Wire Service

Wilder Dillingham of AYEA on the first day of the composting program with Juneau Composts! at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Courtesy Photo / Lauren Cusimano)

Opinion: AYEA and Juneau Composts! are a dream team

Look for AYEA students standing by Juneau Composts! bins in the commons…

Wilder Dillingham of AYEA on the first day of the composting program with Juneau Composts! at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Courtesy Photo / Lauren Cusimano)
State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, right, asks Ajay Desai, director of the Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, about the assumptions used to calculate pensions earned by state employees under a fixed-amount plan in effect until 2006 and a subsequent 401K-type plan during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Legislature dives into perilous waters with state workforce issues

We should not assume that what worked 20 years ago will work today.

State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, right, asks Ajay Desai, director of the Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, about the assumptions used to calculate pensions earned by state employees under a fixed-amount plan in effect until 2006 and a subsequent 401K-type plan during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
Adam Bauer

Living & Growing: Faith and addressing climate change

It is an honor to live in this homeland of the Áak’w Kwáan and Taku Kwáan of the Tlingit people who have provided centuries of… Continue reading

Adam Bauer
Christine Kleinhenz of Tide Watcher is the featured artist for the month of March at the Juneau Artists Gallery.  She is a visual artist and will be available to chat 4:30-6 p.m. for the gallery's First Friday event. (Courtesy Photo)

Take a peek at what’s happening for First Friday

This First Friday is going to be a busy one in downtown Juneau. New artistic exhibitions, a special theatrical event and more are planned for… Continue reading

Christine Kleinhenz of Tide Watcher is the featured artist for the month of March at the Juneau Artists Gallery.  She is a visual artist and will be available to chat 4:30-6 p.m. for the gallery's First Friday event. (Courtesy Photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Thursday, March 2, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Courtesy Photo

Opinion: A legislative path to accountability for schools

The last time families took the state to court for inadequate instruction, they lost. In Moore v. Alaska, from 2004 to 2012, Judge Sharon Gleason… Continue reading

Courtesy Photo
This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to Biden’s climate goals. A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March 2023. (ConocoPhillips via AP)

Opinion: It is time to draw the line on oil projects like Willow

We need support projects that build on renewable infrastructure.

This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to Biden’s climate goals. A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March 2023. (ConocoPhillips via AP)
FILE - Jeff King takes his sled dog team through a snowstorm in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, March 4, 2022, during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on Saturady, March 4, the smallest field ever. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

‘A little scary’: Iditarod begins with smallest field ever

Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

FILE - Jeff King takes his sled dog team through a snowstorm in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, March 4, 2022, during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on Saturady, March 4, the smallest field ever. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)
Being honest and telling a real story is much more appealing than a sponsor-laden, narcissistic production, but follow the author's advice about good filmmaking at your own peril. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: Keys behind story time

A good visual product is about good storytelling

Being honest and telling a real story is much more appealing than a sponsor-laden, narcissistic production, but follow the author's advice about good filmmaking at your own peril. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Wednesday, March 1, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to Biden’s climate goals. A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March 2023. (ConocoPhillips)

Biden faces dilemma in fight over Willow project

A decision could come by early March.

This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to Biden’s climate goals. A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March 2023. (ConocoPhillips)
Five Bohemian waxwings rest on a snowy branch between bouts of feeding. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
Five Bohemian waxwings rest on a snowy branch between bouts of feeding. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
This March 2020 photo shows Juneau's City Hall. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Limit entry for Juneau tours

I hope the Assembly takes this opportunity to do something for those of us they represent.

This March 2020 photo shows Juneau's City Hall. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
A picture showing the Juneau road system ending at Cascade Point in Berners Bay in May 2006.  (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Cost effective for whom?

It is interesting that current and former employees of the Department of Transportation and Public facilities are promoting the idea of building a new ferry… Continue reading

A picture showing the Juneau road system ending at Cascade Point in Berners Bay in May 2006.  (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
FILE - New graduates walk into the High Point Solutions Stadium before the start of the Rutgers University graduation ceremony in Piscataway Township, N.J., on May 13, 2018. The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan. It’s a plan that impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)

Explaining the arguments in the Supreme Court student loan case

Where things stand ahead of the hearing as well as what to expect:

FILE - New graduates walk into the High Point Solutions Stadium before the start of the Rutgers University graduation ceremony in Piscataway Township, N.J., on May 13, 2018. The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan. It’s a plan that impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)
A Capital Transit bus approaches a stop near the SEARHC Ethel Lund Medical Center on a snowy day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Take a community journey on the bus

Having lived in Juneau a year or two, I have had many opportunities to use our public transit system. Yes, the bus can be inconvenient… Continue reading

A Capital Transit bus approaches a stop near the SEARHC Ethel Lund Medical Center on a snowy day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File
The Aurora Borealis glows over the Mendenhall Glacier in 2014.

Aurora Forecast

Forecasts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute for the week of Feb. 26

Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File
The Aurora Borealis glows over the Mendenhall Glacier in 2014.
State Sen. Scott Kawasaki, in a hallway in the Alaska State Capitol on Feb. 16 holds up the strip showing he has tested negative for COVID-19. Kawasaki said he opted to take a test that day. (Yereth Rosen / Alaska Beacon)

COVID-19 creeps back into Alaska’s Capitol

Voluntary testing, other precautionary measures enacted due to multitude of cases

State Sen. Scott Kawasaki, in a hallway in the Alaska State Capitol on Feb. 16 holds up the strip showing he has tested negative for COVID-19. Kawasaki said he opted to take a test that day. (Yereth Rosen / Alaska Beacon)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)