Family members of Jordon J. Sharclane, 37, including his mother, Myrna Brown, center, and his wife, Jenny Sharclane, right, gather together at the Mountain View apartments on Dec. 3 after learning about Sharclane's death and his son, Michael, injuries. The father and son were stabbed at the Cedar Park apartment complex early Thursday morning. Juneau police on Thursday arrested 19-year-old Kevin Scott Nauska for first-degree murder in connection to Sharclane's death and attempted first-degree murder for stabbing Michael.

Family members of Jordon J. Sharclane, 37, including his mother, Myrna Brown, center, and his wife, Jenny Sharclane, right, gather together at the Mountain View apartments on Dec. 3 after learning about Sharclane's death and his son, Michael, injuries. The father and son were stabbed at the Cedar Park apartment complex early Thursday morning. Juneau police on Thursday arrested 19-year-old Kevin Scott Nauska for first-degree murder in connection to Sharclane's death and attempted first-degree murder for stabbing Michael.

2015: Juneau’s year of gloom

It was a grim year for Juneau.

The list of the Empire’s top 10 stories of the year includes the death of the capital city’s just-elected mayor, four violent deaths, a heroin crisis, souring economy and the simple sullenness that comes with a record-wet year.

There were occasional bright spots: The opening of the Soboleff Building and new Mendenhall Valley Public Library, the visit of President Obama to Alaska, and progress on the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.

Our natural environment continued to amaze us as well, as a surge of herring in Auke Bay’s Statter Harbor gave residents an up-close look at feeding whales and swarming sea lions.

The Empire’s list of the top stories of the year was complied by staff and incorporates the most important state and local issues of 2015 from Juneau’s perspective. The stories weren’t always the most-read — apparently, you like reading about the legal issues of “Alaska Bush People” TV personalities — but they mattered to Juneau.

The following, in order, is our list of the top stories:

 

• Mayor Greg Fisk dies. The sudden death of Mayor Greg Fisk in late November brought national attention after police were initially unable to rule out foul play. Fisk’s election victory in October was by a two-to-one margin, and his plans for Juneau — grand in scope — never had a chance to become reality. Following his death, tributes came in from across the state, and even internationally. From Nunavut, Fisk was hailed as one of the negotiators who contributed to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, a Canadian deal similar to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

 

• Four violent deaths. In October, a 30-year-old man was murdered execution-style. In November, two Juneauites were murdered in Douglas. Before the end of November, another man was stabbed to death, also in Douglas. The fourth death is not being considered murder, but the series of violent deaths was unprecedented in Juneau’s living memory and follows the still-unsolved stabbing death in late 2014 of Christopher Kenney.

 

• Heroin crimes and addictions surge. At least three of Juneau’s violent deaths in 2015 have been linked by police to drugs. There have been overdoses and poisonings caused by tainted drugs. In lectures and presentations to community groups, the Juneau Police Department has laid out the scope of the problem, one that extends nationwide as opioid drug users turn to heroin to get high. As the year progressed, community awareness of the problem resulted in rallies, meetings and a bumper-sticker campaign that now decorates cars throughout Juneau.

 

• State struggles toward balanced budget. The Alaska Legislature worked late this year, with three special sessions — two devoted to budget issues. Facing a government shutdown, the Legislature reached a deal that averted a crisis at the start of the fiscal year on July 1. Later in the year, the discussion turned toward a long-term solution as Gov. Bill Walker’s administration organized meetings across the state — first to lay out the scope of the problem, then to explain the administration’s chosen plan. That plan, unveiled in December, calls for a wide variety of taxes and the biggest change to the Alaska Permanent Fund since its creation.

 

• President Obama spends three days in Alaska. In the first days of September, Alaska received its first extended visit from the president since he took office in 2008. Obama didn’t visit Southeast Alaska, but his trip to Anchorage, Seward, Dillingham and Kotzebue made him the first president to travel north of the Arctic Circle while in office, and it gave him an opportunity to use Alaska to publicize the issue of climate change.

 

• Ribbon-cuttings and new construction. The opening of the Walter Soboleff Center in May was followed by the completion of the new Brotherhood Bridge and the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library. “Ground” was broken on a new cruise ship dock, and the State Library, Archives and Museum kept advancing toward completion.

 

• Transboundary mining issues bring Canadian conflicts. British Columbia mining minister Bill Bennett traveled to Alaska, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott visited Canada in an effort to calm the waters on Canadian mines near the Alaska border. With environmental groups and fishermen concerned about the consequences of a mine leaking into an Alaska river, 2015 brought new attention to a formerly arcane topic. Even Secretary of State John Kerry chimed in on the issue when he spoke with reporters during his visit to Anchorage in September. In the final days of November, the state and British Columbia signed an agreement creating a working group intended to iron out problems.

