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Atx̂am Taliĝisniikangís, also known as the Atka Dancers, ended the Celebration parade on Saturday morning. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Dancers parade through downtown on last day of Celebration

“It’s an honor to be accepted to participate in something this beautiful.”

Atx̂am Taliĝisniikangís, also known as the Atka Dancers, ended the Celebration parade on Saturday morning. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces during Celebration on Friday at Centennial Hall the U.S. Navy will be apologizing to “the people of Angoon” for the 1882 bombardment that destroyed the Tlingit village. (Screenshot from video by Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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US Navy will apologize for 1882 bombardment of Angoon, Murkowski says

Senator makes announcement while appearing with dance group from Tlingit village during Celebration.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces during Celebration on Friday at Centennial Hall the U.S. Navy will be apologizing to “the people of Angoon” for the 1882 bombardment that destroyed the Tlingit village. (Screenshot from video by Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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Ancestral seal hunting happened at the edge of the Sít Tlein (Hubbard) glacier. Emily Kearney-Williams © Smithsonian Institution

Scientists and Indigenous leaders team up to conserve seals and an ancestral way of life at Yakutat

Five hundred years ago, in a mountain-rimmed ocean fjord in southeast Alaska, Tlingit hunters armed with bone-tipped harpoons eased their canoes through chunks of floating… Continue reading

Ancestral seal hunting happened at the edge of the Sít Tlein (Hubbard) glacier. Emily Kearney-Williams © Smithsonian Institution
Akis Gialopsos (left), deputy executive director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., and Bryan Butcher (right), the corporation’s CEO/executive director, testify in front of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 8. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

With bills and budget boost, Alaska lawmakers use state-run corporation to tackle housing shortage

Legislature directed millions toward housing projects next year; Gov. Dunleavy will soon have a say.

Akis Gialopsos (left), deputy executive director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., and Bryan Butcher (right), the corporation’s CEO/executive director, testify in front of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 8. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Juneau residents, including many current and former employees and leaders at Eaglecrest Ski Area, pack a room at the downtown public library for a meeting of the resort’s board of directors Thursday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Eaglecrest employees, skiers demand answers from board after ouster of general manager

Board offers few details about reasons during contentious meeting as search begins for new leader.

Juneau residents, including many current and former employees and leaders at Eaglecrest Ski Area, pack a room at the downtown public library for a meeting of the resort’s board of directors Thursday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo Erika Lee leads other singers in a version of “Redneck Woman” with adapted local lyrics during the closing song of a “Neighborhood Cabaret” show at the Glory Hall on June 29, 2023. The homeless shelter will host another such show on Monday to kick off the Fourth Annual Alaska Theater Festival.
Capital City Weekly

Performers seeking to multiply their presence at Fourth Annual Alaska Theater Festival

Mix-and-match cabarets, staging of “Pride and Prejudice,” expanded climate fair from June 10-July 27

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo Erika Lee leads other singers in a version of “Redneck Woman” with adapted local lyrics during the closing song of a “Neighborhood Cabaret” show at the Glory Hall on June 29, 2023. The homeless shelter will host another such show on Monday to kick off the Fourth Annual Alaska Theater Festival.
Nearly 1,600 dancers from 36 Indigenous groups wait to dance for the Grand Entrance of Celebration. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Celebration 2024 opens ‘stronger than ever’

Nearly 1,600 dancers take part in Grand Entrance ceremony as four-day Indigenous gathering begins.

Nearly 1,600 dancers from 36 Indigenous groups wait to dance for the Grand Entrance of Celebration. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Elizabeth Peele, 3, a Saxton resident, is accompanied by her father Charles during the toddler regalia review as part of Celebration on Thursday at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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Small on stage, giants in legacy for participants in Celebration’s toddler regalia review

Kids ages 1-5 showcase family-made clothing, accessories with links to widespread tribal ancestries.

Elizabeth Peele, 3, a Saxton resident, is accompanied by her father Charles during the toddler regalia review as part of Celebration on Thursday at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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(Getty Images)

Alaska’s Medicaid backlog triggers lawsuit

On a life-flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Sierra Ott’s newborn son Liam would not stop bleeding from a routine needle prick. Doctors in the Anchorage… Continue reading

(Getty Images)
Canoes from communities south of Juneau led by the One People Canoe Society land downtown on Tuesday to cheers and songs from people on shore. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Paddling to Celebration in traditional canoes a journey of healing, remembrance and kinship

New and longtime participants arriving in downtown Juneau say trip reconnects them to ancestors.

