Site Logo
Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum address the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Crum on Thursday discussed a cyber attack that had compromised Alaskans' information. Crum said because of an ongoing criminal investigation the entity responsible for the attack and the exact information compromised could not be revealed. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

State offers free credit monitoring following data breach

Beginning Sept. 27.

Alaskans pick up and turn in Permanent Fund Dividend applications at the Department of Revenue office in the State Office Building in March 2011. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

News

Dividend payments expected in 30 days

The bill passed, when do you get a check or deposit?

In this December 2020 photo, a syringe containing a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine sits in a container during a vaccine clinic at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 patients, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska’s largest hospital, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, implemented crisis standards of care, prioritizing resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit the most.(Loren Holmes / Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)
In this December 2020 photo, a syringe containing a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine sits in a container during a vaccine clinic at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 patients, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska’s largest hospital, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, implemented crisis standards of care, prioritizing resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit the most.(Loren Holmes / Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool)

News

State records most daily COVID cases amid health care strain

1,068 new cases of COVID-19, with case counts 13% higher than last week. Juneau reports 61.

Lawmakers are set to meet in the Alaska State Capitol today, the last day of the state Legislature’s third special session. Multiple debates, including the size of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

Special session nears end with unresolved debates

The special session is set to expire tonight.

Senators converse during an At Ease in a floor session of the Alaska State Senate on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Senators passed a budget bill with a Permanent Fund Dividend of $1,100, but there’s disagreement over the fund sources that may lead to legal action. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Senate passes budget bill, $1,100 PFD hours before deadline

Next stop: The governor’s desk.

This photo shows Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaking at a July 2021 news conference.In a statement on Tuesday, Dunleavy said he would not veto the $1,100 Permanent Fund dividend passed by the Legislature. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

Dunleavy says he won’t veto ‘partial’ PFD, calls fourth special session

Legislature is set to meet in Juneau on Oct. 1.

State Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, participate's in an October 2020 march and rally in Juneau. Hannan on Monday apologized for comments made during a state House of Representatives floor session in which she suggested Nazi medical experiments led to gained knowledge. ((Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Hannan apologizes for Nazi experiment comments

State rep calls her remarks “incorrect, insensitive and hurtful.”

Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, right, speaks with Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, during a floor debate in the Alaska Senate over vaccine mandates on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Vaccine mandate debate roils Alaska

Mandate minefield.

Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, holds a press in front of the doors to the Senate chambers on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Reinbold requested an excusal from the state Senate until mid-January, citing the challenges of traveling to Juneau from Anchorage after she was suspended from flying on Alaska Airlines earlier this year. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

State senator suspended by airline seeks Senate excusal

She requested the excusal from Saturday through Jan. 15.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, seen here at a Aug. 16, news conference, announced Thursday he was filing suit against the Biden administration for an Environmental Protection Agency decision to potentially protect Bristol Bay waters under the Clean Water Act. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

Gov criticizes Biden admin over Bristol Bay review

Ready for litigation.

A worker with the Pebble Mine project digs in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, it would seek to restart a process that could restrict mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is renowned for its salmon runs. The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute over a proposed copper-and-gold mine in the southwest Alaska region. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)

News

EPA seeks to restart process that could restrict proposed Pebble Mine

The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute.

This Feb. 9, 2016, photo shows ice forming on pipelines built near the Colville-Delta 5 field, or as it's more commonly known, CD5, drilling site on Alaska's North Slope. The Trump administration will consider a new management plan and expanded oil drilling for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, an Indiana-size area that former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar characterized as an "iconic place on our Earth." The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, it will take public comment through Jan. 21 on four alternatives for the reserve in northern Alaska. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

News

Feds to reevaluate review of Alaska petroleum reserve

Review was basis for plans to open an additional roughly 6.8 million acres to oil and gas leasing.

This photo shows cars parked at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Feb. 13, 2021. A local insurance agent says that a recent study claiming women in Alaska pay more for car insurance than men doesn’t reflect his experience. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

Study: Women in Alaska pay more for car insurance

Local expert says no

Lawmakers at the Alaska State Capitol, seen here in this Jun. 7, file photo, heard a bill that would make it easier for hospitals to hire workers from other states on Tuesday, with only a week left in the Legislature's third special session of the year. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

Lawmakers fast-track bill to aid health care hiring

Workers are strained.

Charlie Smith, a National Guard first lieutenant at the time of the 1971 airline crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 1866, talks about the recovery efforts on Aug. 9, 2021, fifty years later. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Half a century on, National Guardsman recalls 1971 airline crash

“They said, we have a job to do and we’ll do it.”

A sign advertises free COVID-19 vaccines at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on July 13, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. The state announced a new initiative that gives newly vaccinated Alaskans an opportunity to win $49,000. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Newly vaccinated get chance to win cash

Incentive campaign to grant $49,000 cash and scholarship prizes to weekly winners

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives consult staff during an at ease during floor debate on Aug. 31, 2021, in the middle of the Alaska State Legislature’s third special session of the year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said another session is likely, but didn’t say when or where it would be held. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Governor, lawmakers say another special session likely

‘Contemplating the venue.’

A plane lands at Juneau International Airport on May 25, 2021, as the number of travelers in the state started to rise after the lockdowns of 2020. Travel numbers are not back up to their pre-pandemic levels, but they are increasing according to local travel authorities. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

After steep decline, transportation numbers are slowly taking off again

Passengers are coming back by boat, plane and bus, but not yet at pre-pandemic numbers.

Sens. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, center, and Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, right, put questions to Office of Management and Budget Director Neil Steininger during a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. The Legislature's third special session of the year is dealing mostly with budget issues despite having been called to bring resolution to the state's fiscal deficit. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Governor adds amendments to budget bill

Maybe another session.

Wrangell and Petersburg recently implemented text-to-911 systems for their emergency dispatches. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)

News

Wrangell and Petersburg get text-to-911 service

It’s a step forward that Juneau is eyeing for the future.