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A male red fox returns to a den with a snowshoe hare. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)

The secret life of a red fox family

Focusing on fox kits, not test kits.

A male red fox returns to a den with a snowshoe hare. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)
Gimme A Smile: Imagine life with no newspapers

Gimme A Smile: Imagine life with no newspapers

I’m doing a rerun today. This was the very first essay I ever published in the Juneau Empire, on Sunday, April 12, 2009. I know… Continue reading

  • Mar 27, 2020
  • By Peggy McKee Barnhill For the Juneau Empire
Gimme A Smile: Imagine life with no newspapers
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a press conference in Anchorage with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Officials say state must increase health care capacity to handle virus

State confirms 10 new COVID-19 cases statewide, including 1 in Juneau.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a press conference in Anchorage with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Juneau’s 3rd COVID-19 case confirmed

Juneau’s 3rd COVID-19 case confirmed

Person was in close contact with other confirmed case.

Juneau’s 3rd COVID-19 case confirmed
Seated, from left to right, Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink at a press conference in Anchorage on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Dunleavy says ‘all options are on the table’ for COVID-19 response

Social distance over government mandate.

Seated, from left to right, Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink at a press conference in Anchorage on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Materials for remote learning are stacked outside Auke Bay Elementary School. (Courtesy photo | Juneau School District)

Juneau schools pivot to deal with new teaching environment

Teaching remotely is a whole different animal from teaching in person.

Materials for remote learning are stacked outside Auke Bay Elementary School. (Courtesy photo | Juneau School District)
Salmonberries hang fat from a bush on a recent summer. (Courtesy Photo | Mary Catharine Martin)

Alaskan solace on a recent hike

Even if we are quarantined and we can only see spring arrive from our window.

Salmonberries hang fat from a bush on a recent summer. (Courtesy Photo | Mary Catharine Martin)
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Tennessee’s Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey confirmed the state’s first case of the new coronavirus. (NIAID-RML via AP)

Alaska announces new virus cases — mostly in Anchorage

The number of reported coronavirus cases in Alaska rose to 59.

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Tennessee’s Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey confirmed the state’s first case of the new coronavirus. (NIAID-RML via AP)
House rejects supplemental budget once again

House rejects supplemental budget once again

Things are stalled.

House rejects supplemental budget once again
Aa cruise ship passenger photographs a ship in Juneau’s downtown harbor in August 2017. (Michal Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Seattle cruise operations postponed indefinitely

This follows the closing of Vancouver to cruise ships.

Aa cruise ship passenger photographs a ship in Juneau’s downtown harbor in August 2017. (Michal Penn | Juneau Empire File)
A patient, who tested positive for the coronavirus, had contact with the first floor of the state office building at 410 Willoughby Ave., according to an email from DEC Commissioner Jason Brune. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)

Breaking: Known COVID-19 case had ‘contact’ at state offices in Juneau

Building is ‘minimally staffed.’

A patient, who tested positive for the coronavirus, had contact with the first floor of the state office building at 410 Willoughby Ave., according to an email from DEC Commissioner Jason Brune. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)
A black bear sow attempts to open a Pacific Waste garbage container in the Bonnie Brae subdivision on Douglas Island in July 2013. Water and wasted service won’t be discontinued for Juneauites in light of the ongoing pandemic. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Waste and water utilities stop cancellations

Many organizations are allowing for slippage during the quarantine period.

A black bear sow attempts to open a Pacific Waste garbage container in the Bonnie Brae subdivision on Douglas Island in July 2013. Water and wasted service won’t be discontinued for Juneauites in light of the ongoing pandemic. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)
The Juneau Police Department, March 20, 2020. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)

JPD hardens department against possible coronavirus infection

JPD is looking to reduce chances of contracting or spreading the coronavirus.

The Juneau Police Department, March 20, 2020. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)
Juneauites gathered signatures to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in late February. The campaign is now collected signatures through the mail. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Stay safe, strong and home and participate in recall effort

We will emerge from this public health crisis, facing the same problems with leadership.

  • Mar 25, 2020
  • By Meda DeWitt
Juneauites gathered signatures to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in late February. The campaign is now collected signatures through the mail. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire File)
Former JPD officer arrested for second DUI

Former JPD officer arrested for second DUI

He seperated from the JPD last year.

Former JPD officer arrested for second DUI
Courtesy Photo | Kerry Howard A short-eared owl perches on a snowy limb. The owls can sometimes be spotted near the Juneau International Airport. They hunt both during the day and at night.

A walk near the airport leads to a rare owl sighting

“I was hoping for something out of the ordinary — and I got lucky.”

Courtesy Photo | Kerry Howard A short-eared owl perches on a snowy limb. The owls can sometimes be spotted near the Juneau International Airport. They hunt both during the day and at night.
Opinion: COVID-19 adds new pressure to university’s plan, UA seeks public input

Opinion: COVID-19 adds new pressure to university’s plan, UA seeks public input

We will weather these unprecedented times, using tools available to do right for our university.

  • Mar 25, 2020
  • By Jim Johnsen and University of Alaska chancellors
Opinion: COVID-19 adds new pressure to university’s plan, UA seeks public input
A Juneau Pioneer Home resident holds a paper crane made during a visit by Haborview Elementary School students in April 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Legislature passes bill lowering Pioneer Home rates

It next goes to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for consideration.

A Juneau Pioneer Home resident holds a paper crane made during a visit by Haborview Elementary School students in April 2016. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy at a press conference in Anchorage on Monday, March 23, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

Alaska counts its first COVID-19 death

Stay six feet apart.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy at a press conference in Anchorage on Monday, March 23, 2020. (Courtesy photo | Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Senators discuss amendments to a COVID-19 emergency funding bill on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

Bills are passed, but stalled as final details hammered out

Work is going full speed.

Senators discuss amendments to a COVID-19 emergency funding bill on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)