News

Members of the Recall Dunleavy group are close to achieving their goal for signatures, with only about 20,000 signatures remaining as of Jan. 19, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file)

Recall Dunleavy group gathers steam for final push

The group has nearly reached its signature requirement.

Members of the Recall Dunleavy group are close to achieving their goal for signatures, with only about 20,000 signatures remaining as of Jan. 19, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file)
Members of the Alaska House of Representatives take their oaths of office on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 in the Alaska State Capitol at Juneau, Alaska. Members were allowed to remove their COVID-19 masks as they took the oath. (James Brooks/Anchorage Daily News, Pool)

State House remains unorganized after first day

They’ll try again Wednesday.

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives take their oaths of office on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 in the Alaska State Capitol at Juneau, Alaska. Members were allowed to remove their COVID-19 masks as they took the oath. (James Brooks/Anchorage Daily News, Pool)
Newly elected Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, speaks with Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, after being unanimously elected to the position on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Senate organizes, elects Micciche as president

Legislature is stalled.

Newly elected Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, speaks with Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, after being unanimously elected to the position on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Cowee meadows are flanked by conifer forest. (Courtesy Photo / Mark Schwann)

On the Trails: Taking in the scenery on another level

All of it has to be there.

Cowee meadows are flanked by conifer forest. (Courtesy Photo / Mark Schwann)
House members await the start of the new session on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Capitol Live: House deadlocks on leadership, adjourns

Live updates from the Capitol

House members await the start of the new session on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Has it always been a police car? (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Police calls for Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021

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

  • Jan 19, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
Has it always been a police car? (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)
This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)

COVID at a glance for Monday, Jan. 18

The most recent state and local numbers.

This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)
Members of the Black Awareness Association of Juneau and other volunteers collect donations from Juneau residents from their Martin Luther King Jr. Day donation drive on Jan. 18, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Black Awareness Association of Juneau)

Black Awareness Association honors MLK Day with food drive

Helping one’s neighbors was part of King’s message

Members of the Black Awareness Association of Juneau and other volunteers collect donations from Juneau residents from their Martin Luther King Jr. Day donation drive on Jan. 18, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Black Awareness Association of Juneau)
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Ed Sniffen appointed as Attorney General

Acting AG since August.

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This Marbled Murrelet seabird was found in the waters of Auke Bay Friday looking "stunned." Volunteers took the bird to the Juneau Raptor Center where it was treated for likely head trauma and released back into the wild. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Raptor Center)

Juneau Raptor Center rescues first bird of 2021

A marbled murrelet was treated for head trauma and released

This Marbled Murrelet seabird was found in the waters of Auke Bay Friday looking "stunned." Volunteers took the bird to the Juneau Raptor Center where it was treated for likely head trauma and released back into the wild. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Raptor Center)
New signage at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Jan 15, 2020, reminds visitors of health mitigation strategies. Committees from the previous legislature had their final meetings Monday as the new session starts Tuesday. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

State will audit CARES Act funding

Public money, public information.

New signage at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Jan 15, 2020, reminds visitors of health mitigation strategies. Committees from the previous legislature had their final meetings Monday as the new session starts Tuesday. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
FILE - In this May 18, 2020 file photo, a woman walks past the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. Alaska lawmakers are set to convene amid a near decade-long run of deficits and economic fallout from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Go-to reserve accounts are depleted, and tough decisions await on how to use the state's nest-egg oil-wealth fund. It's unclear who will lead those debates: neither the House nor the Senate has organized. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

Legislature to convene amid budget, virus concerns

Tough decisions are ahead.

FILE - In this May 18, 2020 file photo, a woman walks past the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. Alaska lawmakers are set to convene amid a near decade-long run of deficits and economic fallout from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Go-to reserve accounts are depleted, and tough decisions await on how to use the state's nest-egg oil-wealth fund. It's unclear who will lead those debates: neither the House nor the Senate has organized. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Has it always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Police calls for Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021

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

  • Jan 17, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
Has it always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Federal CARES Act money helped Southeast weather COVID

But most of the money has been spent, and local governments are still hurting.

This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)

COVID at a glance for Friday, Jan. 8

The most recent state and local numbers.

This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)
The Juneau Police Department and other law enforcement agencies say they are prepared for the possibility of political violence at the Capitol building on the day of the presidential inauguration. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

No known threats of violence, but police say they’re prepared

“The Juneau Police Department and our partners have not received any specific threats,” the agency said.

The Juneau Police Department and other law enforcement agencies say they are prepared for the possibility of political violence at the Capitol building on the day of the presidential inauguration. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Students re-entered Floyd Dryden Middle School on Monday with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Back in class: Re-entry goes smoothly, says superintendent

More than a thousand students returned to schools this week. There are more to come.

Students re-entered Floyd Dryden Middle School on Monday with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
This raft of sealions were playing escort to our local resident humpback whale, Flame, out near North Douglas. I was able to get just enough shutter speed at 1/1250th to stop the action and keep a balance with my ISO in these low light conditions being careful to keep in consideration the movement of the boat. Again, the more time you are out the better you get at it. (Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt)

Focal Point: A total reset for 2021

The start of a new year lends us the opportunity to look back through our photo files.

This raft of sealions were playing escort to our local resident humpback whale, Flame, out near North Douglas. I was able to get just enough shutter speed at 1/1250th to stop the action and keep a balance with my ISO in these low light conditions being careful to keep in consideration the movement of the boat. Again, the more time you are out the better you get at it. (Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt)
Increased collaboration between the University of Alaska Southeast, seen here in this October 2020 file photo, and UA Fairbanks had led to greater enrollment in the university system's fisheries programs, according to UA Interim President Pat Pitney. Making Juneau a fisheries hub was mentioned as a way of increasing enrollment and better serving the state at a UA Regents meeting Friday. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

University of Alaska looks to a post-pandemic future

After a chaotic year, stability seems to have returned, and leaders are optimistic.

Increased collaboration between the University of Alaska Southeast, seen here in this October 2020 file photo, and UA Fairbanks had led to greater enrollment in the university system's fisheries programs, according to UA Interim President Pat Pitney. Making Juneau a fisheries hub was mentioned as a way of increasing enrollment and better serving the state at a UA Regents meeting Friday. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Trail Mix crew members Justine Webb, Sarah Wallace and Allison Mickleson move bridge approach timbers into place. (Courtesy photo / Ryan O’Shaughnessy)

Fundraising goal met for Treadwell Ditch Trail improvements

Trail Mix raised more than $230,000 from more than 300 donors, enabling completion by 2023.

Trail Mix crew members Justine Webb, Sarah Wallace and Allison Mickleson move bridge approach timbers into place. (Courtesy photo / Ryan O’Shaughnessy)