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On Monday evening, assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale introduced an amendment to reduce the mill rate for the 2021 property tax levy to 10.56. The measure passed and the .10 reduction will reduce 2021 property taxes by about $10 on every $100,000 of valuation. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

CBJ Assembly changes course, lowers property tax rate

Lower rates mean savings for homeowners

On Monday evening, assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale introduced an amendment to reduce the mill rate for the 2021 property tax levy to 10.56. The measure passed and the .10 reduction will reduce 2021 property taxes by about $10 on every $100,000 of valuation. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, spoke to the Empire on Monday, June 14, 2021, about the final budget proposal for the state which he helped craft. Some lawmakers said they felt bullied by the budget's contents. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Lawmakers decry ‘bully tactics’ in budget proposal

Legislative leverage.

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, spoke to the Empire on Monday, June 14, 2021, about the final budget proposal for the state which he helped craft. Some lawmakers said they felt bullied by the budget's contents. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Drag performers dance Saturday to “YMCA” by the Village People at the Zach Gordon Youth Center’s Pride Month event at the center. Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire

Youth center holds Pride event for LGBTQ youth

Food, music, and age-appropriate fun for the community’s LGBTQ teenagers.

Drag performers dance Saturday to “YMCA” by the Village People at the Zach Gordon Youth Center’s Pride Month event at the center. Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a fire near Twin Lakes on Sunday evening. One firefighter sustained a minor injury as they extinguished the fire but didn’t require medical attention. (Courtesy photo/CCFR)

Firefighters extinguish Twin Lakes residence fire

The fire was an accident, the investigation determined.

Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a fire near Twin Lakes on Sunday evening. One firefighter sustained a minor injury as they extinguished the fire but didn’t require medical attention. (Courtesy photo/CCFR)
State Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, second from left, listens as Rep. Bart LeBon, far left,R-Fairbanks, foreground, speaks during a budget conference committee meeting in Juneau, Alaska, on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Alaska legislators who are leading negotiators on a committee tasked with hashing out differences on a state spending package said they would like to reach a tentative agreement as early as Sunday. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)

Lawmakers reach tentative deal on budget, dividend

Negotiators reached a tentative agreement Sunday on a package that includes an estimated $1,100 PFD.

State Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, second from left, listens as Rep. Bart LeBon, far left,R-Fairbanks, foreground, speaks during a budget conference committee meeting in Juneau, Alaska, on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Alaska legislators who are leading negotiators on a committee tasked with hashing out differences on a state spending package said they would like to reach a tentative agreement as early as Sunday. (AP Photo / Becky Bohrer)
Juneau residents place hundreds of pairs of children's shoes in front of the state at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on June 12, 2021 as they mourned for the 215 dead children uncovered at a residential school in Canada. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Community members hold vigil for residential school victims

The appalling legacy of the schools stretches far and deep.

Juneau residents place hundreds of pairs of children's shoes in front of the state at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on June 12, 2021 as they mourned for the 215 dead children uncovered at a residential school in Canada. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Darren Snyder, who helps manage community gardens as part of the the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, talks to kids about gardening in Southeast Alaska on June 11, 2021.

Planting a seed: Students learn about gardening, carbon sequestration

Learning to care for a plant was also on the agenda.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Darren Snyder, who helps manage community gardens as part of the the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, talks to kids about gardening in Southeast Alaska on June 11, 2021.
A man was found guilty of multiple charges of sexual abuse of a minor by a Juneau jury on June 10, 2021. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Man found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor

It was the first felony trial since the easing of the court’s pandemic measures.

A man was found guilty of multiple charges of sexual abuse of a minor by a Juneau jury on June 10, 2021. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)
The Biden Administration announced it would reverse a decision by the previous administration to remove the Roadless Rule from the Tongass National Forest, seen here on Sun, March 30, 2021. Conservationists praised the decision while others called it suppressing Alaska's economic opportunities. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Roadless Rule announcement draws mixed reaction from Alaskans

Roadless reversal riles some.

The Biden Administration announced it would reverse a decision by the previous administration to remove the Roadless Rule from the Tongass National Forest, seen here on Sun, March 30, 2021. Conservationists praised the decision while others called it suppressing Alaska's economic opportunities. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Coast Guard Station Ketchikan crew members, Petty Officer 3rd Class Corben Hill (left) and Petty Officer 3rd Class Caleb Hoskins work a tow line for a yacht near Ketchikan, after another Ketchikan crew medevaced the yacht’s captain June 9, 2021. The earlier boat crew worked with paramedics from South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department to transport the 86-year-old yacht captain to EMS on shore, after he experienced stroke symptoms. (Fireman George Haver / USCG)

Coast Guard medevacs man from yacht near Ketchikan

The man was experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

Coast Guard Station Ketchikan crew members, Petty Officer 3rd Class Corben Hill (left) and Petty Officer 3rd Class Caleb Hoskins work a tow line for a yacht near Ketchikan, after another Ketchikan crew medevaced the yacht’s captain June 9, 2021. The earlier boat crew worked with paramedics from South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department to transport the 86-year-old yacht captain to EMS on shore, after he experienced stroke symptoms. (Fireman George Haver / USCG)
ason Clark, at left, a postdoctoral researcher at UAF, and Nicholas Hasson, a UAF graduate student, examine a sinkhole known as a thermokarst in a Fairbanks homeowner’s backyard. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: The sinking feeling over much of Alaska

