Wire Service

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File
The U.S. Flag and Alaska state flag fly on the roof of the Alaska State Capitol on Oct. 17. With just over a month before legislative session is set to begin, some lawmakers are waiting to lock down digs. One factor: uncertainty about how — and for how long — lawmakers plan to meet.
Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File
The U.S. Flag and Alaska state flag fly on the roof of the Alaska State Capitol on Oct. 17. With just over a month before legislative session is set to begin, some lawmakers are waiting to lock down digs. One factor: uncertainty about how — and for how long — lawmakers plan to meet.
(Courtesy Photo / Randall Davis, Alaska Department of Fish & Game)

Opinion: Sea otters are the defenders of kelp forests, ecosystems

We recognize the important ecological roles they play.

(Courtesy Photo / Randall Davis, Alaska Department of Fish & Game)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (Courtesy Photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Opinion: Our hearts go out to Southeast Alaska

Governor shares thoughts, response information on recent disaster.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (Courtesy Photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
The Rev. Tari Stage-Harvey is pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Courtesy Photo)

Living & Growing: Nothing prepares you for Advent like an adventure

Kafka sounds different when read by a slap happy kid trying to do a Scottish brogue.

The Rev. Tari Stage-Harvey is pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Courtesy Photo)
It has always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Police calls for Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020

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

It has always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)
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Slack Tide: Whole lotta latkes

Celebrate Hanukkah with these “excellent calorie shovels.”

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Humpback Whale blows over by Outer Point, Douglas Island.

Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Alaska

Reader-submitted photos of Southeast Alaska.

Humpback Whale blows over by Outer Point, Douglas Island.
Margaret Keenan, 90, the first patient in the U.K. to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, receives an injection by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
Margaret Keenan, 90, the first patient in the U.K. to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, receives an injection by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England. (Jacob King/Pool via AP)
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Opinion: The trouble with celebrity politicians

Judges calling balls and strikes are the last line of defense…

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Matt Barnaby, co-owner and brewer at the Barnaby Brewing Company, works to fill wooden casks for a longer term beer project on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. Barnaby has added his name to a list of commenters who don’t like a proposed definition change by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board that would limit the sorts of activities that can happen in breweries and distilleries. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Matt Barnaby, co-owner and brewer at the Barnaby Brewing Company, works to fill wooden casks for a longer term beer project on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Juneau brewery does well at beer championship

It was a pour showing, not a poor one.

Matt Barnaby, co-owner and brewer at the Barnaby Brewing Company, works to fill wooden casks for a longer term beer project on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. Barnaby has added his name to a list of commenters who don’t like a proposed definition change by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board that would limit the sorts of activities that can happen in breweries and distilleries. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Matt Barnaby, co-owner and brewer at the Barnaby Brewing Company, works to fill wooden casks for a longer term beer project on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)

COVID at a glance for Friday, Dec. 11

The most recent state and local numbers.

This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)
The Supreme Court is seen as sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court rejected on Dec. 11,a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Supreme Court rejects Texas-led election lawsuit

Polarizing suit had backing from Alaska among other states

The Supreme Court is seen as sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court rejected on Dec. 11,a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
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Opinion: The Texas lawsuit is madness and supporting it borders on sedition

Even worse are the ramifications of this effort for the future of Alaska.

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Death Notice: Carolyn Stone

Carolyn Anita Stone, formerly of Juneau, died Nov. 24, 2020, in Good Samaritan Hospital, Corvallis, Oregon. She was 86. Carolyn lived in Juneau from 1966… Continue reading

This June 2015 photo shows an overall view of the Staten Island Yankees in action against the State College Spikes at Richmond County Bank Ballpark during a minor league baseball game in Staten Island, N.Y. The owners of the Staten Island Yankees announced in a statement Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, that with “great regret, we must cease operations.” They also said they were suing the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball “to hold those entities accountable for false promises” that they would always keep the team as a farm club. (AP Photo / Gregory Payan)

From Cape Cod to Alaska, college leagues eye MLB changes

By JAKE SEINER AP Sports Writer Years before he became commissioner of the Alaska Baseball League, Chris Beck pointed to the 6-foot-7 slugger in the… Continue reading

This June 2015 photo shows an overall view of the Staten Island Yankees in action against the State College Spikes at Richmond County Bank Ballpark during a minor league baseball game in Staten Island, N.Y. The owners of the Staten Island Yankees announced in a statement Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, that with “great regret, we must cease operations.” They also said they were suing the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball “to hold those entities accountable for false promises” that they would always keep the team as a farm club. (AP Photo / Gregory Payan)
This photo shows Craig George north of Utqiaġvik (then-Barrow) on May 28, 2010. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Weird Arctic report tells the same story

It is not your mother’s Arctic anymore, and don’t expect the changes to stop.

This photo shows Craig George north of Utqiaġvik (then-Barrow) on May 28, 2010. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
It has always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Police calls for Friday, Dec. 11, 2020

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

It has always been a police car. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy Photo / Jason Hollinger, Flickr 
A familiar lichen genus is Cladonia, some of which are known as “pixie cups.” These make stalked cups that contain little asexual granules made up of bits of fungus and algae that are enough to start a new lichen individual. These tiny granules can be splashed up to a meter away by a raindrop, but they may also travel by wind.
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On The Trails: When it rains, it spores

Rraindrops have been put to work to disperse spores, seeds and more.

Courtesy Photo / Jason Hollinger, Flickr 
A familiar lichen genus is Cladonia, some of which are known as “pixie cups.” These make stalked cups that contain little asexual granules made up of bits of fungus and algae that are enough to start a new lichen individual. These tiny granules can be splashed up to a meter away by a raindrop, but they may also travel by wind.
Video
This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)
This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, the top U.S. public health agency said that coronavirus can spread greater distances through the air than 6 feet, particularly in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials continued to say such spread is uncommon, and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. (NIAID-RML via AP)
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Sustainable Alaska: Atmospheric rivers and the community

You are probably intimately familiar with atmospheric rivers.

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