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In this July 8, 2021 photo, first lady Jill Biden delivers remarks before the start of the finals of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Jill Biden will attend the opening ceremony of the summer Olympic games in Tokyo. The White House announced the trip Tuesday, even as the city has entered a new state of emergency over a rise in coronavirus cases.(AP Photo / John Raoux)

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FLOTUS stops in Alaska on her way to Tokyo Olympics

Alaska to Japan to Hawaii.

Das Kapitol

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With deadline looming, lawmakers skeptical of work group schedule

More meetings and public testimony.

justice

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Coalition sues to fund power subsidies for rural Alaskans

Villages, cities among plaintiffs.

Courtesy photo / Norwegian Cruise Line Large cruises ships like Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss, seen here near Ketchikan in this undated photo, are returning to Alaska after being shut down due to COVID-19. Trade group Cruise Lines International Association says the industry is ready to get back to business safely.

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Cruises are coming back to Alaska prepared, industry exec says

Post-pandemic passengers.

Kenneth Manzanares, 42, appears in U.S. District Court in Juneau for a change of plea hearing in this February 2020 photo. A barrier put in place in the public courtroom hallway blocked Manzanares from public view, per the judge’s orders. Photography is not allowed in the courtroom. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

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Man sentenced in wife’s beating death on Alaska cruise dies

He was found unresponsive in his cell Wednesday morning.

A Juneau resident holds up a Recall Dunleavy signature collection page when the campaign first began in August, 2019, but the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday the campaign’s application for recall was legally sufficient. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)

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State Supreme Court sides with recall campaign, draws Dunleavy’s ire

High court affirms superior court decision.

Rep. Jonathan Kriess-Tomkins, D-Sitka, facilitates a meeting of the newly-formed Fiscal Plan Working Group at legislative offices in Anchorage on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The working group is meant to draft recommendations to resolve the state’s budget deficit, but some members said they wanted to see a faster pace from the group. (Courtesy photo / Joe Plesha, Alaska House Majority Coalition)

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Lawmakers say group working to solve budget woes must pick up the pace

Many more meetings.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire A sign lets visitors know they’re in the Tongass National Forest on Thursday, July 15, 2021, the same day the Biden administration announced yet another reversal of policy over the largest national forest. Debates about the 2001 Roadless Rule are familiar in Southeast Alaska, and Thursday’s announcement prompted familiar reactions in the state.

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Conservation or constraint? Roadless Rule reversal divides Alaskans

New administration, new rules

A map of Alaska shows the number of projects throughout the state that have received grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy since 2009. On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, DOE announced $12 million in energy grants for 13 American Indian and Alaska Native communities, seven of which are in Alaska. (Courtesy image / U.S. Department of Energy)

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Metlakatla, Alaska Native villages to receive federal grants for energy upgrades

Upgrading the grid.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a negotiator in the infrastructure talks, pauses for reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Murkowski hasn’t officially announced her re-election plans but her campaign released fundraising details, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that an advisor says “strongly positions,” a re-election bid by Murkowski. The campaign statement comes ahead of a filing deadline and days after Republican party leaders in Alaska endorsed newcomer Kelly Tshibaka for Senate. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

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Murkowski camp teases fundraising ahead of deadline

Adviser: Fundraising “strongly positions” the Alaska Republican for a reelection bid.

Courtesy photo / CCTHITA Tribal leaders from across the Southeast, including President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson of Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, left; President Gloria Burns of the Ketchikan Indian Community, center; and Marina Anderson, Tribal Adminitrator of the Organized Village of Kaasan, right; and many others attended a consultation with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service last week to meet and set the ground for replacing protections for the Tongass National Forest.

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Federal officials meet with Southeast tribal governments

The current administration says they’re trying to have a better relationship than the previous one.

Gavel (Courtesy photo)

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Judge hears case challenging new Alaska election system

Superior Court Judge Gregory Miller did not immediately rule Monday.

Gavel (Courtesy photo)

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Judge to hear case challenging new voting process

Arguments set for Monday.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

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Passenger arrested after taking over small plane in Alaska

The incident occurred Wednesday on a flight between Bethel and Aniak.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a ceremony for Alaska Native Veterans from the Vietnam era at the Walter Soboleff Building in downtown Juneau on May 5, 2021. Dunleavy announced the state filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Biden administration for what Dunleavy says is illegally keeping restrictions in place on federal lands in Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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State sues feds over continuing land restrictions

Veteran lands available, DOI says.

Courtesy photo / Alaska Court System Chief Justice Daniel E. Winfree, right, is sword in by Justice Dario Borghesan in Anchorage on July 1. Winfree will take over after former Chief Justice Joel Bolger retired earlier this year.

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State Supreme Court has new Chief Justice

Governor announces appointment to high court.

A group seeking Gov. Mike Dunleavy's ouster has yet to collect the necessary signatures to force a recall election. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

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Recall effort lacks signatures nearly 2 years in

A total of 71,252 signatures are needed to qualify for a recall election.

Another special legislative session is scheduled to start Aug. 2, 2021, at the Alaska State Capitol, seen here in this Empire file photo. But some lawmakers said Wednesday August may be too soon, and suggest that date may change. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

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Fiscal working group members set lofty goals, say time is needed

Cautious optimism.

In this photo provided by the Alaska Division of Forestry, guests at the Chena Hot Springs Resort watch the Munson Creek Fire near Fairbanks, Alaska, on Monday, July 5, 2021. Authorities on Monday advised residents and guests at an Alaska hot springs resort to evacuate immediately after a nearby wildfire intensified. The Fairbanks North Star Borough issued the evacuation order when the fire reached a point less than a mile behind Chena Hot Springs. (Courtesy Photo / Alaska Division of Forestry)

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Firefighters defend Chena Hot Springs Resort from advancing wildfire

About 150 firefighters were working to protect the resort, homes and cabins in the area.

Alaska State Capitol

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Lawmakers announce PFD working group

First meeting Wednesday.