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Travel Juneau CEO and President Liz Perry, Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, City and Borough of Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon, and Ironman regional director Dave Christen hold a sign for the 2022 Juneau Ironman event as they announce the race’s Alaska debut on the University of Alaska- Southeast campus on Aug. 9, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Juneau picked to be 1st Ironman host city in Alaska

The unique full-distance triathlon is a grueling test of endurance by run, swim, and bike.

Travel Juneau CEO and President Liz Perry, Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, City and Borough of Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon, and Ironman regional director Dave Christen hold a sign for the 2022 Juneau Ironman event as they announce the race’s Alaska debut on the University of Alaska- Southeast campus on Aug. 9, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau City Hall on October 24, 2020. At Monday’s Public Works and Facilities Committee meeting, members discussed options for moving forward with a new city hall building. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

CBJ to consider new city hall locations

Voters will have final say

Juneau City Hall on October 24, 2020. At Monday’s Public Works and Facilities Committee meeting, members discussed options for moving forward with a new city hall building. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
This Aug. 5, 2021, photo provided by Lee LaFollette shows a de Havilland Beaver aircraft departing the Port of Ketchikan, Alaska. Foggy, reduced-visibility conditions have delayed efforts to recover the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed in southeast Alaska, killing six people. Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region, says the agency had hoped to recover the wreckage Sunday. But he says those efforts were called off due to poor conditions. He says the crew planned to try again on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. (Lee LaFollette via AP)

Reduced visibility hampers Alaska plane wreckage effort

Foggy and reduced visibility conditions delayed efforts to recover the wreckage.

This Aug. 5, 2021, photo provided by Lee LaFollette shows a de Havilland Beaver aircraft departing the Port of Ketchikan, Alaska. Foggy, reduced-visibility conditions have delayed efforts to recover the wreckage of a sightseeing plane that crashed in southeast Alaska, killing six people. Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region, says the agency had hoped to recover the wreckage Sunday. But he says those efforts were called off due to poor conditions. He says the crew planned to try again on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. (Lee LaFollette via AP)
Juneau resident Katie Kowalchuk let her mask express her excitement before competing in the Aukeman Triathlon on Saturday, August 7. Organizers adopted COVID mitigations, including pre-race masking and distancing, as part of the event. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Get ready, get set, go: Athletes compete in Aukeman Triathlon

“Race day, yay!”

Juneau resident Katie Kowalchuk let her mask express her excitement before competing in the Aukeman Triathlon on Saturday, August 7. Organizers adopted COVID mitigations, including pre-race masking and distancing, as part of the event. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the key Senate Republicans who negotiated the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill with Democrats, departs after a procedural vote on the measure, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. More votes will be needed before final Senate passage. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate votes to advance Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill

“The Senate needs some demonstrated acts of bipartisanship.”

  • Aug 7, 2021
  • By Lisa Mascaro AP Congressional Correspondent
  • National News
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the key Senate Republicans who negotiated the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill with Democrats, departs after a procedural vote on the measure, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. More votes will be needed before final Senate passage. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
Eagle Scout Kristofer Ely and American Legion Post Commander Tom Dawson shake hands at the unveiling of the new sign outside Auke Bay Post 25. Ely executed a project replacing the old sign with the new one. (Courtesy photo / Tom Dawson)

Juneau scout replaces American Legion sign

The project was part of his path to the rank of Eagle Scout.

Eagle Scout Kristofer Ely and American Legion Post Commander Tom Dawson shake hands at the unveiling of the new sign outside Auke Bay Post 25. Ely executed a project replacing the old sign with the new one. (Courtesy photo / Tom Dawson)
Environmentalists in Southeast Alaska are hoping to renew a push for action on pollution of transboundary waters flowing from Canada into the U.S. South of the Juneau, heavy metals run out of the Tulsequah Chief mine opening and down to holding ponds next to the Tulsequah River Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. Leakage from those ponds can be seen entering the river that flows into the Taku River down stream. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Resolution urges action on transboundary pollution

‘Coming at us quickly.’

Environmentalists in Southeast Alaska are hoping to renew a push for action on pollution of transboundary waters flowing from Canada into the U.S. South of the Juneau, heavy metals run out of the Tulsequah Chief mine opening and down to holding ponds next to the Tulsequah River Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. Leakage from those ponds can be seen entering the river that flows into the Taku River down stream. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)
Jeff Rogers, CBJ’s finance director, joined the April 22 Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce Alaska Business Roundtable’s Zoom meeting to explain why commercial properties have recently been reassessed and what it means for business and property owners in the borough. (Screenshot)

Strictly commercial: Property owners chafe at new assessments

Business owners question assessment process.

Jeff Rogers, CBJ’s finance director, joined the April 22 Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce Alaska Business Roundtable’s Zoom meeting to explain why commercial properties have recently been reassessed and what it means for business and property owners in the borough. (Screenshot)
A cabin on Chowiet Island off the Alaska Peninsula in which two biologists were the closest humans to a recent magnitude 8.2 earthquake. (Courtesy Photo /Erik Andersen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)

Alaska Science Forum: The closest people to an 8.2 earthquake

The people who were closest were two biologists who are living on Chowiet Island this summer.

