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People mill outside the Glory Hall on South Franklin Street on Wednesday, Oct. 7. A local cluster of COVID-19 cases connected to Juneau’s housing-insecure population now numbers more than 30, according to City and Borough of Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Update: City’s latest case cluster expands

New quarantine facility stood up, and hospital reports 1st in-patient death

People mill outside the Glory Hall on South Franklin Street on Wednesday, Oct. 7. A local cluster of COVID-19 cases connected to Juneau’s housing-insecure population now numbers more than 30, according to City and Borough of Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
This temporary shelter was set up earlier this year outside Bartlett Regional Hospital for the staff screening people entering the hospital. (Michael Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Bartlett Regional Hospital reports first coronavirus death

A Juneau woman in her 60s died early Tuesday morning.

This temporary shelter was set up earlier this year outside Bartlett Regional Hospital for the staff screening people entering the hospital. (Michael Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz addresses reporters at a news conference in Anchorage in November 2016. Berkowitz on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a female reporter, three days after she made online allegations against the married Berkowitz. (AP Photos / Mark Thiessen)

Anchorage mayor admits to inappropriate relationship

“I’m embarrassed and ashamed for the hurt I’ve caused my family and our community.”

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz addresses reporters at a news conference in Anchorage in November 2016. Berkowitz on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a female reporter, three days after she made online allegations against the married Berkowitz. (AP Photos / Mark Thiessen)
Ballot Measure 1, which will raise taxes on certain North Slope oil fields, is on the ballot for Alaska’s general election in November. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Economists try to square Fair Share Act

Long-term goals and short-term uncertainty make it hard to predict potential effects.

Ballot Measure 1, which will raise taxes on certain North Slope oil fields, is on the ballot for Alaska’s general election in November. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy Photos / Eric HansonThunder Mountain High School junior Kiah Dihle runs her way to an eighth-place finish Saturday at the state cross country meet.

Juneau cross country teams end strange season with strong finish

The race was the first and last in-person race of the season.

Courtesy Photos / Eric HansonThunder Mountain High School junior Kiah Dihle runs her way to an eighth-place finish Saturday at the state cross country meet.
This photo shows an Alaska ballot, return envelope and by-mail voting instructions. Step No. 4, having a signature witnessed, is being debated with opponents saying requiring a witness creates an unnecessary hurdle for voters who do not live with someone 18 or older. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Court waives signature requirement for absentee ballots

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press The Alaska Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower court ruling eliminating witness requirements for absentee ballots for the general… Continue reading

This photo shows an Alaska ballot, return envelope and by-mail voting instructions. Step No. 4, having a signature witnessed, is being debated with opponents saying requiring a witness creates an unnecessary hurdle for voters who do not live with someone 18 or older. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Emergency worker Melanie Chavez takes a COVID-19 test sample at the Juneau International Airport screening site on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. The City and Borough of Juneau announced 17 new COVID-19 cases over a three-day period. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

City reports 17 new virus cases over 3 days

Forty-four active cases locally.

Emergency worker Melanie Chavez takes a COVID-19 test sample at the Juneau International Airport screening site on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. The City and Borough of Juneau announced 17 new COVID-19 cases over a three-day period. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Tlingit and Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson, David R. Boxley, Lyle and Kolene James, Stephen Qacung Blanchett and Ben and Maria Young participate in Tlingit and Haida’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. This year’s event was held virtually. It was one of several such virtual events held throughout the state in observation of the holiday. (Screenshot)

Alaskans celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day virtually with music, language, activism

The legacy of colonization is still a threat to the future of Indigenous culture here, many say.

Tlingit and Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson, David R. Boxley, Lyle and Kolene James, Stephen Qacung Blanchett and Ben and Maria Young participate in Tlingit and Haida’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. This year’s event was held virtually. It was one of several such virtual events held throughout the state in observation of the holiday. (Screenshot)
City and Borough of Juneau Assembly candidates Christine Woll, left, and Alicia Hughes-Skandijs remain in lead of the their respective races, though final results won’t be certified until Oct. 20. (Photos courtesy of the candidates)

Election update: Nearly 2,000 more votes counted in local races

Next update Oct. 16.

City and Borough of Juneau Assembly candidates Christine Woll, left, and Alicia Hughes-Skandijs remain in lead of the their respective races, though final results won’t be certified until Oct. 20. (Photos courtesy of the candidates)
Teasers

Senate debate focuses on mine, money, fisheries

Associated Press ANCHORAGE — U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and challenger Al Gross met in a debate focused on fisheries policy that ended up focusing on… Continue reading

Teasers
Capitol, teaser

Opinion: Sullivan has fought hard for Alaskan visitor industry businesses

Thankfully, Dan Sullivan understands the importance of the industry.

