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This combination photo shows Cameron McEwen and an avatar associated with a Snapchat account that authorities say was used by McEwen, who was recently arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of making extortionate interstate communications. (FBI)

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FBI looks for more possible victims after New York man arrested in ‘sextortion’ investigation

Authorities say man used Snapchat to obtain sexually explicit photos, videos from teen in Alaska.

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, an Anchorage Democrat, speaks to members of the Alaska Senate about a bill she sponsored that would make Juneteenth a paid state holiday in Alaska. The senate passed the bill 16-4 Thursday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Alaska Senate passes bill recognizing Juneteenth as paid state holiday

The bill will now head to the House.

Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat, speak to a crowd outside at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol in January. Gray introduced a bill Monday that would make short-term rental registration a requirement and limit operators to just one unit per person in Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/ Juneau Empire File)

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Lawmaker introduces bill to require short-term rental registry, limits in Alaska

The bill would limit units to one per person beginning January 2025.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, explains during Wednesday’s floor session how a bill she is sponsoring will add to the number of Alaska Native languages officially recognized by the state and expand the role of a Native language preservation council.

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Alaska Native language expansion passes House

Bill by Juneau lawmaker adds more officially recognized dialects, expands preservation council’s role

Flames are visible from the Beluga Point parking area near Anchorage on July 19, 2016, as a wildfire near McHugh Creek burns. A recent series of wildfires near Anchorage and the hottest day on record have sparked fears that a warming climate could soon mean serious, untenable blazes in urban areas — just like in the rest of the drought-plagued American West. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

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Climate change sparks disaster fears in Alaska’s largest city

This is the new reality.

Bears greet each other on Chichagof Island in this picture from the fall of 2022 that won first prize for best feature photo from the Alaska Press Club during its annual awards banquet in April. It was the main photo for a Planet Alaska feature published in the Capital City Weekly in October of 2022. (Photo by Elleana Elliott)

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Empire staff and contributors earn 11 Alaska Press Club awards

The Juneau Empire won 11 Alaska Press Club awards at its annual banquet, which took place five days…

House Speaker Cathy Tilton, a Wasilla Republican, listens Monday morning to amendments to a bill she sponsored that seeks to bar the state and local governments in Alaska from mandating restrictions or closures to firearms and retailers in the event of a disaster. (Clarise Larson/ Juneau Empire)

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Bill disallowing firearm restrictions during emergencies moves toward third reading

It’s expected to have its final reading Wednesday.

This photo provided by Fort Wainwright Public Affairs Office shows a recently installed sign at the main entry point to U.S. Army Garrison Alaska Fort Wainwright on April 5, 2023, in Fairbanks, Alaska. The mother of Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, one of the three soldiers killed last week when two U.S. Army helicopters at Fort Wainwright collided as they were returning from training in a remote part of Alaska, said her son loved his country and his family and lifted others up. An investigative team flew to the crash site Monday, May 1. (Eve Baker / Fort Wainwright Public Affairs Office)

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For soldier killed in Alaska crash ‘family was everything’

Mother said her son loved his country and his family and lifted others up.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, left, addresses constituents during a town hall event on Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Nikiski senator’s bill ‘lumbers’ toward governor’s desk

Senate Bill 87 aims to make locally milled lumber more widely available for the construction of housing in…

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire State Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, speaks in opposition to a bill allocating 75% of spendable Permanent Fund earnings to state programs and 25% to dividends during Monday’s floor session.

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Senate passes $1,300 PFD bill despite dissension

Four majority members vote no on “75-25” bill, making it vulnerable to veto or other politicking.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas address the press in regards to the Black Hawk helicopter crash, Thursday, March 30, 2023, outside of Fort Campbell in Christian County, Ky. There have been three U.S. military helicopter crashes and a rollover recorded so far this year, in Alabama, Kentucky, and Alaska. Two of the crashes involved Black Hawk helicopters; the third crash and the rollover involved Apache helicopters. (Liam Kennedy /The Tennessean)

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Recent U.S. military helicopter crashes in training missions

There have been three U.S. military helicopter crashes and a rollover recorded so far this year.

In this photo released by the U.S. Army, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, fly over a mountain range near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on June 3, 2019. The U.S. Army says two Army helicopters similar to the ones in this picture crashed Thursday, April 27, 2023, near Healy, Alaska, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. The helicopters were returning from a training flight to Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks. (Cameron Roxberry / U.S. Army)

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Army grounds aviators for training after fatal crashes

The U.S. Army has grounded aviation units for training after 12 soldiers died within the last month in…

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State association considers transgender ban on student sports

Change would limit girls teams to birth-assigned sex; public meeting scheduled Monday

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, listens to a procedural discussion by senators during Friday’s floor session about a bill modifying how Permanent Fund dividends are calculated. The bill, which reduce PFDs significantly from those under previously calculations unless the state has an abundance of revenue, is scheduled for further debate and a vote on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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‘75-25’ PFD plan reaches Senate floor

Change would drastically shrink dividends, allocate most Permanent Fund earnings to state spending

Stripped sections of bark and hardened drops of tree sap are seen on May 24, 2018, on trees near Big Lake that are infested with bark beetles. That kind of damage kills infested spruce trees. (Yereth Rosen / Alaska Beacon)

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House-passed bill would trim the time needed for Alaska loggers to cut state-owned forests

Measure could reduce wildfire risks, but critics worry about overuse by the state agency in charge.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Senate Finance Committee co-chair Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, right, listens to Sealaska Corp. Board Chair Joe Nelson testify about the committee’s proposed budget during a hearing April 20.

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Revised Senate budget contains smaller education increase, $1,300 PFD

Finance Committee proposing one-time $680 per-pupil boost in attempt to avoid deficit

Rep. Jennie Armstrong, D-Anchorage, and Tristin Walsh, a staff member for Armstrong, prepare to present her bill seeking to prevent LGBTQ+ discrimination to the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination bill advances after heated debate

Next stop is the House Judiciary Committee.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, explains the provisions of his bill making confidential the addresses of law enforcement officers, their families, and victims of sexual assault and domestic violence during Monday’s floor session. The bill passed unanimously, as did a related bill making peer support programs for law enforcement officers confidential.

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Confidential address registry for officers, victims passes Senate

Bill by Juneau’s Jesse Kiehl forwards mail from state P.O. box; confidential counseling bill also OK’d

A delegate watches the proceedings during the final day of the 88th annual Tribal Assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Friday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

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Tribal delegates call invocation objection at Capitol a sign of disrespect

Two Alaska governing bodies hold annual sessions a few blocks apart, yet still have wide chasms

A tag is place on a evidence bag containing small baggies of drugs seized by the Juneau Police Department. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

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Gov proposes managing opioid settlement money like Permanent Fund

$58 million from drug companies would go to new investment fund, earnings used for treatment