Home

Afternoon skies at Mendenhall Campground on Dec. 16. (Photo by Deborah Rudis)

Wild Shots

To showcase our readers’ work to the widest possible audience, Wild Shots have been moved in front of the Juneau Empire’s paywall. Don’t have a… Continue reading

Afternoon skies at Mendenhall Campground on Dec. 16. (Photo by Deborah Rudis)
A sign for a store that accepts food stamps and exchange benefits transfer cards is seen in this 2019 photo. Ten Alaskans are suing the state over its failure to provide food stamps within the time frames required by federal law. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)

Division of Public Assistance makes progress on food stamp backlog

Backlog that was 12,000 down to 10,074 after eight days, according to agency’s director.

A sign for a store that accepts food stamps and exchange benefits transfer cards is seen in this 2019 photo. Ten Alaskans are suing the state over its failure to provide food stamps within the time frames required by federal law. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
A pair of skiers are among the first to board the Ptarmigan lift on the first day of the 2023-24 season at Eaglecrest Ski Area shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Eaglecrest Ski Area opens at last with fresh snow, early-season conditions

Skiers describe conditions as excellent, but ski patrol warns people to watch for hazards.

A pair of skiers are among the first to board the Ptarmigan lift on the first day of the 2023-24 season at Eaglecrest Ski Area shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Charles Skultka Jr. teaches formline design during a Sitka High School class supported by the Sitka Native Education Program and Sealaska Heritage Institute. (Photo by Bethany Goodrich)

Resilient Peoples and Place: Celebrating and supporting Southeast Alaska’s growing arts economy

Thousands of artists, tens of millions of dollars annually, generations of passing on traditions.

Charles Skultka Jr. teaches formline design during a Sitka High School class supported by the Sitka Native Education Program and Sealaska Heritage Institute. (Photo by Bethany Goodrich)
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s (SEARHC) new Vintage Park Campus, under construction since the summer of 2022, is seen a few hours after opening for limited services on Tuesday morning. Work on some parts of the facility is scheduled to continue for the next month. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

SEARHC’s new Vintage Park Campus opens with limited services

Urgent care, imaging, lab work available now; optometry, pediatrics, primary care scheduled soon.

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s (SEARHC) new Vintage Park Campus, under construction since the summer of 2022, is seen a few hours after opening for limited services on Tuesday morning. Work on some parts of the facility is scheduled to continue for the next month. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Lt. Krag Campbell with the Juneau Police Department smiles for a photo outside of City Hall on Sept. 26, when he was interviewed as one of two finalists for police chief. Campbell on Tuesday was named JPD’s new deputy chief as of Jan. 1, serving under new Chief Derek Bos who is scheduled to start Feb. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

Krag Campbell, runner-up for JPD’s new chief, named deputy chief starting Jan. 1

21-year veteran of department will serve as acting chief until Derek Bos takes over Feb. 1

Lt. Krag Campbell with the Juneau Police Department smiles for a photo outside of City Hall on Sept. 26, when he was interviewed as one of two finalists for police chief. Campbell on Tuesday was named JPD’s new deputy chief as of Jan. 1, serving under new Chief Derek Bos who is scheduled to start Feb. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
The ConocoPhillips Alaska headquarters, seen here on April 8, 2020, looms over downtown Anchorage. An appeals court order denying environmentalists’ request for an emergency injunction allows the company to proceed with its ongoing winter construction at its massive Willow project on the North Slope. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Appeals court allows ConocoPhillips to keep building its Willow project

Construction is underway at the massive oil project even as the legal fight continues.

The ConocoPhillips Alaska headquarters, seen here on April 8, 2020, looms over downtown Anchorage. An appeals court order denying environmentalists’ request for an emergency injunction allows the company to proceed with its ongoing winter construction at its massive Willow project on the North Slope. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
State Reps. Andi Story (foreground) and Sara Hannan, both Juneau Democrats wearing red blazers — reportedly by coincidence — greet visitors and family members during an annual holiday open house hosted by the local legislative delegation at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Making a list, checking it off thrice at holiday open house hosted by local legislative delegation

Visitors at Capitol share greetings and hopes for upcoming session with trio of Juneau lawmakers.

State Reps. Andi Story (foreground) and Sara Hannan, both Juneau Democrats wearing red blazers — reportedly by coincidence — greet visitors and family members during an annual holiday open house hosted by the local legislative delegation at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A pod of killer whales, also known as orcas, swims in waters off Southeast Alaska’s Chicagof Island in July of 2023. A new federal report describes the 37 killer whale entanglements that were documented in Alaska waters from 1991 to 2022. (Photo by Meghan Chamberlain/U.S. Forest Service)

Report details 37 known killer whale entanglements in Alaska over three decades

Over the last three decades, 37 killer whales were entangled in fishing gear in Alaska, which resulted in 25 deaths, according to a new report… Continue reading

A pod of killer whales, also known as orcas, swims in waters off Southeast Alaska’s Chicagof Island in July of 2023. A new federal report describes the 37 killer whale entanglements that were documented in Alaska waters from 1991 to 2022. (Photo by Meghan Chamberlain/U.S. Forest Service)
(Chart by Paul E. Peterson and M. Danish Shakeel, Harvard University)

Alaska leads 35 states and D.C. in first-ever rankings of charter performance on NAEP

Harvard researchers’ examination puts performance of Hawaii charters at the bottom

(Chart by Paul E. Peterson and M. Danish Shakeel, Harvard University)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
Alaska Attorney General Trig Taylor (foreground) discusses litigation the state Department of Law is involved with during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (left background) unveiling of his proposed budget during a press conference Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol.

