News

Police and fire calls for Friday, Feb. 19, 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

Memorials scheduled for late state Rep Gruenberg

JUNEAU — Memorial services have been scheduled for the late state Rep. Max Gruenberg.Services are scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Resurrection Lutheran Church in… Continue reading

Crabbing season in southeast Alaska kicks off

PETERSBURG — Fishing season for Tanner crab and golden king crab has opened in southeast Alaska.Fishing for the two crab species opened at noon on… Continue reading

Paul Marks, left, and Mike Hoyt speak to a group of students at Thunder Mountain High School Thursday during an event that honored Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich. The event featured guest speakers from Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and Alaska Native storyteller and poet Ishmael Hope, and others who spoke about Peratrovich's life, the lasting importance of her efforts, and the political and legal implications of the Anti-Discrimination Act, which Peratrovich was instrumental in passing.

Photo: Honoring Elizabeth Peratrovich

Cultural Specialist Paul Marks, left, and English teacher Mike Hoyt speak to a group of students at Thunder Mountain High School Thursday during an event… Continue reading

Paul Marks, left, and Mike Hoyt speak to a group of students at Thunder Mountain High School Thursday during an event that honored Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich. The event featured guest speakers from Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and Alaska Native storyteller and poet Ishmael Hope, and others who spoke about Peratrovich's life, the lasting importance of her efforts, and the political and legal implications of the Anti-Discrimination Act, which Peratrovich was instrumental in passing.

Correction

The headline of a news brief in Thursday’s Empire incorrectly characterized the Inter-Island Ferry Authority as a private ferry system. The system is publicly funded… Continue reading

Around Town

GED orientation class, 9 a.m., The Learning Connection, 210 Ferry Way. GED orientation is designed to improve the success rate of those taking the tests.… Continue reading

Fishermen, lawmakers weigh in on proposed fish tax increase

JUNEAU — Fishing industry and lawmakers on Thursday puzzled over the origins of a proposed one percent tax increase in fisheries business taxes and fishery… Continue reading

My Turn: Alaska’s ferries – a successful socialist enterprise

“If you’ve got a business,” President Barack Obama said, “you didn’t build that.”By ignoring his preceding sentence, Republicans quickly turned that into one of the… Continue reading

In this photo taken on Jan. 27, Pakistani acid victim Sidra Kamwal looks herself in a mirror in Karachi, Pakistan. Sidra's attacker is in jail, but his family has been embraced by the neighbors. The family jeers at her, and the neighbors applaud. Sidra, with her painfully disfigured face, is the outcast.

Pakistan women risking all to fight for rights

KARACHI, Pakistan — Kainat Soomro was 13 years old and on her way to buy a toy for her newborn niece when three men kidnapped… Continue reading

In this photo taken on Jan. 27, Pakistani acid victim Sidra Kamwal looks herself in a mirror in Karachi, Pakistan. Sidra's attacker is in jail, but his family has been embraced by the neighbors. The family jeers at her, and the neighbors applaud. Sidra, with her painfully disfigured face, is the outcast.

In Egypt, clamp on academic freedoms sparks scholar backlash

CAIRO — Egyptian authorities are increasingly harassing foreign academics with restrictions, bans on entering the country and deportations. Particularly targeted are those researching anything related… Continue reading

Voters queue at a polling station where a ballot box sits empty Thursday in the capital Kampala, Uganda. Five hours after voting was due to start no voting papers had yet arrived.

Uganda: Opposition candidate briefly arrested after voting

KAMPALA, Uganda — The main opposition candidate for president in Uganda was briefly arrested late Thursday, his aide said, as vote counting started in presidential… Continue reading

Voters queue at a polling station where a ballot box sits empty Thursday in the capital Kampala, Uganda. Five hours after voting was due to start no voting papers had yet arrived.
In this Tuesday photo, North Koreans sit behind a banner with an exclamation mark during a figure skating performance held as part of celebrations on the "Day of the Shining Star" or birthday anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea.

N. Korea releases new slogans

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Produce more new-generation electric locomotives and passenger cars! Send more satellites into space! Make the whole country seethe with a high-pitched… Continue reading

In this Tuesday photo, North Koreans sit behind a banner with an exclamation mark during a figure skating performance held as part of celebrations on the "Day of the Shining Star" or birthday anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Some want to limit justices to 18 years

WASHINGTON — Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden death a month before his 80th birthday and the potential impasse over replacing him is giving new impetus to… Continue reading

Border checkpoint scans eyes, faces of departing foreigners

SAN DIEGO — The federal government is using eye scans and facial recognition technology for the first time to verify the identities of foreigners leaving… Continue reading

Obama to raise human rights during historic trip to Cuba

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday he’ll raise human rights issues and other U.S. concerns with Cuban President Raul Castro during a history-making visit… Continue reading

Flanked by Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and first lady Angelica Rivera, Pope Francis is embraced by children on his way to a staging area, for a farewell ceremony, before his departure, at the Abraham Gonzalez International Airport in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. Francis returned to Italy after a five-day visit in Mexico. His plane took off from the border city of Ciudad Juarez after night fell Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

Pope vs. Trump: ‘Not Christian’ to only build border walls

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Thrusting himself into the heated American presidential campaign, Pope Francis declared Thursday that Donald Trump is “not Christian” if he… Continue reading

Flanked by Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and first lady Angelica Rivera, Pope Francis is embraced by children on his way to a staging area, for a farewell ceremony, before his departure, at the Abraham Gonzalez International Airport in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. Francis returned to Italy after a five-day visit in Mexico. His plane took off from the border city of Ciudad Juarez after night fell Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

Colorado debates organic labels for marijuana

DENVER (AP) — Marijuana has attracted many labels in its time. On Friday, Colorado lawmakers debate whether the state should give the drug one more… Continue reading

Joshua Madrid hugs his dog, Cheese, as Loki lies next to them in Madrid's bus, parked in a temporary city-approved area for people living in their vehicles in Seattle on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016. Seattle has the third-highest number of homeless people in the U.S. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Seattle experiments with new solutions to ease homelessness

SEATTLE — As homeless deaths mounted last fall in Seattle, elected officials declared an emergency, resorting to a tool often reserved for natural disasters to… Continue reading

Joshua Madrid hugs his dog, Cheese, as Loki lies next to them in Madrid's bus, parked in a temporary city-approved area for people living in their vehicles in Seattle on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016. Seattle has the third-highest number of homeless people in the U.S. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Investigation continues into walrus deaths on Alaska shore

ANCHORAGE — Five months after 25 Pacific walrus were found dead on a remote northwest Alaska beach, including some that were missing heads and tusks,… Continue reading

Alaskans honored with Governors Awards

Eight Alaskans were honored with Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities Thursday evening at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center, including three Juneau residents.Hosted… Continue reading