Columns

A Pelagic cormorant in flight. (Michael L. Baird / CC BY 2.0 photo)

On The Trails: A change of scene

By Mary F. Willson

 

Harold Axel Stolpe holding son Klas at their home in Petersburg circa 1960. (Photo courtesy of Klas Stolpe)

Pure Sole: My Father’s Hands

By Klas Stolpe

 

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion: The king of hubris

On Monday, President Donald Trump was asked if he planned to deploy members of the U.S. Marine Corps to quell the violence in Los Angeles.… Continue reading

 

Grandma Nita Tupou shares her culture, love and smile surrounded by her grandchildren Feao Tupou, Vaipuna, Mahina, Meki and Talitia Toutaiolepo. (Photo provided by Jacqueline Tupou)

Living and Growing: Welcoming all

How should we be living our lives? What can we do to make them more meaningful? How will I know if I am on the… Continue reading

Grandma Nita Tupou shares her culture, love and smile surrounded by her grandchildren Feao Tupou, Vaipuna, Mahina, Meki and Talitia Toutaiolepo. (Photo provided by Jacqueline Tupou)
The Juneau Assembly hears public testimony during its meeting Monday, June 9, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Assembly set to mandate another complicated cumbersome voting system

In spite of dissatisfaction with the city’s unilateral decision to impose vote-by-mail a few years ago, on June 9 our Assembly moved to consider mandating… Continue reading

The Juneau Assembly hears public testimony during its meeting Monday, June 9, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal Judiciary Council. Its purpose is to recommend candidates for vacancies in the U.S.… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
The author finishing the 2024 Seacoast Relay from UAS to the Eagle Beach State Park outer beach picnic shelter. (Photo courtesy The Marmoteers)

Pure Sole: Race the Seacoast Relay, I dare you

I have learned two important lessons in my competitive sports career. One: Be humble in your endeavors or you may be humbled by a competitor.… Continue reading

The author finishing the 2024 Seacoast Relay from UAS to the Eagle Beach State Park outer beach picnic shelter. (Photo courtesy The Marmoteers)
(Photo provided by Tim Spengler)

Living and Growing: Memento mori and the preparation of the soul

Memento mori is Latin for “remember that you will die.” This practice of contemplating our mortality was emphasized by Stoic philosophers such as Seneca and… Continue reading

(Photo provided by Tim Spengler)
The author encounters a ptarmigan on a hike to retrieve a game camera in the subalpine. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went To The Woods: My buddy the bird

I was limited on time so I pushed up the improved game trail toward a game camera I strapped to a tree sometime last year.… Continue reading

The author encounters a ptarmigan on a hike to retrieve a game camera in the subalpine. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
A yellow-rumped warbler. (Photo by Helen Unruh)

On the Trails: Yellow-rumped warblers and other observations

My peanut butter feeder draws a nice assortment of visitors, including chickadees, nuthatches, siskins, juncos, a hairy woodpecker, and a squirrel. Most of these also… Continue reading

A yellow-rumped warbler. (Photo by Helen Unruh)
An employee stocks the shelves in the cereal aisle of a store in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 12, 2016. (Melissa Lukenbaugh/The New York Times)

Gimme A Smile: Post-pandemic, pre-tariff grocery shopping

We survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we survived the Terrible Toilet Paper Troubles. Nothing like a shortage of toilet paper to make us all take… Continue reading

An employee stocks the shelves in the cereal aisle of a store in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 12, 2016. (Melissa Lukenbaugh/The New York Times)
With graduation looming, life as a trail is a popular analogy, though the author prefers a menu metaphor. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Ordering off life’s menu

My favorite restaurant in Tucson served the best chips and salsa I have ever had. Granted, I was in college when I first had them,… Continue reading

With graduation looming, life as a trail is a popular analogy, though the author prefers a menu metaphor. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in Washington, Feb, 28, 2025. Trump’s preference for praising and excusing Vladimir Putin’s actions has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion: Slaves to Trump’s whims

The TACO trade isn’t a new restaurant. It stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” The acronym is Wall Street’s response to his on-again-off-again tariffs. John… Continue reading

President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in Washington, Feb, 28, 2025. Trump’s preference for praising and excusing Vladimir Putin’s actions has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
(Photo provided by Laura Rorem)

Living and Growing: Hypernormalization

Let us practice true patience and love, trusting God is at work while we wait in the not knowing and become “instruments of God’s peace.”… Continue reading

(Photo provided by Laura Rorem)
(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: City spending relies on cruise visitor spending

The recent failure of activists to gain sufficient signatures to put yet another anti-cruise initiative on the ballot in October is evidence that Juneau residents… Continue reading

(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
A violet-green swallow in flight. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Violet-green swallows; shoveler ducks

In early May, one of my great pleasures was watching violet-green swallows in their fast, circular flights over water (e.g., the river, Kingfisher Pond). They’d… Continue reading

A violet-green swallow in flight. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
Adam Bauer of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bahá’ís of Juneau. (Courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: Hope in times of crisis

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Áakʼw Ḵwáan, the original inhabitants of Lingít… Continue reading

Adam Bauer of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bahá’ís of Juneau. (Courtesy photo)
Seniors from the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls soccer team pose for a photo this week. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Pure Sole: Circle of life for seniors

This is not your grandparent’s newspaper. But much like many of the newspapers that have paved the way for this little printing, hopefully those grandparents… Continue reading

Seniors from the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls soccer team pose for a photo this week. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
A beach marmot alongside the trail seems to pose for its photograph. (Photo by Helen Unruh)

On the Trails: Spring??

The calendar says it is spring and maybe it is here. But several Juneau folks have mentioned that this is the worst spring in their… Continue reading

A beach marmot alongside the trail seems to pose for its photograph. (Photo by Helen Unruh)
President Trump as he visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Thursday, May, 15, 2025. During the first major foreign trip of his second term, President Trump has told audiences in the Middle East that he’s willing to set the past aside in the interests of peace and profit. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Opinion: Count on Sullivan to erase another red line

“If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop,” Ben Shapiro said on his daily podcast on Monday. “I… Continue reading

President Trump as he visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Thursday, May, 15, 2025. During the first major foreign trip of his second term, President Trump has told audiences in the Middle East that he’s willing to set the past aside in the interests of peace and profit. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)