A cabin on Chowiet Island off the Alaska Peninsula in which two biologists were the closest humans to a recent magnitude 8.2 earthquake. (Courtesy Photo /Erik Andersen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)
Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad personnel land and disembark from a Hughes 369D helicopter on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at Temsco Helicopters Inc in Ketchikan, Alaska. The KVRS, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Forest Service responded to a radio beacon alert from a downed Southeast Aviation de Havilland Beaver float plane that was carrying five passengers from the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam, according to Coast Guard, Holland America and KVRS information. The sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said. (Dustin Safranek / Ketchikan Daily News)

Coast Guard: 6 dead in sightseeing plane crash

Emergency beacon near Alaska’s Misty Fjords National Monument.

Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad personnel land and disembark from a Hughes 369D helicopter on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at Temsco Helicopters Inc in Ketchikan, Alaska. The KVRS, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Forest Service responded to a radio beacon alert from a downed Southeast Aviation de Havilland Beaver float plane that was carrying five passengers from the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam, according to Coast Guard, Holland America and KVRS information. The sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said. (Dustin Safranek / Ketchikan Daily News)
In this webcam image is the Pavlof Volcano in a state of eruption with episodic low-level ash emissions on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Three remote Alaska volcanos are each in a state of eruption, one producing lava and the other two blowing steam and ash. So far, no small communities near any of the three have been impacted, Chris Waythomas, a geologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said Thursday. (Alaska Volcano Observatory)

3 erupting Alaska volcanoes spitting lava or ash clouds

Three remote Alaska volcanoes are in various states of eruption

In this webcam image is the Pavlof Volcano in a state of eruption with episodic low-level ash emissions on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Three remote Alaska volcanos are each in a state of eruption, one producing lava and the other two blowing steam and ash. So far, no small communities near any of the three have been impacted, Chris Waythomas, a geologist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said Thursday. (Alaska Volcano Observatory)
The Juneau Police Department are seeking a suspect in a mailbox vandalism that occurred in June. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police looking for suspect in mailbox detonation

Debris from the mailbox was found up to 150 feet away.

The Juneau Police Department are seeking a suspect in a mailbox vandalism that occurred in June. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Road workers repave roads near downtown Juneau on July 29, 2021 as part of the annual task of keeping Juneau’s roads in good condition. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Juneau road construction season well underway

Summer in Juneau can smell a lot like hot asphalt.

Road workers repave roads near downtown Juneau on July 29, 2021 as part of the annual task of keeping Juneau’s roads in good condition. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
State health officials are again urging Alaskan who haven’t to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccines are widely available in Alaska, as seen in this Aug. 5 photo, showing a sign advertising free shots. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Officials again urge vaccinations as COVID cases rise

Vax up, mask up.

State health officials are again urging Alaskan who haven’t to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccines are widely available in Alaska, as seen in this Aug. 5 photo, showing a sign advertising free shots. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A map from the Alaska Energy Authority showing all the communities in Alaska eligible for the Power Cost Equalization program which subsidizes power costs in rural areas. Funding for the program has been caught up in year-to-year budget battles and lawmakers are hopeful they can address the issue in the next special session of the Alaska State Legislature. (Courtesy image / Alaska Energy Authority)

Lawmakers want to amend call to special session

Lots of public testimony.

A map from the Alaska Energy Authority showing all the communities in Alaska eligible for the Power Cost Equalization program which subsidizes power costs in rural areas. Funding for the program has been caught up in year-to-year budget battles and lawmakers are hopeful they can address the issue in the next special session of the Alaska State Legislature. (Courtesy image / Alaska Energy Authority)
Bodhi Race, 3, beams in the driver’s seat of an emergency vehicle during National Night Out on Tuesday evening. Race was among the children who attended the festivities on Rivercourt Way. Emergency responders, police, animal control officers, firefighters and search and rescue personnel interacted with the community for the annual even. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

National Night Out returns after year off

NNO time like the present.

Bodhi Race, 3, beams in the driver’s seat of an emergency vehicle during National Night Out on Tuesday evening. Race was among the children who attended the festivities on Rivercourt Way. Emergency responders, police, animal control officers, firefighters and search and rescue personnel interacted with the community for the annual even. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Members of the Nude Rude Revue will perform burlesque at the Skagway Expose, which takes place Aug. 12-15. The Better Than Boobs band will provide the music. The burlesque show is one of many types of live entertainment on tap for the long weekend. (Courtesy Photo / Courtesy photo / Kaley McGoey)
Capital City Weekly

Set sail for the Skagway Expose

Four days of live entertainment on tap next weekend

Members of the Nude Rude Revue will perform burlesque at the Skagway Expose, which takes place Aug. 12-15. The Better Than Boobs band will provide the music. The burlesque show is one of many types of live entertainment on tap for the long weekend. (Courtesy Photo / Courtesy photo / Kaley McGoey)
Sketches for a new 60 -by- 25-foot mural depicting Elizabeth Kaax̱gal.aat Peratrovich, a Tlingit civil rights activist who worked for equality for Alaska Natives in the 1940s, are laid out for sorting in the studio of Tlingit and Athabascan artist, designer, and activist Crystal Kaakeeyaa Worl. (Courtesy photo / Crystal Kaakeeyaa Worl)
Capital City Weekly

New mural to honor Alaskan civil rights leader

The 60-by-25-foot mural will greet visitors.

Sketches for a new 60 -by- 25-foot mural depicting Elizabeth Kaax̱gal.aat Peratrovich, a Tlingit civil rights activist who worked for equality for Alaska Natives in the 1940s, are laid out for sorting in the studio of Tlingit and Athabascan artist, designer, and activist Crystal Kaakeeyaa Worl. (Courtesy photo / Crystal Kaakeeyaa Worl)