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Passengers return to the Norwegian Sun cruise ship early Wednesday evening, the final ship to visit Juneau this year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sun sets on record cruise ship season

1.65 million passengers representing 101% of ship capacity visited Juneau, preliminary figures show.

Passengers return to the Norwegian Sun cruise ship early Wednesday evening, the final ship to visit Juneau this year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Emily Wright, an assistant attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains legal ramifications of the state’s new ban on transgender girls participating in girls high school sports to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Legal, moral concerns raised by local school and city officials about state’s transgender sports ban

School board seeks more input after hearing ban violates city bylaws and maybe state’s Constitution.

Emily Wright, an assistant attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains legal ramifications of the state’s new ban on transgender girls participating in girls high school sports to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Nome’s Anvil City Square, with a giant gold pan and statues of the “Three Lucky Swedes” whose discovery kicked off the 1899 Gold Rush, is seen on Sept. 5, 2021. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Proposed class-action lawsuit claims Alaska prisons are holding people without criminal charges

A woman from Stebbins has sued the Alaska Department of Corrections, alleging that she and many other people in the state prison system have been… Continue reading

Nome’s Anvil City Square, with a giant gold pan and statues of the “Three Lucky Swedes” whose discovery kicked off the 1899 Gold Rush, is seen on Sept. 5, 2021. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Photographer Ed Andrews captures the celebration dedicating the completed Douglas Bridge on Oct. 13, 1935. (Alaska State Library PC01-4128)

Bridge to everywhere: Original Juneau-Douglas crossing from 1935 spanned nearly half a century

Existing bridge is already the “second crossing”; parts of original now in local home, footbridges.

Photographer Ed Andrews captures the celebration dedicating the completed Douglas Bridge on Oct. 13, 1935. (Alaska State Library PC01-4128)
Juneau City and Borough Attorney Robert Palmer, left, swears in Assembly members Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Ella Adkison and Paul Kelly on Monday night in the Assembly chambers. Adkison and Kelly are new members of the Assembly after winning open seats in the Oct. 3 municipal election, while incumbents Hughes-Skandijs and Christine Woll — who was sworn in remotely via Zoom at the same time — were reelected to their seats. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

New Assembly members make immediate impact on controversial issues at first meeting

Decisive votes on hotel bed tax and Huna Totem dock project among full slate of hot topics.

Juneau City and Borough Attorney Robert Palmer, left, swears in Assembly members Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Ella Adkison and Paul Kelly on Monday night in the Assembly chambers. Adkison and Kelly are new members of the Assembly after winning open seats in the Oct. 3 municipal election, while incumbents Hughes-Skandijs and Christine Woll — who was sworn in remotely via Zoom at the same time — were reelected to their seats. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Shane Krause, left, who lives aboard a boat in Juneau, testifies in opposition to a 9% increase in docks and harbor fees during an Assembly meeting on Monday night as Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, City Manager Katie Koester and City Attorney Robert Palmer listen. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

9% increase in nearly all docks and harbors fees approved by Assembly

5-4 vote comes after some residents express concerns about costs to liveaboards and fishers.

Shane Krause, left, who lives aboard a boat in Juneau, testifies in opposition to a 9% increase in docks and harbor fees during an Assembly meeting on Monday night as Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, City Manager Katie Koester and City Attorney Robert Palmer listen. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A court services officer is shown wearing a body camera. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Public Safety)

Latest Alaska crime report shows a 67% increase in murders and a slight overall decrease in crime

The murder rate in Alaska increased dramatically, though there was a slight overall decrease in crime statewide in 2022, according to an Alaska Department of… Continue reading

A court services officer is shown wearing a body camera. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Public Safety)
A passenger pumps gas into a vehicle Sunday at Fisherman’s Bend, which on that day had Juneau’s lowest price for regular unleaded at just under $4 a gallon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Juneau’s cheapest gas is $4 a gallon, the most expensive is $5 — from the same supplier

Self-service Fisherman’s Bend in low-price lead, while supplier Delta Western’s stations at top end.

A passenger pumps gas into a vehicle Sunday at Fisherman’s Bend, which on that day had Juneau’s lowest price for regular unleaded at just under $4 a gallon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School face off in the 125-pound division during the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

TMHS finishes top among boys on home mats in Southeast Showdown wrestling tournament

Ketchikan takes overall title, Falcons second in two-day, co-ed competition among eight schools.

Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School face off in the 125-pound division during the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The back side of a unit in an apartment complex at 2800 Postal Way that caught fire on Sunday evening. No one was injured in the blaze, which left its occupant temporarily homeless and a neighbor’s home with smoke damage. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire.)
The back side of a unit in an apartment complex at 2800 Postal Way that caught fire on Sunday evening. No one was injured in the blaze, which left its occupant temporarily homeless and a neighbor’s home with smoke damage. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire.)
Kevin Jainese sets up his cot along the 40 already provided by staff at the city’s new cold weather emergency shelter at a warehouse in Thane on Friday night, the first for the new facility. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Amidst a contentious process, a quiet opening night for city’s new cold weather emergency shelter

Staff — some recently homeless themselves — welcome first overnighters to converted Thane warehouse.

Kevin Jainese sets up his cot along the 40 already provided by staff at the city’s new cold weather emergency shelter at a warehouse in Thane on Friday night, the first for the new facility. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Amanda Savikko bowls a frame during the Juneau Special Olympics local games Sunday at Pinz bowling ally, where teams and participants were selected for the upcoming state games in Eagle River. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Local Special Olympics participants get into a free-for-ball knockdown

Three four-member bowling teams in weekend tournament advance to statewide event next month.

