Judge Debra O’Gara works in the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s Tribal Court on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

People of Juneau: Alaska Native judge runs Tribal Court with comforting, serious demeanor

Tribal Court Presiding Judge Debra O’Gara walked into the courtroom on a morning in early April and took a seat at the front of the… Continue reading

Judge Debra O’Gara works in the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s Tribal Court on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Mark Anthony De Simone, 53 at the time, arrives in Juneau District Court for his arraignment in this May 2016 file photo. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Murder trial pushed back

A trial two years in the works was supposed to start Monday, but a last-minute change will push it back at least a day or… Continue reading

Mark Anthony De Simone, 53 at the time, arrives in Juneau District Court for his arraignment in this May 2016 file photo. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Kenny Smith talks about learning to carve at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Monday, April 13, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Art behind bars: Lemon Creek art program benefits inmates, regional nonprofits

Editor’s note: Additional details have been added to clarify the collaboration between programs at the Sealaska Corporation and Sealaska Heritage Institute. At first, Kenny Smith… Continue reading

Kenny Smith talks about learning to carve at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Monday, April 13, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Public hearing on City, Juneau School District budgets scheduled for Wednesday

The public will have a chance to voice any concerns or thoughts it has with the City and Borough of Juneau and the Juneau School… Continue reading

Front Street construction update

Construction on Front Street will continue this week with concrete pours. Two-inch rock has been placed on the roadway as the street starts to take… Continue reading

Two Lemon Creek lots to be sold by city

Starting May 1, two lots in Lemon Creek will be available in the an over-the-counter land sale program. These lots lie near Dzantik’i Heeni Middle… Continue reading

Tanya Rorem, pictured kissing her son in 2002. (Courtesy photo | Rorem family)

Services, funding dwindle for those living with FASD

Even as a baby, Tanya was different. Larry and Laura Rorem adopted Tanya when she was 8 months old in 1973, not knowing that Tanya’s… Continue reading

Tanya Rorem, pictured kissing her son in 2002. (Courtesy photo | Rorem family)
This file photo shows the finished Housing First Project on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. The Juneau Community Foundation announced $1.8 million in grants today, some of which will go to Housing First. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau Community Foundation awards $1.8 million in grants

The Juneau Community Foundation announced $1.8 million in funding for local social service providers today. Senior care, disability law, substance abuse and homelessness are several… Continue reading

This file photo shows the finished Housing First Project on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. The Juneau Community Foundation announced $1.8 million in grants today, some of which will go to Housing First. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Steve Wolf and his wife, Bev, left, talk with another couple after attending the Rock Steady Boxing Class at Pavitt Health & Fitness on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Battling Parkinson’s together

Editor’s Note: This is the third of four profiles highlighting stories of local people with Parkinson’s disease, as part of Parkinson’s Awareness Month in April.… Continue reading

Steve Wolf and his wife, Bev, left, talk with another couple after attending the Rock Steady Boxing Class at Pavitt Health & Fitness on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau man found deceased in Gastineau Channel

A Juneau man was found deceased in Gastineau Channel near Dupont Creek on Saturday, according to a release from the Juneau Police Department. The U.S.… Continue reading

Demonstrators march in the Violence Against Women Awareness Rally near Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Friday, April 20, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

‘The Tired Paddler’s Song’: at rally, AK Natives speak out against violence against women

Correction: An earlier version of this article characterized the death of Mackenzie H. Howard as an unsolved murder. A 14-year-old boy was arrested in connection… Continue reading

Demonstrators march in the Violence Against Women Awareness Rally near Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Friday, April 20, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)
JDHS student Finn Adam (left) and homeschool student James Zuiderduin (right), Capital City Fire/Rescue cadets, practice advancing a hose under pressure at their final day of training with the CCFR on Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

High school students learn lifesaving, leadership skills in CCFR cadet program

The five high school students held the hose, ready to enter the burning building. Two orange cones represented the front door, two poles set about… Continue reading

JDHS student Finn Adam (left) and homeschool student James Zuiderduin (right), Capital City Fire/Rescue cadets, practice advancing a hose under pressure at their final day of training with the CCFR on Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

City Finance Committee approves funding for two local entities

The City and Borough of Juneau Finance Committee continues to review budgets and approved funding for two local entities during its meeting at Assembly Chambers… Continue reading

Donald Habeger, community coordinator for the Juneau Reentry Coalition, opens a community meeting addressing the barriers to housing that post-incarcerated people in Juneau face. The meeting took place at Centennial Hall on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

Stable housing sets foundation for reentry, former inmates say

Vince Libertino doesn’t like to admit that he feels stress. His pride, he said, won’t let him. As he spoke at a Juneau Reentry Coalition… Continue reading

Donald Habeger, community coordinator for the Juneau Reentry Coalition, opens a community meeting addressing the barriers to housing that post-incarcerated people in Juneau face. The meeting took place at Centennial Hall on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

Auke Rec road closed Friday morning for tree removal

The U.S. Forest Service is closing the road to Auke Recreation Area today, due to strong winds which forced the rescheduling of hazard tree removal… Continue reading

The Wilderness Adventurer is docked at the Seadrome on Friday, April 13, 2018. Aboard, politicians and representatives from the tourism industry spoke about bringing tourists to S.E. Alaska in the spring — a few months earlier than usual. The vessel set sail on its first spring cruise in Alaska the day after this photo was taken. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)

Tourism’s next push: the spring cruise

It’s a few weeks early for cruise ship tourism in Juneau. That won’t stop Dan Blanchard. Hosting a dinner aboard his cruise vessel the Wilderness… Continue reading

The Wilderness Adventurer is docked at the Seadrome on Friday, April 13, 2018. Aboard, politicians and representatives from the tourism industry spoke about bringing tourists to S.E. Alaska in the spring — a few months earlier than usual. The vessel set sail on its first spring cruise in Alaska the day after this photo was taken. (Richard McGrail | Juneau Empire)
Devil’s Club Brewing Co.’s Evan Wood talks to customers at the microbrewery’s new taproom on Franklin Street on Wednesday. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Four years in the making: ‘Taproom-focused’ microbrewery opens on N. Franklin Street

After four years of preparation, a new brewery opened Wednesday on North Franklin Street. Devil’s Club Brewing Co., a microbrewery owned and operated by three… Continue reading

Devil’s Club Brewing Co.’s Evan Wood talks to customers at the microbrewery’s new taproom on Franklin Street on Wednesday. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
Dr. Gilbert Truitt speaks after receiving the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President’s Lifetime Achievement Award during President’s Awards Banquet April 19. (Courtesy Photo | Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)

Renowned Sitka educator, ‘Mr. Mt. Edgecumbe,’ honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

“It’s about time.” That was the response Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) President Richard Peterson received when he… Continue reading

Dr. Gilbert Truitt speaks after receiving the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President’s Lifetime Achievement Award during President’s Awards Banquet April 19. (Courtesy Photo | Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)

Leader of California drug ring had apartment in Juneau

The “primary facilitator” of a drug ring that extended from California to Alaska had an apartment in Juneau, a spokesperson for a California U.S. Attorney’s… Continue reading

Police seek culprit in tool theft

On Feb. 12, someone arrived to a work trailer to find the trailer open and more than two dozen tools missing, according to a Juneau… Continue reading