News

Harbor seals make use of an empty berth at Andrew’s Marina in Auke Bay on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

November finishes as 10th snowiest

A cold and snowy November turned warmer and wet as the month concluded, but this year will still rank in the top 10 for flurries… Continue reading

Harbor seals make use of an empty berth at Andrew’s Marina in Auke Bay on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
The bronze statue of William Seward is seen in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire file)

A look at what has changed under the new crime bill

One week ago, Gov. Bill Walker signed Senate Bill 54 after an extended special session. Crafted by lawmakers in response to a statewide crime wave,… Continue reading

The bronze statue of William Seward is seen in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire file)
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 as the Senate debates a Republican tax cut proposal. (C-SPAN video)

Sen. Sullivan reaffirms support for tax cut

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, has reaffirmed his support for the Republican tax cut as the measure approaches a final vote in the U.S. Senate.… Continue reading

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 as the Senate debates a Republican tax cut proposal. (C-SPAN video)
Vance Fate Putman (Courtesy photo)

Gov. Walker names lobbyist as CFEC commissioner

Gov. Bill Walker has appointed a longtime lobbyist to replace Benjamin Brown as a commissioner of the state’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. In an emailed… Continue reading

Vance Fate Putman (Courtesy photo)
Luann McVey, right, joins about a dozen people to protest the U.S. Senate’s proposed tax reform bill in front of Juneau’s Congressional Delegation Office on Glacier Avenue on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Murkowski will vote for GOP tax bill

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, will support the Republican tax reform plan, she announced in a written statement Wednesday afternoon. “After thoroughly reviewing the good… Continue reading

Luann McVey, right, joins about a dozen people to protest the U.S. Senate’s proposed tax reform bill in front of Juneau’s Congressional Delegation Office on Glacier Avenue on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Legislature will end special session today

There will be no grand ceremonies or speeches as the Alaska Legislature ends the fourth special session of the 30th Alaska Legislature today. In fact,… Continue reading

Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp speaks to Juneau Police Department Officer Jason Van Sickle during the trial of Leron Carlton Graham in Juneau Superior Court on Wednesday. Graham is representing himself on 14 counts of allegedly assaulting a woman and stealing a car in the Lemon Creek area in March. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Budget cuts hit prosecutors hard

This is a part of a continuing series examining the effects of budget cuts to state services. To see how state budget cuts are affecting… Continue reading

Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp speaks to Juneau Police Department Officer Jason Van Sickle during the trial of Leron Carlton Graham in Juneau Superior Court on Wednesday. Graham is representing himself on 14 counts of allegedly assaulting a woman and stealing a car in the Lemon Creek area in March. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an airplane flies over caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. A showdown is looming in the nation’s capital over whether to open America’s largest wildlife refuge to oil drilling. A budget measure approved by the Republican-controlled Congress allows lawmakers to pursue legislation that would allow drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge takes up an area nearly the size of South Carolina in Alaska’s northeast corner. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Congress debates oil drilling in largest US wildlife refuge

ANCHORAGE — Sometime next April, pregnant cows in the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada will take the lead in an annual migration of nearly 200,000… Continue reading

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an airplane flies over caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. A showdown is looming in the nation’s capital over whether to open America’s largest wildlife refuge to oil drilling. A budget measure approved by the Republican-controlled Congress allows lawmakers to pursue legislation that would allow drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge takes up an area nearly the size of South Carolina in Alaska’s northeast corner. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, right, speaks as committee’s ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., looks on, during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge moved closer Wednesday as a key Senate panel approved a bill to open the remote refuge to energy exploration. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the drilling measure, 13-10. (Jose Luis Magana | The Associated Press)

Arctic refuge drilling closer as Senate panel moves ahead

WASHINGTON — Oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge moved closer Wednesday as a key Senate panel approved a bill to open… Continue reading

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, right, speaks as committee’s ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., looks on, during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge moved closer Wednesday as a key Senate panel approved a bill to open the remote refuge to energy exploration. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the drilling measure, 13-10. (Jose Luis Magana | The Associated Press)
Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, center, leaves the House chambers with Rep. Sam Kito, D-Juneau, left, and Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, after holding a short technical session at the Capitol on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. The Alaska Senate on Friday approved a constitutionally problematic criminal justice reform bill, then adjourned the fourth special session of the 30th Alaska Legislature. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Legislature’s special session lives in limbo without legislators