Amanda Savikko bowls a frame during the Juneau Special Olympics local games Sunday at Pinz bowling ally, where teams and participants were selected for the upcoming state games in Eagle River. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Jonathan Samuelson, chair of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, speaks Friday at the Alaska Convention of Natives convention about the effects of salmon crashes in his region. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

AFN delegates pass 28 resolutions, including plea to Congress for subsistence action

Attendees at odds with the state of Alaska on fishing and hunting issues.

Jonathan Samuelson, chair of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, speaks Friday at the Alaska Convention of Natives convention about the effects of salmon crashes in his region. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
A Capital Transit bus serving the Riverside/Airport Connector route stops at the Mendenhall Mall. The route, which was suspended last December due to a shortage of drivers, is scheduled to resume Monday. (Photo courtesy City and Borough of Juneau)

Capital Transit resumes two suspended routes, begins core service earlier

Addition of new bus drivers allows restoration of cuts in service made in December due to shortages.

A Capital Transit bus serving the Riverside/Airport Connector route stops at the Mendenhall Mall. The route, which was suspended last December due to a shortage of drivers, is scheduled to resume Monday. (Photo courtesy City and Borough of Juneau)
Curt Chamberlain, an attorney who grew up practicing subsistence fishing in Aniak, argues at Friday’s Alaska Federation of Natives convention for changes to federal law to protect Native subsistence harvests. Chamberlain was one of the speakers participating in a floor session on the subject. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Native leaders at AFN call for legal overhaul to protect traditional fish harvests

The crash of salmon stocks in Western Alaska’s Kuskokwim River has sparked a bitter court fight between the federal and state governments, and now Alaska… Continue reading

Curt Chamberlain, an attorney who grew up practicing subsistence fishing in Aniak, argues at Friday’s Alaska Federation of Natives convention for changes to federal law to protect Native subsistence harvests. Chamberlain was one of the speakers participating in a floor session on the subject. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Lyle’s & Jensen’s Home Furnishings on Jordan Avenue, a family business in that location for about 27 years, has sold the building, but will continue to operate in the location until the end of December. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)

Furniture store closing after a long run, but may be back

Alaska Industrial Hardware purchased the building, according to assessors office.

Lyle’s & Jensen’s Home Furnishings on Jordan Avenue, a family business in that location for about 27 years, has sold the building, but will continue to operate in the location until the end of December. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)
A city-owned warehouse about a mile south of the Goldbelt Tram is scheduled to open as a winter warming shelter starting Friday. The shelter will have cots, hand-washing stations, outdoor portable restrooms and other basic services. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

City: Emergency warming shelter to be open daily 9 p.m.-7 a.m. (8 a.m. Sundays) starting Friday

Multiple evening shuttles from Glory Hall and downtown, one in morning from Thane shelter planned

A city-owned warehouse about a mile south of the Goldbelt Tram is scheduled to open as a winter warming shelter starting Friday. The shelter will have cots, hand-washing stations, outdoor portable restrooms and other basic services. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A retail complex in the 9100 block of Glacier Highway is where investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force arrested David Melvin Cox Jr., 35, on drug charges Thursday afternoon, according to the Juneau Police Department. JPD said Cox, when approached, re-entered a business, attempting to discard drugs and cash before surrendering. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)
A retail complex in the 9100 block of Glacier Highway is where investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force arrested David Melvin Cox Jr., 35, on drug charges Thursday afternoon, according to the Juneau Police Department. JPD said Cox, when approached, re-entered a business, attempting to discard drugs and cash before surrendering. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)
A flyer left Thursday under a car windshield of an employee at a business near the winter warming shelter scheduled to open Friday at a city-owned warehouse in Thane informs residents of an Assembly meeting Monday to discuss the shelter. The flyer also refers to a petition leaders at Resurrection Lutheran Church are circulating seeking to operate the shelter again at the church this winter after doing so the past two years. Karen Perkins, the church’s pastor, stated church leaders did not put flyers under windshields of businesses in the area or suggest people distributing the notices do so. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Resurrection Lutheran Church leaders circulate petition to again operate winter warming shelter

Objections voiced about shortcomings at planned site, lack of input by affected agencies and people.

A flyer left Thursday under a car windshield of an employee at a business near the winter warming shelter scheduled to open Friday at a city-owned warehouse in Thane informs residents of an Assembly meeting Monday to discuss the shelter. The flyer also refers to a petition leaders at Resurrection Lutheran Church are circulating seeking to operate the shelter again at the church this winter after doing so the past two years. Karen Perkins, the church’s pastor, stated church leaders did not put flyers under windshields of businesses in the area or suggest people distributing the notices do so. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Rows of tour buses are parked Thursday next to a city-owned warehouse, at left, a portion of which is scheduled to open as a winter warming shelter starting Friday night. Some businesses managers and employees in the area say people experiencing homelessness have been found sleeping on busses and engaging in other disruptive activity, which is prompting an increase in security and other precautions in preparation for the shelter’s opening. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Security and other impacts of winter warming shelter on nearby businesses raise concerns

Resident near Mill Campground says illegal activity surged, worries about same as shelter opens.

Rows of tour buses are parked Thursday next to a city-owned warehouse, at left, a portion of which is scheduled to open as a winter warming shelter starting Friday night. Some businesses managers and employees in the area say people experiencing homelessness have been found sleeping on busses and engaging in other disruptive activity, which is prompting an increase in security and other precautions in preparation for the shelter’s opening. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)