  • Oct 12, 2020
  • By Dennis McDonnell and Ethan Berto
Capitol, teaser
In this July 13, 2007, file photo, workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, near the village of Iliamma. A proposed gold and copper mine at the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in Alaska would cause “unavoidable adverse impacts,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a letter to the developer released Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. The corps is asking the backers of Pebble Mine to come up with a mitigation plan within 90 days for nearly 3,000 acres of land and nearly 200 miles of streams it says could be affected if the controversial mine moves forward. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)

Opinion: Alaska is an exceptional place for the minerals industry

The minerals industry, too, has been drawn to our state for its abundant resources…

  • Oct 11, 2020
  • By Sarah Davidson
In this July 13, 2007, file photo, workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, near the village of Iliamma. A proposed gold and copper mine at the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in Alaska would cause “unavoidable adverse impacts,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a letter to the developer released Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. The corps is asking the backers of Pebble Mine to come up with a mitigation plan within 90 days for nearly 3,000 acres of land and nearly 200 miles of streams it says could be affected if the controversial mine moves forward. (AP Photo / Al Grillo)
A group protests the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus in the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, outside the White House in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)

Opinion: The lucky Republicans being led by incompetence

“Into the Wild” tourists and Rose Garden attendees have commonalities.

  • Oct 11, 2020
  • By Rich Moniak
A group protests the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus in the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, outside the White House in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
In this Sept. 20, 2020, photo, tour guide John Erardi, right, talks with a tour group on the sidewalk outside the Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The walking tour was one of the few groups of people on the street as the Reds and White Sox were inside just an hour before the game without fans because of the pandemic. (AP Photo / Dan Sewell)

With people anxious to go out, walking tours pick up pace

Get ready boots.

  • Oct 11, 2020
  • By DAN SEWELL Associated Press
In this Sept. 20, 2020, photo, tour guide John Erardi, right, talks with a tour group on the sidewalk outside the Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The walking tour was one of the few groups of people on the street as the Reds and White Sox were inside just an hour before the game without fans because of the pandemic. (AP Photo / Dan Sewell)
Emily Chao, standing, watches as her sister Anabelle, works on a writing exercise after they finished remote learning for the day, as their mom Erica sits, back left, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, at their home in North Miami Beach, Fla. Rather than wait to see how the Miami-Dade school system would handle instruction this fall, Erica Chao enrolled her two daughters in a private school that seemed better positioned to provide remote learning than their public elementary school was when the coronavirus first reached Florida. (AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee)

Nationwide enrollment drops worry public schools as pandemic persists

By FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rather than wait to see how her children’s Florida public school would teach students this fall,… Continue reading

Emily Chao, standing, watches as her sister Anabelle, works on a writing exercise after they finished remote learning for the day, as their mom Erica sits, back left, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, at their home in North Miami Beach, Fla. Rather than wait to see how the Miami-Dade school system would handle instruction this fall, Erica Chao enrolled her two daughters in a private school that seemed better positioned to provide remote learning than their public elementary school was when the coronavirus first reached Florida. (AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee)
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Opinion: Southeast Alaskans, finish the ballot

This year voters in Southeast have it easyonly two judicial officers are on the retention ballot.

  • Oct 10, 2020
  • By Retired Southeast Alaska judges
Gavel (Courtesy photo)
This electron microscope image made available and color-enhanced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md., in 2020, shows Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, orange, isolated from a patient. (NIAID/National Institutes of Health)

Hockey tournament attendees advised to isolate

That applies to over 300 people, including Juneauites.

  • Oct 10, 2020
  • Juneau Empire
This electron microscope image made available and color-enhanced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md., in 2020, shows Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, orange, isolated from a patient. (NIAID/National Institutes of Health)
"But while I may find temporary solace in the arms of another carbohydrate," writes Geoff Kirsch. :I’ll always return to my first love. Indeed, my three favorite foods are French fries, mashed potatoes and a kosher deli item known as a “knish,” which is essentially a mashed potato stuffed inside a crust that tastes like French fries."

Slack Tide: Why I dig growing my own

“Potatoes are a gateway starch, and take it from me, I’ve done them all…”

  • Oct 10, 2020
  • By Geoff Kirsch For the Juneau Empire
"But while I may find temporary solace in the arms of another carbohydrate," writes Geoff Kirsch. :I’ll always return to my first love. Indeed, my three favorite foods are French fries, mashed potatoes and a kosher deli item known as a “knish,” which is essentially a mashed potato stuffed inside a crust that tastes like French fries."
Beth McEwen and Lacey Davis introduce the unofficial results of the City and Borough of Juneau's by-mail Municipal Election from Anchorage on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (Screenshot)

Update: City shares more unofficial election results

Another 1,950 added to Friday’s numbers.

Beth McEwen and Lacey Davis introduce the unofficial results of the City and Borough of Juneau's by-mail Municipal Election from Anchorage on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (Screenshot)
Two prisoners in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, Oct. 9, 2020. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

2 Lemon Creek inmates among city’s recent cases

The inmates were quarantined upon being admitted per prison policy.

Two prisoners in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, Oct. 9, 2020. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)