Canoes from communities south of Juneau led by the One People Canoe Society land downtown on Tuesday to cheers and songs from people on shore. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
A pile of salmon awaits filleting on May 7, 2022, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

EPA threatens to step in if Alaska does not update its water pollution limit

Does average Alaskan eat more than a cracker’s worth of fish a day? Answer may have big implications.

A pile of salmon awaits filleting on May 7, 2022, in Juneau. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on June 2, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Capital City Weekly

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending June 8

Three decades of capital city coverage.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on June 2, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Juneau author W.R. Kozey holds his book “Tall Tales of Alaska, The Red Dog Saloon: Stories from the Gold Rush & More” in front of the Red Dog Saloon on Sunday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Capital City Weekly

First book published in series on Juneau’s history explores ‘Tall Tales’ of the Red Dog Saloon

Author W.R. Kozey’s stories come from folklore, his experience as a bartender at the saloon.

Juneau author W.R. Kozey holds his book “Tall Tales of Alaska, The Red Dog Saloon: Stories from the Gold Rush & More” in front of the Red Dog Saloon on Sunday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Quigley Peterson, a longtime doctor at Bartlett Regional Hospital, speaks in favor of its hospice and home health programs during a public forum at the hospital Tuesday to get feedback on proposed cuts to certain programs. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

As residents worry about program cuts at Bartlett, hospital leaders worry about competition from SEARHC

Risk of a “monopoly” by Native nonprofit expressed at meeting discussing hospital’s “non-core” services.

Quigley Peterson, a longtime doctor at Bartlett Regional Hospital, speaks in favor of its hospice and home health programs during a public forum at the hospital Tuesday to get feedback on proposed cuts to certain programs. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Dave Hoffman sells materials for Brigham Young University, a private religious college, at the IDEA Homeschool Curriculum Fair in Anchorage on April 18. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

New correspondence school regulations will not come until July — if at all, Alaska officials say

Regulations intended to stabilize Alaska’s correspondence school program are not coming soon, state officials said at a Board of Education and Early Development meeting on… Continue reading

Dave Hoffman sells materials for Brigham Young University, a private religious college, at the IDEA Homeschool Curriculum Fair in Anchorage on April 18. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
The Juneau Animal Rescue facility, which took custody of 30 cats and kittens from a Juneau residence on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Dozens of cats, many in poor health, taken from Juneau home by animal control officials

Incident still under investigation, officials ask residents not to bring other cats to JAR shelter.

The Juneau Animal Rescue facility, which took custody of 30 cats and kittens from a Juneau residence on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Paddlers in traditional Tlingit canoes, plus a smaller Bering Sea kayak guided by Lou Logan, arrive at the Auke Village Recreation Area at midday Tuesday following their journey down the northern part of the Inside Passage. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Traditional canoes making voyage from Haines to Celebration get warm welcome from Lingít Aaní

Group joins others from Southeast making long paddle to Juneau for biennial Indigenous event.

Paddlers in traditional Tlingit canoes, plus a smaller Bering Sea kayak guided by Lou Logan, arrive at the Auke Village Recreation Area at midday Tuesday following their journey down the northern part of the Inside Passage. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
A 2018 view of Suicide Basin and the Mendenhall Glacier. (Photo from National Weather Service Juneau)

‘Building a weather-ready nation’: What’s new for Suicide Basin’s outburst flooding

New monitoring equipment improves forecasts after last year’s record flood, experts say at town hall.

A 2018 view of Suicide Basin and the Mendenhall Glacier. (Photo from National Weather Service Juneau)
State Rep. Andi Story (left), D-Juneau, will face former Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, for the Alaska Legislature’s District 3 House seat in this year’s election. (Official photos from Rep. Andi Story and the Alaska State Legislature)

Rep. Andi Story and former Rep. Bill Thomas will face off in only locally contested legislative race

Juneau’s Rep. Sara Hannan and Sen. Jesse Kiehl among eight unopposed candidates in 50 races.

State Rep. Andi Story (left), D-Juneau, will face former Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, for the Alaska Legislature’s District 3 House seat in this year’s election. (Official photos from Rep. Andi Story and the Alaska State Legislature)
Cruise ships and passengers in downtown Juneau on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Limit of 16,000 cruise passengers daily, 12,000 on Saturdays, agreed to by CBJ and industry

Pact taking effect in 2026 allows some exemptions, criticized by backers of Saturday ban on ships.

Cruise ships and passengers in downtown Juneau on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)