News

Giant cruise ship makes historic trip in melting Arctic

NOME — The giant luxury cruise liner was anchored just off Nome, too hulking to use the Bering Sea community’s docks on its inaugural visit.Instead,… Continue reading

About 2 1/2 oz. of dried marijuana

Approved: Rainforest Farms could be selling retail marijuana by November

The state’s Marijuana Control Board approved three license applications for Juneau businesses this week, including the first retail license in the capital city for Rainforest… Continue reading

About 2 1/2 oz. of dried marijuana
A fire destroyed the Clearwater Lodge early on Thursday, May 15, 2014.

Delta Junction lodge reopens 2 years after arson

FAIRBANKS — A decades-old lodge in Delta Junction that was burned to the ground in 2014 has been rebuilt and is now open for business.The… Continue reading

A fire destroyed the Clearwater Lodge early on Thursday, May 15, 2014.

Coast Guard suspends search for cruise ship passenger who went overboard in Lynn Canal

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Friday for a passenger who went overboard the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, according to an Alaska State Trooper… Continue reading

The entrance of Front Street Community Health Center, located on the second floor inside Mercantile Mall on Front Street in downtown Juneau, seen Friday.

Juneau’s homeless clinic will soon be run by Wrangell org

After managing Juneau’s Front Street Community Health Center for more than a year, Alaska Island Community Services will soon completely take over the health center… Continue reading

The entrance of Front Street Community Health Center, located on the second floor inside Mercantile Mall on Front Street in downtown Juneau, seen Friday.
City Finance Director Bob Bartholomew speks to the Assembly Finance Committee during its meeting Thursday evening.

Assembly resolves deficit dilemma

At a Finance Committee meeting Thursday night, the Juneau Assembly developed a plan to close its multi-million dollar budget gap created by legislative inaction and… Continue reading

City Finance Director Bob Bartholomew speks to the Assembly Finance Committee during its meeting Thursday evening.
A line of protesters against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota head to a unity rally on the west steps of the State Capitol late Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in Denver. Several hundred marchers walked from the four directions to the Capitol to take part in the rally against the oil pipeline.

Feds halt work on part of oil pipeline despite court ruling

NEAR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. — The federal government stepped into the fight over the Dakota Access oil pipeline Friday, ordering work to… Continue reading

A line of protesters against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota head to a unity rally on the west steps of the State Capitol late Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in Denver. Several hundred marchers walked from the four directions to the Capitol to take part in the rally against the oil pipeline.

Police & fire report for Friday, Sept. 9, 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 for Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10

New student orientation, 9-10 a.m., The Learning Connection, 210 Ferry Way. Interested in improving your skills for college, training programs or for taking the GED… Continue reading

This Day in Juneau History: Sept. 9, 1986

On Sept. 9, 1986, Star Trek celebrates its 20th birthday, proving that they’ve truly lived long and prospered in the hearts of fans. Aside from… Continue reading

This Day in Juneau History: Sept. 10, 1986

On Sept. 10, 1986, the City and Borough of Juneau deputy mayor proposed the CBJ add $100,000 to Juneau’s education budget. The proposal was to… Continue reading

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2013 file photo, volunteers harvest hemp during the first known harvest of the plant in more than 60 years, in Springfield, Colo. Colorado is expected to reach another national first on cannabis Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, when state agriculture officials show off the first domestic certified hemp seeds. The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana. (AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda, File)

Colorado hits another cannabis first with certified hemp seed

DENVER — Colorado notched another nationwide first Wednesday involving cannabis when state agriculture officials showed off the first certified domestic hemp seeds.The Colorado Department of… Continue reading

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2013 file photo, volunteers harvest hemp during the first known harvest of the plant in more than 60 years, in Springfield, Colo. Colorado is expected to reach another national first on cannabis Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, when state agriculture officials show off the first domestic certified hemp seeds. The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana. (AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda, File)
Volunteer searchers look along Auke Lake for missing Ryan Harvey, 22, on Thursday.

