Wire Service

A memorial on Front Street for Steven Kissack on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: A ‘homeless’ man’s death, charity and justice

Steven Kissack’s presence with his dog Juno in downtown Juneau gave a face and a name to homelessness. Unhoused, though, is more appropriate here: Steve’s… Continue reading

A memorial on Front Street for Steven Kissack on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
A male sockeye salmon makes its way upstream. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Life history patterns

Most organisms have one of two basic, genetically programmed life histories. Some can (potentially) reproduce several times during their lives; they are said to be… Continue reading

A male sockeye salmon makes its way upstream. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich, with sign-holding supporters, waves to Midtown Anchorage motorists on Election Day in 2022. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Some Alaska Republican candidates pledge to withdraw if they aren’t atop GOP votes in primary

Pledges are a way to circumvent ranked choice voting, according to one supporter.

Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich, with sign-holding supporters, waves to Midtown Anchorage motorists on Election Day in 2022. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter hovers over Sitka Sound during routine hoist training. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Lt. Cmdr Wryan Webb)

Yakutat-bound charter flight missing from Juneau

Flight departed from Juneau on Saturday with three people aboard, according to U.S. Coast Guard.

A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter hovers over Sitka Sound during routine hoist training. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Lt. Cmdr Wryan Webb)
President Biden at the White House on July 3. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

President Joe Biden drops out of race, scrambling the campaign for the White House

Withdraws under pressure from fellow Democrats; endorses Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump.

President Biden at the White House on July 3. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
The offices of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Juneau are seen on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska demographers predict population drop, a switch from prior forecasts

For decades, state officials have forecast major population rises, but those haven’t come to pass.

The offices of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Juneau are seen on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Thursday, July 18, 2024

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Police calls for Wednesday, July 17, 2024

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

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Jasmine Chavez, a crew member aboard the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, waves to her family during a cell phone conversation after disembarking from the ship at Marine Park on May 10. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Ships in port for the week of July 20

Here’s what to expect this week.

Jasmine Chavez, a crew member aboard the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, waves to her family during a cell phone conversation after disembarking from the ship at Marine Park on May 10. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Buttons on display at a campaign event Monday, July 8, 2024, in Juneau, urge supporters to vote against Ballot Measure 2, the repeal of Alaska’s current election system. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Ranked-choice repeal measure awaits signature count after Alaska judge’s ruling

Signatures must be recounted after judge disqualifies almost 3,000 names, citing state law violations.

Buttons on display at a campaign event Monday, July 8, 2024, in Juneau, urge supporters to vote against Ballot Measure 2, the repeal of Alaska’s current election system. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
A return envelope for the 2022 special primary election in Alaska. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Repealing ranked choice voting a chance to restore fair play and transparent government

I usually ignore Rich Moniak’s excursions into misdirection, although most are written well enough to seem logically convincing to the unwary. His July 12 column… Continue reading

A return envelope for the 2022 special primary election in Alaska. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Letter: You don’t deal with mentally ill people by killing them

We had just finished afternoon Macha green tea at Heritage coffee house and were walking three blocks east to Deckhand Dave’s for some halibut tacos.… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Juno, a dog who belonged to Steven Kissack, watches after her owner was fatally shot by police Monday in downtown Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: Juno’s howling downtown will be missed, more help needed for people like her owner

My family and I moved to Juneau this April for a refreshing, peaceful new way of living, away from big city life. Ironically, I work… Continue reading

Juno, a dog who belonged to Steven Kissack, watches after her owner was fatally shot by police Monday in downtown Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Athletes practice new moves while wrestling during a 2023 Labor Day weekend clinic at the Juneau Youth Wrestling Club. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

Neighbors briefs

Juneau Youth Wrestling Club hosting two clinics this summer The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club is hosting nationally renowned wrestling clinicians to lead clinics taking place… Continue reading

Athletes practice new moves while wrestling during a 2023 Labor Day weekend clinic at the Juneau Youth Wrestling Club. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy of Mike Tobin)

My Turn: Thank the cool, rainy heavens we live in Juneau

Thank heavens we don’t live in Houston, oil capital of the U.S., where the remnants of Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane to ever form… Continue reading

Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy of Mike Tobin)
Gov. Bill Walker, left, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott are seen at their 2014 inauguration in Centennial Hall. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: The election fantasy of a hopeful fool

“We have an opportunity now to lower the volume of this race,” Elliot Ackerman wrote in the Atlantic a few days after an assassin’s bullet… Continue reading

Gov. Bill Walker, left, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott are seen at their 2014 inauguration in Centennial Hall. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ingredients for cauliflower shrimp salad ready to prepare. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Cooking for pleasure: Cauliflower shrimp salad

I realize that this combination sounds a bit odd, but I’ve become quite fond of it. Many years ago in a now-defunct local restaurant, a… Continue reading

Ingredients for cauliflower shrimp salad ready to prepare. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board chairman Ethan Schutt is seen during a special board meeting on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Dunleavy reappoints Permanent Fund Corp. board chair Schutt after weeks of uncertainty

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has reappointed Ethan Schutt to a public seat on the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s board of directors, a little over two weeks… Continue reading

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board chairman Ethan Schutt is seen during a special board meeting on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Employees gather in front the historic Red Onion Saloon in Skagway, which will be taken over by Juneau restaurant owner Tracy LaBarge at the end of the summer tourism season. (Photo courtesy of the Red Onion Saloon)

Owner of Tracy’s King Crab Shack buys historic Red Onion Saloon in Skagway

Tracy LaBarge will take over the establishment after the 2024 summer tourism season

Employees gather in front the historic Red Onion Saloon in Skagway, which will be taken over by Juneau restaurant owner Tracy LaBarge at the end of the summer tourism season. (Photo courtesy of the Red Onion Saloon)
In this screenshot from a streamed court hearing, Attorney Thekla Hansen-Young (bottom right) speaks in front of a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 18, 2024, in San Francisco. (Screenshot)

Federal appeals court appears unlikely to halt Southeast Alaska king trolling for now

A lower-court order that could stop fishing has been placed on hold since last year.

In this screenshot from a streamed court hearing, Attorney Thekla Hansen-Young (bottom right) speaks in front of a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 18, 2024, in San Francisco. (Screenshot)