Home

Sitka Police Chief Jeff Ankerfelt (right) was named to the Alaska Marijuana Control Board on May 24. Ankerfelt is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week against the department by current officer Ryan Silva. (Courtesy Photo | Sitka Police Department)

Sitka officer files lawsuit alleging police department punished him for speaking out

A Sitka police officer filed a lawsuit against the City of Sitka and the Sitka Police Department this week, making a variety of claims that… Continue reading

Sitka Police Chief Jeff Ankerfelt (right) was named to the Alaska Marijuana Control Board on May 24. Ankerfelt is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week against the department by current officer Ryan Silva. (Courtesy Photo | Sitka Police Department)
Analysis: Primary results indicate willingness to re-fight old battles

Analysis: Primary results indicate willingness to re-fight old battles

On Tuesday, workers at the Alaska Division of Elections will begin counting absentee and question ballots from across the state. Those votes may tilt the… Continue reading

Analysis: Primary results indicate willingness to re-fight old battles
Ballot Measure 1 forum set for Monday

Ballot Measure 1 forum set for Monday

A lot of questions remain for voters ahead of the Nov. 6 general election. None may be more pressing than what effect Ballot Measure 1,… Continue reading

Ballot Measure 1 forum set for Monday
Chef Berkeley Scott, of the buoy tender Hickory, prepares two burgers to be judged on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Coast Guard chefs compete to see who can make the best burger

Culinary Specialist-3 Berkeley Scott crouched down like a golfer reading a green, his eyes just inches away from the sizzling burger. Scott, a cook aboard… Continue reading

Chef Berkeley Scott, of the buoy tender Hickory, prepares two burgers to be judged on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Green Elephant Gardens gardener Scott Jones cares for a marijuana plant on Green Elephant’s first day of operation in June 2017. Jennifer Canfield, co-owner of the marijuana retailer, says proposed on-site consumption rules could reduce the public’s exposure to marijuana smoke. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire file)

Alaska marijuana board opens comment on café-style rules

The Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office has begun taking public comments on a proposal that could allow Amsterdam-style marijuana cafés in Alaska. In a public… Continue reading

Green Elephant Gardens gardener Scott Jones cares for a marijuana plant on Green Elephant’s first day of operation in June 2017. Jennifer Canfield, co-owner of the marijuana retailer, says proposed on-site consumption rules could reduce the public’s exposure to marijuana smoke. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire file)
Joshua Midgett. (Courtesy Photo | Perseverance Theatre)

Perseverance Theatre hires new managing director to right financial ship

Joshua Midgett, 32, fills long-vacant position as the latest hire in management rebuild

Joshua Midgett. (Courtesy Photo | Perseverance Theatre)
Duff Mitchell gives an update to electric vehicles usage in Juneau to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce during their weekly luncheon at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau commission urges changes in electric car charging, parking

There was no altar or pulpit, and the Juneau Moose Lodge is hardly a church, but Duff Mitchell did his best to preach the gospel… Continue reading

Duff Mitchell gives an update to electric vehicles usage in Juneau to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce during their weekly luncheon at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Feds will test nationwide cellphone alert system

Feds will test nationwide cellphone alert system

Cellphones across Alaska will sound a strident alarm on Sept. 20 as the federal government conducts the first nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alert system.

Feds will test nationwide cellphone alert system
James McKnight holds a coho salmon he caught on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 at the Golden North Salmon Derby. The fish, weighed at 17.7 pounds, was the largest one caught at the derby. (Courtesy Photo | Derby Committee)

Salmon Derby winner finds good luck, victory ‘shocking’

When James McKnight pulled a coho salmon out of the water Saturday morning, he knew it was big. He didn’t realize quite how big, though.… Continue reading

James McKnight holds a coho salmon he caught on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 at the Golden North Salmon Derby. The fish, weighed at 17.7 pounds, was the largest one caught at the derby. (Courtesy Photo | Derby Committee)
U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. (File photo)

Rep. Don Young leads in campaign cash

Newly released reports from the Federal Election Commission show big financial support for incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, ahead of the Aug. 21 statewide primary election.

U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. (File photo)
Metro Creative Connection stock image

Man attempts to escape from Troopers van after arrest for multiple burglaries

Two days after he was arrested as a suspect in three burglaries, a Juneau man attempted to escape while being transported from court to prison.