The Alaska Legislature’s special session will continue — without most legislators. On Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives failed to adjourn the ongoing fourth special… Continue reading

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, center, leaves the House chambers with Rep. Sam Kito, D-Juneau, left, and Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, after holding a short technical session at the Capitol on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. The Alaska Senate on Friday approved a constitutionally problematic criminal justice reform bill, then adjourned the fourth special session of the 30th Alaska Legislature. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
In this September 2014 photo, Field Morey, an FAA-Certified Flight Instructor from Medford, Oregon, applies an Alaskan flag sticker to the side of his 2013 Cessna Corvalis TTx four- passenger airplane after landing in Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

State may charge aircraft registration fee

You have to register your car with the state of Alaska each year. You may soon have to register your plane, too. The State of… Continue reading

In this September 2014 photo, Field Morey, an FAA-Certified Flight Instructor from Medford, Oregon, applies an Alaskan flag sticker to the side of his 2013 Cessna Corvalis TTx four- passenger airplane after landing in Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, watches the House debate on SB 26 from the Elizabeth Peratrovich Gallery Wednesday, April 5, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Alaska Senator from Wasilla denies any wrongdoing with staffer

A June incident involving a House staffer and state Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, has prompted lawmakers to re-examine how they handle staff complaints about sexual… Continue reading

Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, watches the House debate on SB 26 from the Elizabeth Peratrovich Gallery Wednesday, April 5, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

University regents will request more cash from Legislature

The leaders of the University of Alaska are expected to ask the Alaska Legislature for a 7.7 percent budget increase this week. The UA Board… Continue reading

Walker signs landmark gas pipeline deal

Gov. Bill Walker traveled to Beijing with a president. He may be returning to Alaska with a pipeline. At 7:15 p.m. Alaska time Wednesday evening,… Continue reading

A file cart is seen packed with amendments outside the House Chambers on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017 in the Alaska State Capitol. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)

Legal analysis finds big problem with SB 54

After a weeklong whirlwind of amendments, Senate Bill 54 is in the hands of the lawyers — and some of them aren’t happy. A late… Continue reading

A file cart is seen packed with amendments outside the House Chambers on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017 in the Alaska State Capitol. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)

House votes to partially roll back Senate Bill 91

The Alaska House of Representatives has voted to roll back the controversial criminal justice measure Senate Bill 91, but lawmakers failed to pass a full… Continue reading

In this April 26 photo, Gov. Bill Walker holds a press conference at the Capitol. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Gov. Bill Walker expected to make gasline announcement tonight

Gov. Bill Walker is expected to make a significant announcement tonight on the future of the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. Walker, who is in… Continue reading

In this April 26 photo, Gov. Bill Walker holds a press conference at the Capitol. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Alaska House starts voting on rollback of criminal justice reform

As voting began Saturday morning on floor amendments to Senate Bill 54, members of the Alaska House of Representatives found themselves divided into two camps.… Continue reading

House Finance Committee members listen as Ed King, Legislative Liaison for the Department of Natural Resources, give the Preliminary 2017 Fall Production Forecast at the Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Taxes and budget grab Legislature’s attention this week

With a House-passed version of Senate Bill 54 likely headed to the Senate, both the House and Senate are beginning to turn their attention to… Continue reading

House Finance Committee members listen as Ed King, Legislative Liaison for the Department of Natural Resources, give the Preliminary 2017 Fall Production Forecast at the Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
State attorneys Elizabeth Bakalar, foreground left, and Margaret Paton-Walsh, foreground right, listen to arguments made by attorney Jon Choate on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 in Alaska Superior Court in Juneau. At background left is Judge Philip Pallenberg. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire file)

State appeals Democrats’ win in ballot lawsuit

The State of Alaska is appealing a decision that would allow independent political candidates to run in the primary election of the Alaska Democratic Party.… Continue reading

State attorneys Elizabeth Bakalar, foreground left, and Margaret Paton-Walsh, foreground right, listen to arguments made by attorney Jon Choate on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017 in Alaska Superior Court in Juneau. At background left is Judge Philip Pallenberg. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire file)