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Joab Cano stands in front of The Light of the World church in Juneau. (Courtesy of Joab Cano)

Living and Growing: Alaska’s renewed spiritual journey — from the northern lights to Guadalajara

Under the mesmerizing dance of the northern lights, Alaskans have always forged profound connections — with nature, with each other and with the divine. This… Continue reading

Joab Cano stands in front of The Light of the World church in Juneau. (Courtesy of Joab Cano)
Juneau’s current City Hall is seen on July 13. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Assembly transparency deficit disorder: part II

In a previous column I described several Assembly meetings where actions taken were less than transparent. That column discussed (1) an ordinance appropriating $50,000 to… Continue reading

Juneau’s current City Hall is seen on July 13. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
The author, his wife Abby and his friend Danny wait out the weather under a rock and a tarp on opening day of deer season. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: The price of comfort

After a week of rain, I relished the few minutes of sunshine from my glassing spot on top of a ridge. Just behind me was… Continue reading

The author, his wife Abby and his friend Danny wait out the weather under a rock and a tarp on opening day of deer season. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Exposed by a low tide, a clone of plumose anemones shows varied sizes and no extended tentacles. (Photo by MaryAnne Slemmons)

On the Trails: An intertidal excursion

A very low tide in early August enticed me and a couple of friends out to see what we could see in the intertidal zone.… Continue reading

Exposed by a low tide, a clone of plumose anemones shows varied sizes and no extended tentacles. (Photo by MaryAnne Slemmons)
Larry Persily

Like bell bottoms and Blockbuster movie rentals, so too will GCI’s email pass

Changes are forced upon us as the world evolves, and there is little anyone can do about it. Though I want to be a rigid… Continue reading

Larry Persily
Good advice for everyone seen in a Gold Street garden on Aug. 4. (Photo by Denise Carroll)

Art In Unusual Places

Good advice for everyone seen in a Gold Street garden. 8-4-23 The hosing of a fish hold causes abstract patterns in the harbor waters. 8-3-23.… Continue reading

Good advice for everyone seen in a Gold Street garden on Aug. 4. (Photo by Denise Carroll)
Alaska SeaLife Center staff give fluids to the dehydrated walrus calf. (Photo by Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)

Northern Journal: More from the mammal beat, mining prospects and a tribe’s quick reversal

The fate of The Walrus, coyotes attack Alaska soldiers and governor visits Alaska Range.

  • Aug 10, 2023
  • By Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal
Alaska SeaLife Center staff give fluids to the dehydrated walrus calf. (Photo by Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
Bjorn Dihle stands in front of acid mine drainage at British Columbia’s Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been abandoned and leaching acid mine drainage into the transboundary Taku River watershed for more than 65 years. The Taku, a wild salmon river, flows into Alaska and empties into the ocean just south of Juneau. (Photo by Chris Miller/csmphotos.com)

Opinion: Powerful interests should stop targeting Alaska hook and line fishing

They should start targeting the real threat to wild salmon: habitat destruction

Bjorn Dihle stands in front of acid mine drainage at British Columbia’s Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been abandoned and leaching acid mine drainage into the transboundary Taku River watershed for more than 65 years. The Taku, a wild salmon river, flows into Alaska and empties into the ocean just south of Juneau. (Photo by Chris Miller/csmphotos.com)
An adult peregrine falcon in flight over Alaska. (Photo by Ted Swem)

Alaska Science Forum: Population of Yukon River peregrines nosedives

Numbers of adult peregrine falcons on the upper Yukon River in Alaska have decreased by more than a third in the last three years, according… Continue reading

An adult peregrine falcon in flight over Alaska. (Photo by Ted Swem)
Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy / Fred La Plante)

Living and Growing: Being healthy physically, mentally and spiritually

Moving to Juneau about nine months ago, I began a journey back to Alaska and health. I started the journey about a year or so… Continue reading

Fred La Plante is the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy / Fred La Plante)
Sophia Owen, a senior at Thunder Mountain High School, discusses her educational goals and involvement in after-school programs as a member of this year’s Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew. (Screenshot from Million Girls Moonshot video)

My Turn: After-school programs shaped my life. Why don’t all students have access?

