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The city's COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Centennial Hall are now Juneau's premier concert venue. On April 3, local strings group Dynamics followed Grammy-award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey in a live concert at the clinic. Jayda Skeek, far left, musical coach and teacher Guohua Xia second to the left, students Jin Yue Trousil and Creys Hudson flank Bailey from left to right. (Courtesy Photo / Jim Pfitzer)
Capital City Weekly

City’s vaccination clinics double as live music venue

Musicians enhance vaccine experience

The city's COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Centennial Hall are now Juneau's premier concert venue. On April 3, local strings group Dynamics followed Grammy-award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey in a live concert at the clinic. Jayda Skeek, far left, musical coach and teacher Guohua Xia second to the left, students Jin Yue Trousil and Creys Hudson flank Bailey from left to right. (Courtesy Photo / Jim Pfitzer)
Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel underwent annual ice rescue training at Twin Lakes on April 7, 2021. The training occurs in the spring, when the ice is rotted and most dangerous. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Firefighters on ice: CCFR goes for a chilly dip as part of annual training

The annual training prepares firefighters for accidents on Juneau’s frozen lakes and ponds.

Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel underwent annual ice rescue training at Twin Lakes on April 7, 2021. The training occurs in the spring, when the ice is rotted and most dangerous. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Teaser

Opinion: How satellites may lead to broadband service for rural Alaska

Low Earth orbiting satellites may soon help Alaska to achieve a task force goal.

  • Apr 7, 2021
  • By Alex Hills
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Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File COVID-19 is preventing the Marie Drake Planetarium from hosting in-person Earth Day events. Instead, volunteers invite the submission of videos about caring for the Earth. The best videos will be shared in the fall when the planetarium re-opens and starts using the new digital projector. Rosemary Walling, a volunteer and board member of Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium, views Saturn and its moons’ orbits as projected by a visiting digital projector from Seattle’s Museum of Flight in October 2019.

Planetarium prepares to celebrate COVID-cautious Earth Day

Submit a video about caring for the planet

Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File COVID-19 is preventing the Marie Drake Planetarium from hosting in-person Earth Day events. Instead, volunteers invite the submission of videos about caring for the Earth. The best videos will be shared in the fall when the planetarium re-opens and starts using the new digital projector. Rosemary Walling, a volunteer and board member of Friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium, views Saturn and its moons’ orbits as projected by a visiting digital projector from Seattle’s Museum of Flight in October 2019.
Many residents took to the ice at Twin Lakes as well as the park’s snow-covered hills Friday, Nov. 20. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Ice rescue training planned for Twin Lakes

It’s not an emergency.

  • Apr 6, 2021
  • Juneau Empire
Many residents took to the ice at Twin Lakes as well as the park’s snow-covered hills Friday, Nov. 20. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
The new Glory Hall, currently under construction near the airport, is due to open on July 1, 2021, as the contract for the shelter at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center ends after a year and a half of pandemic. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Homelessness in Juneau up, amid national upward trend

It’s increased nationwide for four years.

The new Glory Hall, currently under construction near the airport, is due to open on July 1, 2021, as the contract for the shelter at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center ends after a year and a half of pandemic. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
A health care worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There's concern that COVID-19 vaccination could be made mandatory by businesses for activities such as travel-- or employment. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Without a vaccine mandate exemptions are untested

Legal gray area.

A health care worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There's concern that COVID-19 vaccination could be made mandatory by businesses for activities such as travel-- or employment. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Teaser

Alaska court hears arguments in dispute over appointments

State Supreme Court considers whether governor appointments to boards, commissions and his cabinet.

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Longtime Alaska law enforcement official Jim Cockrell, seen here in an undated photo in his role as a colonel with the Alaska State Troopers, was appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy as Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Dunleavy appoints new Public Safety Commissioner

Law enforcement veteran to lead state’s public safety department.

Longtime Alaska law enforcement official Jim Cockrell, seen here in an undated photo in his role as a colonel with the Alaska State Troopers, was appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy as Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Juneau’s downtown waterfront sits empty Monday. In a typical year, businesses would be getting ready for the flood of local tourists. But with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, Alaska’s cruise ship season remains uncertain.

New guidelines for cruise ships, but Alaska’s still off the itinerary

Maritime law cuts off Alaskan tourism.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Juneau’s downtown waterfront sits empty Monday. In a typical year, businesses would be getting ready for the flood of local tourists. But with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, Alaska’s cruise ship season remains uncertain.
Doug Woodby, co-chair of environmental group 350Juneau, holds up a letter addressed to the CEO of Wells Fargo alongside Irene Alexakos and Dick Farnell, wearing the costume. The group delivered the letter urging divestment from the fossil fuel industry to the bank's branch in downtown Juneau on Friday, April 2, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Costume-clad conservationist calls on banks to divest from fossil fuels

Tyrannosaurus checks.