Metro Creative Connection stock image
Retired preschool teacher Katy Harman, left, is the first person to vote Tuesday morning, Aug. 21, 2018 at the Douglas Public Library during the 2018 Alaska Primary Election. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)

The Latest: Alaska Primary Election 2018 live blog

News and results from the primary election in Juneau.

Retired preschool teacher Katy Harman, left, is the first person to vote Tuesday morning, Aug. 21, 2018 at the Douglas Public Library during the 2018 Alaska Primary Election. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)
The Nation Magazine Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, left, speaks during a panel on climate change issues facing Alaska. Seated from left are John Nichols, a national correspondent for The Nation, Doug Woodby, co-chair of climate action group @350 Juneau, Gretchen Keiser, a member of @350 Juneau’s steering committee, and Michael T. Klare, defense correspondent for The Nation. (Kevin Gulllufsen | Juneau Empire)

Cruisers come to see ‘front lines’ of climate change

Seeing the effects of climate change on Alaska first hand — its melting glaciers and receding shorelines — can serve as a visceral reminder for… Continue reading

The Nation Magazine Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, left, speaks during a panel on climate change issues facing Alaska. Seated from left are John Nichols, a national correspondent for The Nation, Doug Woodby, co-chair of climate action group @350 Juneau, Gretchen Keiser, a member of @350 Juneau’s steering committee, and Michael T. Klare, defense correspondent for The Nation. (Kevin Gulllufsen | Juneau Empire)
House District 34 candidates Andi Story, left, and Rob Edwardson, center, wave campaign signs with Rep. Justin Parish, D-Juneau, at Egan Drive and Glacier Highway on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Story, Hannan win Democratic nominations for Juneau House seats

The Democratic Party’s “Year of the Woman” arrived in Juneau on Tuesday. According to preliminary tallies by the Alaska Division of Elections, Sara Hannan has… Continue reading

House District 34 candidates Andi Story, left, and Rob Edwardson, center, wave campaign signs with Rep. Justin Parish, D-Juneau, at Egan Drive and Glacier Highway on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Story, Hannan win Democratic nominations for Juneau House seats

Story, Hannan win Democratic nominations for Juneau House seats

The Democratic Party’s “Year of the Woman” arrived in Juneau on Tuesday. According to preliminary tallies by the Alaska Division of Elections, Sara Hannan has… Continue reading

Story, Hannan win Democratic nominations for Juneau House seats
Metro Creative Connection stock image

Man pleads not guilty in DUI homicide case

A man accused of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. Juneau man Dylan J. Wiard,… Continue reading

Metro Creative Connection stock image
Trail Mix crew works as parts of a new bridge are lowered by helicopter at Paris Creek on the Treadwell Ditch Trail on Thursday, July 6, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Lumber, materials stolen from trail maintenance nonprofit

Trail Mix, Inc., a nonprofit that maintains Juneau’s trails, has a fairly short season in which to work. The nonprofit suffered a major setback this… Continue reading

Trail Mix crew works as parts of a new bridge are lowered by helicopter at Paris Creek on the Treadwell Ditch Trail on Thursday, July 6, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Juneau police and Alaska State Troopers search James Barrett’s house at 401 Harris Street on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Family feud begins in court hearing about Harris Street house

Sitka Superior Court Judge Jude Pate ruled Tuesday that he’s not quite ready to evict James Barrett from his home on Harris Street, saying he’d… Continue reading

Juneau police and Alaska State Troopers search James Barrett’s house at 401 Harris Street on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Matt Barnaby, of Barnaby Brewing Company, talks Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, about he and his wife’s plans for a new location for his company on Shattuck Way. A fire on the evening of April 16, 2018, forced their business to close. They hope to be open by the end of the year. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Barnaby Brewing finds new location after fire

Four months almost to the day after a fire started in his brewery on Franklin Street, Matt Barnaby stood Monday morning at a property on… Continue reading

Matt Barnaby, of Barnaby Brewing Company, talks Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, about he and his wife’s plans for a new location for his company on Shattuck Way. A fire on the evening of April 16, 2018, forced their business to close. They hope to be open by the end of the year. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Overpayments case is warning for Alaska state pensioners

Overpayments case is warning for Alaska state pensioners

The Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits is reminding snowbirds that they live in a gilded cage. In a newsletter sent last month to members… Continue reading

Overpayments case is warning for Alaska state pensioners