News

Rivals target Rubio; Trump calls for an Iowa do-over

BOW, N.H. — While Donald Trump called for a do-over, Marco Rubio tried to capitalize on his moment in the spotlight Wednesday as the shrinking… Continue reading

  • Feb 4, 2016
  • By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY and THOMAS BEAUMONT
  • Nation-World

Feds outline reforms for reservation hospitals

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Wednesday outlined a plan to improve care at hospitals that treat Native Americans in four Great Plains… Continue reading

President Barack Obama stops to greets children from Al-Rahmah school and other guests during his visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Baltimore, Md. Obama is making his first visit to a U.S. mosque at a time Muslim-Americans say they're confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama visits mosque, says impression of Muslims is distorted

CATONSVILLE, Md. — President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to correct what he called a “hugely distorted impression” of Muslim-Americans as he made his first visit… Continue reading

President Barack Obama stops to greets children from Al-Rahmah school and other guests during his visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Baltimore, Md. Obama is making his first visit to a U.S. mosque at a time Muslim-Americans say they're confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Missing reporter tells wife he’s back in China

BEIJING — The wife of a Chinese journalist who disappeared while seeking asylum abroad said she was able to speak to him by phone Wednesday… Continue reading

Actors perform Hamlet on Wednesday at the refugee camp in Calais, northern France.

Shakespeare on stage in squalid migrant camp

CALAIS, France — “This, above all, to thine own self be true.”The words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet rang out on the most unlikely stage on Wednesday,… Continue reading

Actors perform Hamlet on Wednesday at the refugee camp in Calais, northern France.

Report finds record number of US exonerations in 2015

HOUSTON — The U.S. saw a record number of exonerations in 2015, with nearly 40 percent of the cases involving individuals who were exonerated in… Continue reading

House OKs bill updating military justice code

JUNEAU — The Alaska House on Wednesday passed a bill designed to strengthen the state’s Military Code of Justice.The approval came 17 months after a… Continue reading

Federal officials mull Donlin mine’s subsistence impact

BETHEL — Two federal agencies have weighed in on the potential impacts the proposed Donlin Creek mine could have on subsistence along the Kuskokwim River.Donlin… Continue reading

Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, center, is joined with representatives of the Food Bank of Alaska, the Alaska Food Coalition, the University of Alaska's Cooperative Extension Service to discuss food waste during a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday. "It's unacceptable that so many people are struggling with hunger when billions of pounds of food are wasted every year," said Rep. Tarr. "I'm hopeful that by raising awareness of this under-reported issue, we can meet the goal put forward by the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2030." With Rep. Tarr are Sarra Khlifi, of the Alaska Food Coalition, right, Cara Durr, of the Food Bank of Alaska, Sara Truitt, of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, and Darren Snyder, of the Cooperative Extension Service.

Photo: Reducing food waste

Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, center, is joined with representatives from the Food Bank of Alaska, the Alaska Food Coalition and the University of Alaska’s Cooperative… Continue reading

Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, center, is joined with representatives of the Food Bank of Alaska, the Alaska Food Coalition, the University of Alaska's Cooperative Extension Service to discuss food waste during a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday. "It's unacceptable that so many people are struggling with hunger when billions of pounds of food are wasted every year," said Rep. Tarr. "I'm hopeful that by raising awareness of this under-reported issue, we can meet the goal put forward by the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2030." With Rep. Tarr are Sarra Khlifi, of the Alaska Food Coalition, right, Cara Durr, of the Food Bank of Alaska, Sara Truitt, of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, and Darren Snyder, of the Cooperative Extension Service.

Police & Fire for Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016

This report contains public information available to the Empire from law enforcement agencies. This report includes arrest and citation information, not conviction information. Anyone listed… Continue reading

Around Town

Juneau Gastineau Rotary Club meeting, 7 a.m., The Prospector Hotel.Open lab computer training, 9-11 a.m, The Learning Connection, 210 Ferry Way. Storytime, 11 a.m., Douglas… Continue reading

Correction

A Wednesday story incorrectly stated that the trans-Alaska Pipeline System is owned and operated by Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. The pipeline is operated by Alyeska… Continue reading

PHOTO: TWIN LAKES OIL SPILL

… Continue reading

School district mulls what to cut next

During the public school board budget meeting Tuesday evening at the Juneau-Douglas High School library, Superintendent Mark Miller addressed the sparse group consisting of school… Continue reading

Legislative committee votes to protect Chuck-e-Cheese

Chuck-e-Cheese and Dave & Buster’s need not worry for much longer. The Alaska Legislature is preparing a bill to shield arcades from the state’s gambling… Continue reading

Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, left, and Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, listen to Sen. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, about his bill calling for a convention of the states to adopt an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow for the states, with a three-fifths vote of state legislatures, to repeal or nullify federal laws or executive orders that adversely affect their interests.

Lawmakers hear resolution to strengthen states’ rights

JUNEAU — A Senate committee heard testimony on Wednesday on an effort to amend the U.S. Constitution and establish a mechanism for states to overturn… Continue reading

Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, left, and Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, listen to Sen. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, about his bill calling for a convention of the states to adopt an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow for the states, with a three-fifths vote of state legislatures, to repeal or nullify federal laws or executive orders that adversely affect their interests.
A technician with Nortech uses an absorbent boom to soak up heating oil that drained into Twin Lakes after a tank failure in the Mountainside Estates subdivision on Wednesday.

DEC works to clean up spill from tank

Just off the Twin Lakes trail, a yellow snake-like boom — similar to those that float around the perimeter of most oil spills — surrounds… Continue reading

A technician with Nortech uses an absorbent boom to soak up heating oil that drained into Twin Lakes after a tank failure in the Mountainside Estates subdivision on Wednesday.

Former Juneau resident tied to Tongass fires

A former Juneau resident pled guilty Monday to charges related to an unauthorized burning of timber and failure to maintain control of a fire in… Continue reading

An excavator sifts through the rubble that was the Gastineau Apartments as seen from Gastineau Avenue on Tuesday.

Photo: So long and farewell

An excavator sifts through the rubble that was the Gastineau Apartments as seen from Gastineau Avenue on Tuesday.In case you missed it, check out the… Continue reading

An excavator sifts through the rubble that was the Gastineau Apartments as seen from Gastineau Avenue on Tuesday.
Global Diving and Salvage has started work Tuesday to remove the 96-foot tugboat Challenger that sank in Gastineau Channel in September.

Wrecked tugboat to be lifted from Gastineau Channel by March

The tugboat Challenger, sunken in Gastineau Channel since September, will be lifted from the seafloor within three months, the head of marine pollution response for… Continue reading

Global Diving and Salvage has started work Tuesday to remove the 96-foot tugboat Challenger that sank in Gastineau Channel in September.