Doug Woodby, co-chair of environmental group 350Juneau, holds up a letter addressed to the CEO of Wells Fargo alongside Irene Alexakos and Dick Farnell, wearing the costume. The group delivered the letter urging divestment from the fossil fuel industry to the bank's branch in downtown Juneau on Friday, April 2, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The Juneau Police Department are seeking a man, seen here in security footage, involved in the robbery of the Safeway fueling station early Sunday morning.

Police investigating early-morning gas station burglary

About $500 in merchandise was taken.

The Juneau Police Department are seeking a man, seen here in security footage, involved in the robbery of the Safeway fueling station early Sunday morning.
Courtesy photo / Heather Holt An Air Force C-32A landed at Juneau International Airport on Friday as part of a training flight. The C-32A, one of four in the world operated by the 89th Airlift Wing, is often the transport for the vice president or other VIPs.

Vice presidential plane visits Juneau for training flight

No VIPs were aboard the aircraft, which stayed less than a day.

Courtesy photo / Heather Holt An Air Force C-32A landed at Juneau International Airport on Friday as part of a training flight. The C-32A, one of four in the world operated by the 89th Airlift Wing, is often the transport for the vice president or other VIPs.
A marbled godwit has winkled a lugworm out of its burrow in the sediments. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

On The Trails: Mudflats at low tide

A walk on a gray, March day turned out to be more interesting than expected.

A marbled godwit has winkled a lugworm out of its burrow in the sediments. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)
Teachers greeted students as they reentered school on Jan. 11 with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place at Floyd Dryden Middle School. After several months of partial week attendance to accommodate student cohorts, the school district is expanding in-person learning opportunities. Next week, middle and high school students will return to in-person school four days each week. Many elementary school students returned to four days this week. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

School district announces expansion of in-person learning

Middle and high school students to attend four days a week

Teachers greeted students as they reentered school on Jan. 11 with distancing strategies and mitigation protocols in place at Floyd Dryden Middle School. After several months of partial week attendance to accommodate student cohorts, the school district is expanding in-person learning opportunities. Next week, middle and high school students will return to in-person school four days each week. Many elementary school students returned to four days this week. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
FILE - This May 10, 2017 file photo shows Denali, North America's tallest peak, from an airplane flying over the Alaska Range near Talkeetna, Alaska. Officials on Monday, April 5, 2021, said five people had to ski to a shelter after they landed on Ruth Glacier at the base of Denali on April 2, 2021, and a heavy snowstorm stranded them for at least three days. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Snowstorm strands 5 who landed 3 planes on Denali glacier

They were stranded for the weekend after landing Friday on Ruth Glacier.

FILE - This May 10, 2017 file photo shows Denali, North America's tallest peak, from an airplane flying over the Alaska Range near Talkeetna, Alaska. Officials on Monday, April 5, 2021, said five people had to ski to a shelter after they landed on Ruth Glacier at the base of Denali on April 2, 2021, and a heavy snowstorm stranded them for at least three days. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Bethel OKs investigator to review sex crime processes

The move is in response to a case in which a woman said it took police seven hours to respond.

Rose Lawhorne, a longtime employee at Bartlett Regional Hospital, stands next to the new CEO nameplate outside her office on April 1. She takes over as CEO this week. Lawhorne first joined the hospital staff in 1993 and has worked her way up the ranks in a variety of roles. She expects to draw on her vast experience as she guides the hospital post-pandemic. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

Bartlett Regional Hospital’s new CEO is focused on stability

Longtime employee Rose Lawhorne steps into the top job this week

Rose Lawhorne, a longtime employee at Bartlett Regional Hospital, stands next to the new CEO nameplate outside her office on April 1. She takes over as CEO this week. Lawhorne first joined the hospital staff in 1993 and has worked her way up the ranks in a variety of roles. She expects to draw on her vast experience as she guides the hospital post-pandemic. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
An election official lays out more “I voted” stickers on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Stickers for the 2020 general election featured designs by Alaskan artist Barbara Lavallee. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The League of Women Voters of Alaska strongly supports the For the People Act

Here’s why.

  • Apr 4, 2021
  • By Judy Andree
An election official lays out more “I voted” stickers on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Stickers for the 2020 general election featured designs by Alaskan artist Barbara Lavallee. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Carson Cummins hoists his opponent from Ketchikan High School before taking him to the mat during a tournament at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, April 3. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire).

5 wrestlers start off season with first-place finishes

It’s back to the mats

Carson Cummins hoists his opponent from Ketchikan High School before taking him to the mat during a tournament at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, April 3. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire).