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Downtown Juneau experiences its first significant city-level snow fall of the season as pictured on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

Weekend guide for Dec. 12-14

Visit Juneau Arts and Humanities Council at jahc.org for more details on this week’s happenings.

 

Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon 
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a news conference in Juneau on Thursday, April 27, 2023. To his side is a screen displaying significant budget deficits and exhausted savings accounts if oil prices perform as expected.

Disasters, dividends and deficit: Alaska governor unveils first-draft state budget

In his final year, Gov. Dunleavy again proposes to spend from savings in order to pay a larger Permanent Fund dividend

 

Win Gruening (courtesy)

Opinion: Affordability message delivered to Juneau Assembly; but will it matter?

On October 7, frustrated voters passed two ballot propositions aimed at making Juneau more affordable and decisively defeated an Assembly-sponsored sales tax increase. The message… Continue reading

 

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks Wednesday, April 23, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

State senators express skepticism about proposed Juneau ferry terminal backed by Dunleavy

In a Friday hearing, members of the Alaska Senate spoke critically about a proposed new ferry terminal in Juneau, questioning why the project would be… Continue reading

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks Wednesday, April 23, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Gulls hunting seeking scraps of fish swarm the docked fishing vessel Gold Rush, which harvests pollock and other groundfish, and Trident Seafood's Kodiak plant on Oct. 3, 2022. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set 2026 Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska ccatch limits for pollock and other groundfish species, but the prolonged federal government shutdown interrupted the flow of information that would normally be used to set those harvests. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Without completed 2025 reports, federal fishery managers use last year’s data to set Alaska harvests

Lacking the usual amount of data to guide them, federal fishery managers relied on last year’s reports to set the coming year’s harvests for the… Continue reading

Gulls hunting seeking scraps of fish swarm the docked fishing vessel Gold Rush, which harvests pollock and other groundfish, and Trident Seafood's Kodiak plant on Oct. 3, 2022. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set 2026 Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska ccatch limits for pollock and other groundfish species, but the prolonged federal government shutdown interrupted the flow of information that would normally be used to set those harvests. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Children’s Trust Photo
Natalie Hodges and Hailey Clark use the online safety conversation cards produced by the Alaska Children’s Trust.

My Turn: Staying connected starts with showing up

When our daughter was 11 and the COVID lockdown was in full swing, she, like many of the preteens and teens around her, turned to… Continue reading

Alaska Children’s Trust Photo
Natalie Hodges and Hailey Clark use the online safety conversation cards produced by the Alaska Children’s Trust.
Web only: letter to the editor typewriter

Letter: Affordable housing in Juneau

Dear Editor, Juneau is facing one of the most serious housing shortages in Alaska, and it affects nearly everyone in our community, from young workers… Continue reading

Web only: letter to the editor typewriter
Telephone Hill as seen from above (Photo courtesy of City and Borough of Juneau)

Letter: For Telephone Hill, remember small is adaptable

Writer finds the finances don’t add up on planned development

Telephone Hill as seen from above (Photo courtesy of City and Borough of Juneau)
A totem pole, one of 13 on downtown’s Totem Pole Trail in Juneau, Alaska, Nov. 27, 2024. (Christopher S. Miller/The New York Times)
A totem pole, one of 13 on downtown’s Totem Pole Trail in Juneau, Alaska, Nov. 27, 2024. (Christopher S. Miller/The New York Times)
Browsers crowd into Annie Kaill’s gallery and gift shop during the 2024 Gallery Walk. (Juneau Empire file photo)

Gallery Walk guide for Friday, Dec. 5

The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and the Downtown Business Association announced community events taking place during Gallery Walk on First Friday, Dec. 5, 2025… Continue reading

Browsers crowd into Annie Kaill’s gallery and gift shop during the 2024 Gallery Walk. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Map showing approximate location of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Courtesy/Earthquakes Canada)

7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Yukon/Alaska border

Earthquake occurred about 55 miles from Yakutat

Map showing approximate location of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Courtesy/Earthquakes Canada)
Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)

Gimme a smile: My roommate’s name is Siri

She hasn’t brought a lot of stuff into the house, and she takes up very little space.

Peggy McKee Barnhill (Courtesy photo)
Jeff Lund photo 
The author heard what he thought was a squirrel. It was not a squirrel.

I Went into the Woods: A change of plans

It was only a 30-hour trip but it’s always better to bring more food than you count on eating.

Jeff Lund photo 
The author heard what he thought was a squirrel. It was not a squirrel.
photo courtesy Tim Harrison 
Rev. Tim Harrison is senior pastor at Chapel by the Lake.

Living and Growing: I Wonder as I Wander

The Rev. Tim Harrison reflects on the Christmas season.

photo courtesy Tim Harrison 
Rev. Tim Harrison is senior pastor at Chapel by the Lake.
Doug Mills/The New York Times 
President Donald Trump disembarks the USS Harry S. Truman before delivering remarks for the Navy’s 250th anniversary in Norfolk, Va., Oct. 5, 2025.

Opinion: Trump’s job is done

The ultra-rich have completed their takeover of America.

Doug Mills/The New York Times 
President Donald Trump disembarks the USS Harry S. Truman before delivering remarks for the Navy’s 250th anniversary in Norfolk, Va., Oct. 5, 2025.
A commercial bowpicker is seen headed out of the Cordova harbor for a salmon fishing opener in June 2024 (Photo by Corinne Smith)

Planned fiber-optic cable will add backup for Alaska’s phone and high-speed internet network

The project is expected to bring more reliable connection to some isolated coastal communities.

A commercial bowpicker is seen headed out of the Cordova harbor for a salmon fishing opener in June 2024 (Photo by Corinne Smith)
Members of the Alaska Air and Army National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia, and Alaska State Defense Force work together to load plywood onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, in Bethel, Alaska, Nov. 2, 2025, bound for the villages of Napaskiak, Tuntutuliak, and Napakiak. The materials will help residents rebuild homes and restore community spaces damaged by past storms. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Ericka Gillespie)

Gov. Dunleavy approves Alaska National Guard assisting ICE in Anchorage

The National Guard said five service members will assist with administrative support; lawmakers and civil rights advocates worry that the move signals a ramping up of immigration enforcement operations in Alaska

Members of the Alaska Air and Army National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia, and Alaska State Defense Force work together to load plywood onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, in Bethel, Alaska, Nov. 2, 2025, bound for the villages of Napaskiak, Tuntutuliak, and Napakiak. The materials will help residents rebuild homes and restore community spaces damaged by past storms. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Ericka Gillespie)
Google Maps screenshot
The star shows the approximate location of the proposed Cascade Point Ferry terminal by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities in partnership with Goldbelt, Inc.

Opinion: An open letter to Cascade Point ferry terminal proponents

To: Governor Dunleavy, DOT Directors, and Cascade Point ferry terminal project consultants, Building a ferry terminal at Cascade Point would represent government at its most… Continue reading

Google Maps screenshot
The star shows the approximate location of the proposed Cascade Point Ferry terminal by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities in partnership with Goldbelt, Inc.

My Turn: Supreme Court decision treats Alaskans with mental illness worse than criminals

A criminal in Alaska who’s in custody must be presented with charges in court within 48 hours or be freed. It’s a constitutional due process… Continue reading

The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Senate Republicans confirm Rauscher, Tilton and open two vacancies in state House

The Alaska Republican Party is moving quickly after Republicans in the Alaska Senate confirmed Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s picks for two vacancies in the Senate on… Continue reading

The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)