A ‘hole’ lot going on.

ason Clark, at left, a postdoctoral researcher at UAF, and Nicholas Hasson, a UAF graduate student, examine a sinkhole known as a thermokarst in a Fairbanks homeowner’s backyard. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, talks during an interview in the Empire’s offices. During the conversation, Young discussed ongoing infrastructure bill negotiations, the Arctic’s strategic importance to the U.S. and why he’s seeking a 26th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

The Empire sits down with Rep Young

We hit some of the wavetops of Young’s recent work.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, talks during an interview in the Empire’s offices. During the conversation, Young discussed ongoing infrastructure bill negotiations, the Arctic’s strategic importance to the U.S. and why he’s seeking a 26th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Bretwood “Hig” Higman, executive director of Ground Truth Trekking, talks Thursday at a news conference outside Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School about the risk of an eventual landslide in the Lemon Creek area. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Group investigates possibility of landslides in Lemon Creek area

There’s not cause for immediate concern, just watchfulness and evaluation, officials say.

Bretwood “Hig” Higman, executive director of Ground Truth Trekking, talks Thursday at a news conference outside Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School about the risk of an eventual landslide in the Lemon Creek area. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
The antenna of an Argos satellite tag extends past the tail feathers of a female American robin as she feeds a worm to her hungry nestlings on a front porch in Cheverly, Md., Sunday, May 9, 2021. A new antenna on the International Space Station and receptors on the Argos satellite, combined with the shrinking size of tracking chips and batteries, are allowing scientists to remotely monitor small animal and songbird movements in much greater detail than ever before. (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)

Scientists hail golden age to trace bird migration with tech

Robins fly more than 2,780 miles between their breeding area in Alaska and winter grounds in Texas.

The antenna of an Argos satellite tag extends past the tail feathers of a female American robin as she feeds a worm to her hungry nestlings on a front porch in Cheverly, Md., Sunday, May 9, 2021. A new antenna on the International Space Station and receptors on the Argos satellite, combined with the shrinking size of tracking chips and batteries, are allowing scientists to remotely monitor small animal and songbird movements in much greater detail than ever before. (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)
U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, speaks to the first in-person meeting of the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon in over a year at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Thursday, June 10, 2021. Young told the crowd he was working toward bipartisanship but expressed frustration with opposition to the resource industry. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Energy is Alaska’s future, Young tells chamber

Just don’t say no.

U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, speaks to the first in-person meeting of the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon in over a year at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Thursday, June 10, 2021. Young told the crowd he was working toward bipartisanship but expressed frustration with opposition to the resource industry. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Chef Lionel Uddipa of Red Spruce and his team prepare a dish of seared Alaskan scallop with Red Spruce miso, shio koji, calamansi, candied kumquat and herring egg bottarga for a charity dinner highlight the seafood cuisines of Alaska and Louisiana at Forbbiden Peak Brewery on Tuesday.

Two seafood states on one plate

Sea-ing things in common.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Chef Lionel Uddipa of Red Spruce and his team prepare a dish of seared Alaskan scallop with Red Spruce miso, shio koji, calamansi, candied kumquat and herring egg bottarga for a charity dinner highlight the seafood cuisines of Alaska and Louisiana at Forbbiden Peak Brewery on Tuesday.
Alaska Seaplanes held a cookout in Tenakee Springs on June 9, 2021, to celebrate the debut of a new seaplane in their fleet in one of the communities that aircraft will serve. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Company holds cookout in Tenakee Springs for new aircraft

Free rides and free food.

Alaska Seaplanes held a cookout in Tenakee Springs on June 9, 2021, to celebrate the debut of a new seaplane in their fleet in one of the communities that aircraft will serve. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Members of the Seward City Council take part in a work session on Monday, June 7, 2021, in Seward, Alaska. (Screenshot)

Seward council member apologizes for antisemitic remark

Sharyl Seese made the comment during a council work session.

Members of the Seward City Council take part in a work session on Monday, June 7, 2021, in Seward, Alaska. (Screenshot)
University officials are hoping that increased collaboration between the University of Alaska’s three schools of education will result in more Alaskans becoming teachers. The Univerity of Alaska Southeast, seen here in this October 2020 file photo, offers teacher training and retention programs. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

Help wanted: Alaskans to teach Alaska’s students

New consortium and marketing campaign aims to retain and recruit teachers

University officials are hoping that increased collaboration between the University of Alaska’s three schools of education will result in more Alaskans becoming teachers. The Univerity of Alaska Southeast, seen here in this October 2020 file photo, offers teacher training and retention programs. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
From left to right, Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau; Martin Stepetin Sr. and Gov. Mike Dunleavy at a signing ceremony for a bill protecting a cemetery in Funter Bay at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

‘We don’t want anyone to forget what happened here’

Bill protecting Unangax̂ cemetery signed in Juneau.

From left to right, Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau; Martin Stepetin Sr. and Gov. Mike Dunleavy at a signing ceremony for a bill protecting a cemetery in Funter Bay at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)