Designing and programming a robot to fling as many rubber ducks off a wheel as possible in 30 seconds is a joy only a small… Continue reading

Sophia Owen, a senior at Thunder Mountain High School, discusses her educational goals and involvement in after-school programs as a member of this year’s Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew. (Screenshot from Million Girls Moonshot video)
Sunsets started to tease the Arctic horizon as scientists on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy headed south in the Chukchi Sea during the final days collecting ocean data for the 2011 ICESCAPE mission. (Photo by NASA/Kathryn Hansen)

Opinion: Action to protect the Arctic could slow climate change

As a scorching wake-up call reverberated around the globe, climate scientists urged accelerated action in the Arctic to help slow the rate of warming and… Continue reading

Sunsets started to tease the Arctic horizon as scientists on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy headed south in the Chukchi Sea during the final days collecting ocean data for the 2011 ICESCAPE mission. (Photo by NASA/Kathryn Hansen)
A black bear yearling carries a chum salmon up the bank, but discards it later. (Photo by Stacey Thomas)

On the Trails: High summer in Juneau

As July came to an end, fireweed was in bloom everywhere, the early flowers, low on the stem, already putting up big seed pods. Many… Continue reading

A black bear yearling carries a chum salmon up the bank, but discards it later. (Photo by Stacey Thomas)
A statue of the Most Holy Mother Mary at the author’s home alter in Juneau. (Photo by Gina Del Rosario)

Living and Growing: Medjugorje, shrine of the Queen of Peace

For over 42 years now, in the quiet rural village of Medjugorje in Bosnia, Hercegovina, our Most Holy Mother Mary has been appearing daily since… Continue reading

A statue of the Most Holy Mother Mary at the author’s home alter in Juneau. (Photo by Gina Del Rosario)
Bog blueberries Zuzana Vaneková picked when she visited Alaska recently fill a plastic container. (Photo by Zuzana Vaneková)

Alaska Science Forum: Alaska blueberries are good for you. Right?

Our beloved Alaska blueberry seems to have a bad reputation in parts of Europe and Scandinavia. There, people have called it the “mad berry,” “intoxicating… Continue reading

Bog blueberries Zuzana Vaneková picked when she visited Alaska recently fill a plastic container. (Photo by Zuzana Vaneková)
A nanny and kid cool down on a patch of snow near the author. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: The (Hunting) New Year

Of all the ways to begin a new year, the agreed upon one is the least interesting. That is not to say the historical reasoning… Continue reading

A nanny and kid cool down on a patch of snow near the author. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Let’s talk about that $50,000 and City Hall

CBJ’s Assembly and administration have been receiving criticism for appropriating up to $50,000 to provide information about the City Hall proposition that will be on… Continue reading

Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Telephone Hill Park. (Photo courtesy of the City and Borough of Juneau)

Opinion: Telephone Hill — an opportunity to do it right

In August of 2022, the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly passed Resolution 2999 accepting the donation of the Telephone Hill property from the… Continue reading

Telephone Hill Park. (Photo courtesy of the City and Borough of Juneau)
An artist depiction of a new city hall building in Juneau. (Courtesy Image / North Wind Architects)

My Turn: No-confidence vote for lame duck city manager

This column has been updated to clarify the definition of Alaska’s Open Meetings Act, which applies to governing bodies, but exempts individuals. The Open Meetings… Continue reading

An artist depiction of a new city hall building in Juneau. (Courtesy Image / North Wind Architects)
A king salmon is laid out for inspection by Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during the Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 25, 2019. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Decline of king salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska started many decade ago

From the reports I’ve heard about the July 1-14 commercial troll opening, the king salmon for some of the fishermen averaged only 10 to 11… Continue reading

A king salmon is laid out for inspection by Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during the Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 25, 2019. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)