Legislative Council votes to sue Dunleavy administration in state employee union dues case

Legislators say executive branch violated separation of powers with unauthorized spending.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire
Alaska Attorney General Trig Taylor (foreground) discusses litigation the state Department of Law is involved with during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (left background) unveiling of his proposed budget during a press conference Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol.
A crane unloads a car from a used gondola after its arrival in Juneau last year. Eaglecrest Ski Area officials say they are hoping the gondola will be operational by the 2025-26 winter ski season. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)

Eaglecrest gondola needs more parts than expected as prices for them soar

Ski area manager says installation possible without extra city funds via ‘alternative procurement.’

A crane unloads a car from a used gondola after its arrival in Juneau last year. Eaglecrest Ski Area officials say they are hoping the gondola will be operational by the 2025-26 winter ski season. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)
Fog drifts through the trees in the Tongass National Forest on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Biden administration moves to protect oldest trees as climate change brings more fires, pests

The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to conserve groves of old-growth trees on national forests across the U.S. as climate change amplifies the threats they… Continue reading

  • Dec 19, 2023
  • By Matthew Brown Associated Press
  • forestry
Fog drifts through the trees in the Tongass National Forest on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
(Photo courtesy of the Alaska State Troopers)

Southeast hunters pay deerly for violations in large-scale joint state-federal operation

53 charges or citations issued during Southern Southeast Sitka Blacktail deer “rut,” AST reports.

(Photo courtesy of the Alaska State Troopers)
Doug Chilton works on a canoe journey carving at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in February of 2016. (Courtesy of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)

Longtime Tlingit artist and activist Doug Chilton closing his shop Dec. 24, heading south

Juneau-born resident plans to return for One People Canoe Society trips he founded, other events.

Doug Chilton works on a canoe journey carving at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in February of 2016. (Courtesy of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy poses for a photo at the groundbreaking of the Wasilla airport’s expansion. (Office of the Governor)

A tour of Gov. Dunleavy’s capital budget

Southeast items include $9.5M to replace patrol vessel, $1.5M to thin “overly dense young forests.”

Gov. Mike Dunleavy poses for a photo at the groundbreaking of the Wasilla airport’s expansion. (Office of the Governor)
People line up at the Ptarmigan lift on Sunday morning in the hope Eaglecrest Ski Area would begin limited operations during the day, but high winds prevented the lift from opening. The ski area is scheduled to begin its daily holiday schedule on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)

Eaglecrest’s attempted ‘early’ opening Sunday blown by wind, but ski area expects to open Wednesday

Heavy snow prompts effort for limited weekend opening after delays, but high winds prevent lift use.

People line up at the Ptarmigan lift on Sunday morning in the hope Eaglecrest Ski Area would begin limited operations during the day, but high winds prevented the lift from opening. The ski area is scheduled to begin its daily holiday schedule on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)
Juneau Nordic Ski Team members Erin Wallace, front, leads Aaron Blust and Anna Iverson in a pole-less skiing drill through fresh snow on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, at the Mendenhall Campgrounds. The team has been granted interim high school “club” status to compete in the Alaska School Activities Association’s state championship for the first time in many years in February. (Nolin Ainsworth / Juneau Empire file photo)

Juneau’s high school Nordic ski team eligible to compete for state title for first time in many years

JDHS and TMHS approve combined team sanctioned to participate in upcoming ASAA tournament.

Juneau Nordic Ski Team members Erin Wallace, front, leads Aaron Blust and Anna Iverson in a pole-less skiing drill through fresh snow on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, at the Mendenhall Campgrounds. The team has been granted interim high school “club” status to compete in the Alaska School Activities Association’s state championship for the first time in many years in February. (Nolin Ainsworth / Juneau Empire file photo)
Juneau and Palmer players fight for the puck near the Crimson Bears’ goal during Saturday night’s game between Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and Palmer High School at Treadwell Arena. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

JDHS loses pair of games to Palmer in battle between top two teams in conference

Crimson Bears rebound from 5-1 defeat Friday, take Palmer to last minute of OT in 3-2 loss Saturday.

Juneau and Palmer players fight for the puck near the Crimson Bears’ goal during Saturday night’s game between Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and Palmer High School at Treadwell Arena. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Juneau School District Administrative Services Director Cassee Olin (center) appears with Karen Tarver (right), a partner with the audit firm Elgee Rehfeld, to discuss an audit of the Juneau School District’s previous fiscal year with the Juneau Board of Education on Nov. 14. Olin resigned from the district as of Dec. 1. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

School district seeks quick temporary help with budget after administrative services director quits

Cassee Olin resigns as district faces multimillion dollar deficit, audit that found flaws.

Juneau School District Administrative Services Director Cassee Olin (center) appears with Karen Tarver (right), a partner with the audit firm Elgee Rehfeld, to discuss an audit of the Juneau School District’s previous fiscal year with the Juneau Board of Education on Nov. 14. Olin resigned from the district as of Dec. 1. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)