Hikers find missing Juneau man with autism on trail near UAS

Police still don’t know how a Juneau man with autism ended up spending Wednesday night alone in the cold, half a mile from where he… Continue reading

Volunteer searchers look along Auke Lake for missing Ryan Harvey, 22, on Thursday.

Alaska only grows 4 percent of its food. Can we do better?

You can grow a 20-pound cucumber in Soldotna, but pay $5.79 for a one-pound bag of imported carrots in Kotzebue.When it comes to fruits and… Continue reading

This picture from the city's Community Development Department shows Sweetheart Lake covered in ice. The lake, which is about 37 miles southeast of downtown, is the proposed site of a new hydroelectric power facility.

Six years in the making: Juneau Hydropower secures license needed to operate

In 2010, Juneau Hydropower started down a long regulatory road to obtain a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Now, six years and several… Continue reading

This picture from the city's Community Development Department shows Sweetheart Lake covered in ice. The lake, which is about 37 miles southeast of downtown, is the proposed site of a new hydroelectric power facility.
Destiny Neade of Fairbanks reacts afar receiving the first ever permit for a marijuana retail store in Alaska during a meeting of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board on Thursday in Anchorage. Neade and her husband, Nick, hope to open their Fairbanks store, Frozen Budz, by Oct. 1, 2016.

Pot regulators approve first retail license

ANCHORAGE — The owners of Frozen Budz have high hopes now that they’ve received Alaska’s first retail marijuana license.Destiny Neade, co-owner of the Fairbanks business,… Continue reading

Destiny Neade of Fairbanks reacts afar receiving the first ever permit for a marijuana retail store in Alaska during a meeting of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board on Thursday in Anchorage. Neade and her husband, Nick, hope to open their Fairbanks store, Frozen Budz, by Oct. 1, 2016.
Crews worked to clear this landslide that blocked Mitkof Highway in September of 2009.

Petersburg wants land exchange to stop logging plan

PETERSBURG — Petersburg Borough officials are seeking a land exchange to stop the Alaska Mental Health Trust from logging on a steep hillside where there’s… Continue reading

Crews worked to clear this landslide that blocked Mitkof Highway in September of 2009.
This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. More than 28,000 Americans died from overdosing on opiates in 2014, a record high for the nation. That’s 78 people per day, a number that doesn’t include the millions of family members, first responders and even taxpayers who feel the ripple of drug addiction in their daily lives. A rise in prescription painkillers is partially to blame: The sale of these drugs has quadrupled since 1999, and so has the number of Americans dying from an addiction to them. When prescriptions run out, people find themselves turning to the cheaper alternative heroin and, increasingly, the even more deadly drug fentanyl.

Alaska secures new grant funding for opioid research

KODIAK — The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is set to receive nearly $3 million in federal funding each year to fight opioid… Continue reading

This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. More than 28,000 Americans died from overdosing on opiates in 2014, a record high for the nation. That’s 78 people per day, a number that doesn’t include the millions of family members, first responders and even taxpayers who feel the ripple of drug addiction in their daily lives. A rise in prescription painkillers is partially to blame: The sale of these drugs has quadrupled since 1999, and so has the number of Americans dying from an addiction to them. When prescriptions run out, people find themselves turning to the cheaper alternative heroin and, increasingly, the even more deadly drug fentanyl.

With hopes fading, Murkowski, lawmakers meet on energy bill

WASHINGTON — Congressional efforts to approve the first major energy bill in nearly a decade got a jump-start Thursday as lawmakers convened a long-delayed meeting… Continue reading

K2 Dronotics co-founder Ben Kellie operates a modified drone on Island Lake in Nikiski. He and his brother, Nick, were testing a prototype LiDAR system, a surveying technology that allows them to gather aerial data over snowy terrains.

Game of Drones: One company’s quest to survey Alaska

KENAI — How would an inspection of a 200-foot tower only accessible via Kenai Lake normally be done?A surveyor could row, row, row a boat,… Continue reading

K2 Dronotics co-founder Ben Kellie operates a modified drone on Island Lake in Nikiski. He and his brother, Nick, were testing a prototype LiDAR system, a surveying technology that allows them to gather aerial data over snowy terrains.