Home2

A young bleeding tooth mushroom sheds excess water in red drops. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Birds, leaves and mushrooms at the onset of autumn

On a dark and dismal day in late September, I cheered myself up by remembering some pleasing observations in recent weeks: • On the dike… Continue reading

A young bleeding tooth mushroom sheds excess water in red drops. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
A clean home is a cozy home. (Photo by Peggy McKee Barnhill)

Gimme A Smile: Procrasti-cleaning anyone?

I just wiped off the tops of my washer and dryer, and then went back with a damp cloth to purge every bit of dust.… Continue reading

A clean home is a cozy home. (Photo by Peggy McKee Barnhill)
Green salad with blackberries, pecans, pears and blue cheese. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Cooking for Pleasure: Green salad with blackberries, pecans, pears and blue cheese

This is an unusual salad that I love to serve as a first course for a company dinner. The slight bitterness of the greens are… Continue reading

Green salad with blackberries, pecans, pears and blue cheese. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Bruce Scandling receives his ballot for Alaska’s primary election at the Mendenhall Mall Annex on Aug. 17 from election officials Jackie Rosenbruch and Barb Murray. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Musings on the Oct. 1 municipal election

Juneau’s vote-by-mail municipal election is underway. We have until Oct. 1 to decide five ballot questions, select a mayor and two Assembly members, and fill… Continue reading

Bruce Scandling receives his ballot for Alaska’s primary election at the Mendenhall Mall Annex on Aug. 17 from election officials Jackie Rosenbruch and Barb Murray. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)
Priest Maxim Gibson is the rector at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau. (Photo provided by Maxim Gibson)

Living and Growing: Restored icons — image and likeness

This past month at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, we had the great blessing to see two of the holy icons on our iconostasis restored,… Continue reading

Priest Maxim Gibson is the rector at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau. (Photo provided by Maxim Gibson)
Being tired from a hike is far different than the type of tired that comes with a newborn baby. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Discovering how being tired as a new parent is life-giving

“I’m so tired.” I had no idea how to reply. As a basketball coach you tell players to push through. As a high school teacher… Continue reading

Being tired from a hike is far different than the type of tired that comes with a newborn baby. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
(City and Borough of Juneau photo)

Opinion: School board and Assembly races offer necessary change

The Oct. 1 municipal election is shaping up as a referendum on changing the status quo. In the case of the school board it’s about… Continue reading

(City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Amanita mushrooms are large, white-spotted, and usually red. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Marvellous fungi

People often think of fungi as dietary items or as agents of rot and decay. Fair enough, but those are only two small windows into… Continue reading

Amanita mushrooms are large, white-spotted, and usually red. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
Former Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch in 2018. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Three strikes and a home run on Oct. 1 municipal election ballot

As a former U.S. government teacher, Juneau Assembly member and mayor, I usually start getting phone calls for information about voting (ballot issues especially) a… Continue reading

Former Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch in 2018. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Rainforest Recovery Center at Bartlett Regional Hospital is scheduled to close Tuesday. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Loss of Rainforest Recovery Center leaves Juneau with critical gap in substance abuse care

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the city of Juneau is set to lose a valuable resource for treating individuals in our community suffering from drug and… Continue reading

Rainforest Recovery Center at Bartlett Regional Hospital is scheduled to close Tuesday. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks to supporters during a campaign event at Louie’s Douglas Inn on Oct. 12, 2022.

Opinion: Murkowski must get off the ‘none of the above’ fence

Sen. Lisa Murkowski isn’t your typical undecided voter. She’s not only extremely well informed about the presidential candidates and their positions on important issues. She… Continue reading

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks to supporters during a campaign event at Louie’s Douglas Inn on Oct. 12, 2022.
A crowd of visitors tours the Mendenhall Glacier on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: I’m just trying to live here

Ship-Free Saturday (Proposition #2) on the Oct. 1 municipal ballot, is an attempt by a group of residents including me, who want to have one… Continue reading

A crowd of visitors tours the Mendenhall Glacier on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Roger Wharton is former Episcopal priest in Juneau. (Courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: 10 things you can do to be happy

What is happiness? What makes you happy? Can you increase your happiness? These are very interesting and current questions, especially in times when loneliness is… Continue reading

Roger Wharton is former Episcopal priest in Juneau. (Courtesy photo)
Cruise ships and passengers in downtown Juneau on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Ship-Free Saturday will have harmful effect on tourism statewide

Proposition 2 will damage Alaska tourism statewide. Vote no to keep this sustainable industry healthy As the CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, I’m… Continue reading

Cruise ships and passengers in downtown Juneau on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
A wood frog pauses in the forest just off the Yukon River near the mouth of the Nation River. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Wood frogs — farthest north amphibian cannibals

Their staccato voices can make a muskeg bog as loud as a city street, though most are so small they could sit in a coffee… Continue reading

A wood frog pauses in the forest just off the Yukon River near the mouth of the Nation River. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
Passengers return to the Norwegian Sun on Oct. 25, 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Figuring out the Ship-Free Saturday ballot initiative

Opponents of Proposition No. 2 — Ship-Free Saturday make many bold, reference-free claims on the purported impacts of the initiative. According to them Prop. 2… Continue reading

Passengers return to the Norwegian Sun on Oct. 25, 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Consider realities of present vs. past on Ship-Free Saturday initiative

I write to encourage all Juneau residents to deeply consider the implications of their vote on the Ship-Free Saturday initiative on the October ballot. I… Continue reading

Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale smiles for a photo in November 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
The South Sawyer glacier had shed many small bergs, which were occupied by hard-to-see resting seals. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)

On the Trails: Excursions at the end of summer

In late August I went on a day cruise to Tracy Arm. The weather was good for observing: gray, overcast skies to reduce the glare… Continue reading

The South Sawyer glacier had shed many small bergs, which were occupied by hard-to-see resting seals. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)
A local business displays a sign in support of the Apalachee High School shooting victims in Winder, Ga., on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. The 1,900 students at Apalachee High School were just settling into the rhythms of a new year before a freshman killed two teachers and two students. (Christian Monterrosa/The New York Times)

Opinion: A school shooting exposes Republican impotence. Again.

“I don’t like to admit this. I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said after the school… Continue reading

A local business displays a sign in support of the Apalachee High School shooting victims in Winder, Ga., on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. The 1,900 students at Apalachee High School were just settling into the rhythms of a new year before a freshman killed two teachers and two students. (Christian Monterrosa/The New York Times)
John MacKinnon. (Courtesy photo)

My Turn: Supporting Angela Rodell for mayor due to financial expertise, questioning of status quo

I’m supporting Angela Rodell for mayor. Her experience as commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue, and then as executive director of the Alaska Permanent… Continue reading

John MacKinnon. (Courtesy photo)