 

Strange and unusual weather. Juneauites had to wait until the last day of the year to figure out whether 2015 would be the wettest year on record in Juneau, but there were plenty of abnormal occurrences throughout the year: May was the driest in recorded history, January and July the wettest on record. Until a February snowstorm, last winter looked to have the least snow ever, thanks to unusually warm conditions. Offshore, a “blob” of warm ocean water brought tropical fish to Alaska waters and algae blooms that deterred salmon fishermen.

 

• Denali is official — finally. President Obama opened his visit to Alaska with a bit of news the state had been waiting for — the official restoration of the Denali name to Mount McKinley. While Alaskans have long used the mountain’s traditional name, the federal government had kept its official name in honor of an assassinated president from Ohio.

 

• Progress and frustration for oil and gas. Not long after President Obama left Alaska, Royal Dutch Shell announced it was stopping its Arctic oil exploration. Obama announced that Shell’s offshore lease wouldn’t be renewed, a blow to those who saw Arctic Ocean drilling as the future of Alaska oil. In the Legislature, the buyout of natural gas pipeline partner TransCanada kept the long-held dream of a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline alive even as tumbling oil prices raised questions about how the state would pay for its share of construction.

Pres. Barack Obama arrives on Air Force One at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage with Gov. Bill Walker on Aug. 31.

Pres. Barack Obama arrives on Air Force One at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage with Gov. Bill Walker on Aug. 31.

Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson talks with detectives at the front door of Mayor Greg Fisk's house on Kennedy Street the night on Nov. 30.

Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson talks with detectives at the front door of Mayor Greg Fisk’s house on Kennedy Street the night on Nov. 30.

Felicitas Wehnes takes pictures of the dynamic rain showers over Douglas Island on Oct. 1.

Felicitas Wehnes takes pictures of the dynamic rain showers over Douglas Island on Oct. 1.

Jessica Walsh reads to her son, Silas, 3, in a carpeted nook on the first day of the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library on Oct. 5.

Jessica Walsh reads to her son, Silas, 3, in a carpeted nook on the first day of the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library on Oct. 5.

New citizens, 33 total, take an oath during the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' Naturalization Ceremony at the Robert Boochever Courthouse at the Juneau Federal building on Aug. 21.

New citizens, 33 total, take an oath during the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Naturalization Ceremony at the Robert Boochever Courthouse at the Juneau Federal building on Aug. 21.

Greg Fisk gets help toasting his win for mayor of Juneau over Merrill Sanford by Patty Ware, left, Patricia Hull and Janet Kussart, right, at his Seward Street campaign headquarters on Oct. 6.

Greg Fisk gets help toasting his win for mayor of Juneau over Merrill Sanford by Patty Ware, left, Patricia Hull and Janet Kussart, right, at his Seward Street campaign headquarters on Oct. 6.

Grand opening ceremonies for the Walter Soboleff Center on May 15, 2015.

Grand opening ceremonies for the Walter Soboleff Center on May 15, 2015.

House Minority members cluster to talk as the House debates the state's operating budget at the Capitol on April 27, 2015.

House Minority members cluster to talk as the House debates the state’s operating budget at the Capitol on April 27, 2015.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

The Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding area is seen under an overcast sky on May 12. A federal order published Friday bans mineral extraction activities such as mining in an expanded area of land surrounding the glacier for the next 20 years. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Feds expand ban on mineral extraction near Mendenhall Glacier

20-year prohibition on mining, oil drilling applies to newly exposed land as ice continues retreat

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, June 1, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Bulk food in Food Bank of Alaska’s Anchorage warehouse on April 21. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
State roughly halves the number of Alaskans waiting on food aid, but more than 8,000 remain

By Claire Stremple, Alaska Beacon Mary Wood has been waiting for food… Continue reading

A white butterfly rests upon a fern Saturday at Prince of Wales Island. (Courtesy Photo / Marti Crutcher)
Wild Shots

Reader-submitted photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska.

Photos by Lee House / Sitka Conservation Society
Aliyah Merculief focuses on her run while snowboarding at Snow Camp.
Resilient Peoples & Place: Bringing up a new generation of Indigenous snow shredders

“Yak’éi i yaada xwalgeiní” (“it is good to see your face”) reads… Continue reading

A polar bear feeds near a pile of whale bones north of Utqiaġvik. (Courtesy Photo /Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: Polar bears of the past survived warmth

In a recent paper, scientists wrote that a small population of polar… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 31, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Writer Jane Hale smiles for a photo as the wind blows a newly raised LGBTQ+ flag at the Hurff A. Saunders Federal Building downtown. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Faces of Pride: Jane Hale

This is the first story in a four-part series spotlighting Pride Month in Juneau.

Most Read