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The Tazlina was docked at the Auke Bay ferry terminal on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. It is one of 10 vessels in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet. Alaska’s Congressional delegation has said a recently passed infrastructure bill will bring money to the state’s ferries, but until then some communities are still seeing gaps in service over the winter. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Gaps in ferry service remains as new board takes shape

Infstructure bill bonus.

The Tazlina was docked at the Auke Bay ferry terminal on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. It is one of 10 vessels in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet. Alaska’s Congressional delegation has said a recently passed infrastructure bill will bring money to the state’s ferries, but until then some communities are still seeing gaps in service over the winter. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A sign reading “Masks Required” lies on the ground near a softball field at Melvin Park in this May photo. The City and Borough of Juneau is lowering the community risk level for COVID-19, but masks remain required inside public spaces. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

City lowers community risk level

While masks are still required in public places, some mitigation measures will immediately relax.

A sign reading “Masks Required” lies on the ground near a softball field at Melvin Park in this May photo. The City and Borough of Juneau is lowering the community risk level for COVID-19, but masks remain required inside public spaces. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
The former Walmart was used as an example for a vacant building that could potentially be assessed for redevelopment via a federal grant that Juneau is applying for. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

City to apply for grant to potentially redevelop underused buildings

This grant will help assess what contaminants or chemicals may be present on potential sites.

The former Walmart was used as an example for a vacant building that could potentially be assessed for redevelopment via a federal grant that Juneau is applying for. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard updates Sector Juneau command center number

Those in distress should call 911.

A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium patrols Auke Bay during an exercise in 2018. (Lt. Brian Dykens / U.S. Coast Guard)
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)

Police calls for Sunday, Nov. 14

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

  • Nov 14, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)
In this photo provided by Ben Pascal, five-year-old Naomi Pascal, holding her teddy bear, is pictured on a hike to Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park, Mont., in October 2020. Naomi lost the bear while on the hike, but it was found by a park ranger who took care of the bear until it was spotted on the dash of his ranger truck and returned to Naomi this fall. (Ben Pascal)

Girl, teddy bear reunited a year after loss in Glacier park

Hope won out.

In this photo provided by Ben Pascal, five-year-old Naomi Pascal, holding her teddy bear, is pictured on a hike to Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park, Mont., in October 2020. Naomi lost the bear while on the hike, but it was found by a park ranger who took care of the bear until it was spotted on the dash of his ranger truck and returned to Naomi this fall. (Ben Pascal)
Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire An elementary school child gets a COVID-19 test at the Hegevig Regional Fire Training Center on Aug. 27. In early November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 12. Previously, the vaccine had only been OK’d for people 12 and older. The Juneau School district reported many COVID-19 cases in children who were not eligible to be vaccinated. In some cases, the positive tests led to classroom quarantines.

City officials consider COVID mitigation changes

Vaccination levels rise as cases fall

Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire An elementary school child gets a COVID-19 test at the Hegevig Regional Fire Training Center on Aug. 27. In early November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 12. Previously, the vaccine had only been OK’d for people 12 and older. The Juneau School district reported many COVID-19 cases in children who were not eligible to be vaccinated. In some cases, the positive tests led to classroom quarantines.
Jim Wild, left, and Mary Jo Lord-Wild, right, stand outside a weather collection station similar to one they have at their home in Elfin Cove. Lord-Wild recently received the Thomas Jefferson Award for her volunteer work collecting weather data over the last 47 years. (Courtesy photo/Kimberly Vaughan)

Local woman earns prestigious NOAA award

Thomas Jefferson award honors 47 years of volunteer service

Jim Wild, left, and Mary Jo Lord-Wild, right, stand outside a weather collection station similar to one they have at their home in Elfin Cove. Lord-Wild recently received the Thomas Jefferson Award for her volunteer work collecting weather data over the last 47 years. (Courtesy photo/Kimberly Vaughan)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters after filing for re-election Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Video

Murkowski makes candidacy official

‘A feud from outside.’

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters after filing for re-election Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Video
A bar-tailed godwit born in Alaska that undertakes one of the greatest non-stop migrations in the animal kingdom, often flying from Alaska straight to New Zealand in the fall. (Courtesy Photo / Zachary Pohlen)

Alaska Science Forum: Blown back to Alaska, bird perseveres

Second time’s the charm.

A bar-tailed godwit born in Alaska that undertakes one of the greatest non-stop migrations in the animal kingdom, often flying from Alaska straight to New Zealand in the fall. (Courtesy Photo / Zachary Pohlen)
Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the Lynn Canal served as a navigational beacon for generations of mariners. Local volunteers are working to preserve it for future generations of lighthouse enthusiasts. (Courtesy Photo/Matthew York)

Local volunteers work to restore, preserve and share historic lighthouse

Many hands make lighthouse work.

Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the Lynn Canal served as a navigational beacon for generations of mariners. Local volunteers are working to preserve it for future generations of lighthouse enthusiasts. (Courtesy Photo/Matthew York)
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)

Police calls for Friday, Nov. 12

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

  • Nov 12, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)
U.S. Coast Guard veteran Jim Wilcox Sr. strikes a replica of the Liberty Bell in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Nov. 11, 2021, during an Armistice Day celebration hosted by Veteran's for Peace. The local VFP chapter holds bell ringings annually on Nov. 11, which is also Veterans Day, to remember all the lives lost to war and to call for world peace. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Remembering the costs of war, veterans ring bell for peace

The toll of war.

U.S. Coast Guard veteran Jim Wilcox Sr. strikes a replica of the Liberty Bell in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Nov. 11, 2021, during an Armistice Day celebration hosted by Veteran's for Peace. The local VFP chapter holds bell ringings annually on Nov. 11, which is also Veterans Day, to remember all the lives lost to war and to call for world peace. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America’s tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, on Aug. 26, 2016. A Utah doctor is accused of lying to get a high-elevation helicopter to rescue him off the tallest mountain in North America and then destroying evidence. Dr. Jason Lance, who is a radiologist in Ogden, Utah, faces three misdemeanors, interfering with and violating the order of a government employee and for filing a false report from his May 2021, attempt to summit Denali, located about 180 miles north of Anchorage. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

Utah doctor accused of lying for Denali helicopter rescue

The radiologist was charged Tuesday with three misdemeanors.

  • Nov 11, 2021
  • Mark Thiessen Associated Press
Sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America’s tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, on Aug. 26, 2016. A Utah doctor is accused of lying to get a high-elevation helicopter to rescue him off the tallest mountain in North America and then destroying evidence. Dr. Jason Lance, who is a radiologist in Ogden, Utah, faces three misdemeanors, interfering with and violating the order of a government employee and for filing a false report from his May 2021, attempt to summit Denali, located about 180 miles north of Anchorage. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)
Douglas Island Pink and Chum had a better year than 2020, and things appear to be improving for next year, said hatchery employees. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

DIPAC clocks good 2021 season

Returns aren’t as good as several years ago but they’re an improvement over 2020’s dismal numbers.

Douglas Island Pink and Chum had a better year than 2020, and things appear to be improving for next year, said hatchery employees. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)

Police calls for Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021

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

  • Nov 11, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
(Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the virus that causes COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies may be a good treatment option for some people who test positive for the illness, according to state health officials. However, vaccination remains the best tool for limiting spread of COVID-19 and limiting hospitalizations. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)

COVID at a glance for Wednesday, Nov. 10

The latest local and state numbers.

  • Nov 10, 2021
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the virus that causes COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies may be a good treatment option for some people who test positive for the illness, according to state health officials. However, vaccination remains the best tool for limiting spread of COVID-19 and limiting hospitalizations. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks at an Anchorage news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, to discuss the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package soon to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. (Screenshot)

‘It is a win for Alaska’ Murkowski touts bipartisan infrastructure bill

Bipartisan bill.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks at an Anchorage news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, to discuss the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package soon to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. (Screenshot)
The season’s first snow greeted people downtown Wednesday, Nov. 10. Later that morning, forecasters at the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory, predicting that two to four inches of snow could fall on the capital city starting late Thursday night and into Friday morning. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)

Low-pressure system likely to bring snow to Juneau

That escalated quickly.

The season’s first snow greeted people downtown Wednesday, Nov. 10. Later that morning, forecasters at the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory, predicting that two to four inches of snow could fall on the capital city starting late Thursday night and into Friday morning. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)
Flowers lay at the plaque of Juneau’s 9/11 memorial on Sept. 11, 2006. The memorial, located in Riverside Rotary Park in the Mendenhall Valley was the first in the nation. Twenty years ago, Juneau resident Debbie Penrose-Fischer and her husband Brent Fischer harnessed their grief in the face of the national tragedy to become the driving force behind the creation of the memorial, which serves as a gathering point each Sept. 11 and provides a place for community members to reflect on Veterans Day. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)

Pausing to remember

Pausing to remember: The story behind a local memorial

Flowers lay at the plaque of Juneau’s 9/11 memorial on Sept. 11, 2006. The memorial, located in Riverside Rotary Park in the Mendenhall Valley was the first in the nation. Twenty years ago, Juneau resident Debbie Penrose-Fischer and her husband Brent Fischer harnessed their grief in the face of the national tragedy to become the driving force behind the creation of the memorial, which serves as a gathering point each Sept. 11 and provides a place for community members to reflect on Veterans Day. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)