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Thunder Mountain High School on April 18, 2021. Juneau School District Officials are working to find two new principals for the school. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

Principal seats are open at TMHS

Search begins for new leaders

Thunder Mountain High School on April 18, 2021. Juneau School District Officials are working to find two new principals for the school. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

House passes budget, fails key vote affecting PFD

House leaders left open the potential for continued talks or even possibly another vote.

(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, looks on as Senators vote whether to adjourn the long-awaited budget vote on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Budget talks were derailed Tuesday after lawmakers and the governor balked at the budget proposal.

Budget talks break down as shutdown looms

Legislative leadership met for most of the day Tuesday.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, looks on as Senators vote whether to adjourn the long-awaited budget vote on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Budget talks were derailed Tuesday after lawmakers and the governor balked at the budget proposal.
Iris, a baby Sitka black-tailed deer found on Kruzof Island, was rehomed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Wildlife Trooper personnel after being “rescued” over the weekend. (Courtesy photo / Corrine Ferguson)

Wildlife officials: Fawn rehomed but serves as cautionary example

Don’t mess with the wildlife.

Iris, a baby Sitka black-tailed deer found on Kruzof Island, was rehomed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Wildlife Trooper personnel after being “rescued” over the weekend. (Courtesy photo / Corrine Ferguson)
The Norwegian Bliss pulls out of Juneau’s downtown harbor on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Norwegian Cruise Lines recently offered to donate $2 million to the City and Borough of Juneau to help alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic-related pause on cruises. On Monday evening, city officials declined the donation and asked the company to redirect the money to the Juneau Community Foundation, a local charitable organization. (Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File)

CBJ redirects cruise line’s donation offer

City asks NCL to give proposed $2M donation to Juneau Community Foundation.

The Norwegian Bliss pulls out of Juneau’s downtown harbor on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Norwegian Cruise Lines recently offered to donate $2 million to the City and Borough of Juneau to help alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic-related pause on cruises. On Monday evening, city officials declined the donation and asked the company to redirect the money to the Juneau Community Foundation, a local charitable organization. (Michael Penn /Juneau Empire File)
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water was blocked Tuesday, June 15, 2021, by a federal judge in Louisiana. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed in March by Louisiana’s Republican attorney general, Jeff Landry and officials in 12 other states. Doughty’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction to those states said his order applies nationwide. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Federal judge blocks Biden’s pause on new oil, gas leases

The decision is a blow to Biden’s efforts to rapidly transition the nation away from fossil fuels.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water was blocked Tuesday, June 15, 2021, by a federal judge in Louisiana. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed in March by Louisiana’s Republican attorney general, Jeff Landry and officials in 12 other states. Doughty’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction to those states said his order applies nationwide. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Juneau City Hall on Monday, March 30, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire file)

Assembly members vote to increase pay for elected officials

Soon service to the City and Borough of Juneau will offer better pay.

Juneau City Hall on Monday, March 30, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire file)
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)