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A violet-green swallow has distinctive white flank patches — and wider wings — than a Vaux’s swift. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Swifts and swallows at Fish Creek

On a gray, drippy day at the end of June, a friend and I walked briefly at Fish Creek. The roses were blooming and thimbleberries… Continue reading

  • Jul 10, 2023
  • By Mary F. Willson
A violet-green swallow has distinctive white flank patches — and wider wings — than a Vaux’s swift. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: The question of term limits

If passed by voters, a proposed ballot initiative would limit all state legislators to serving 12 consecutive years and impose a lifetime maximum of 20… Continue reading

(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Chenega Bay in 1964 following the great earthquake. A schoolhouse survived the earthquake and tsunami that followed. The tsunami destroyed houses lower than the schoolhouse. (Photo by George Plafker)

Alaska Science Forum: Feet on the ground right after the big one

On March 27, 1964, California geologist George Plafker was attending a research conference in Seattle when news came of a big earthquake in Alaska. “It… Continue reading

Chenega Bay in 1964 following the great earthquake. A schoolhouse survived the earthquake and tsunami that followed. The tsunami destroyed houses lower than the schoolhouse. (Photo by George Plafker)
The Alaskan wilderness has been the setting of countless stories which provide inspiration as much as entertainment. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Building your cabin

I am embarrassed to admit that I only recently read “One Man’s Wilderness,” the story of Dick Proenneke. Some stories are legendary and therefore become… Continue reading

The Alaskan wilderness has been the setting of countless stories which provide inspiration as much as entertainment. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Living and Growing: Raising our voices when the national song falters

I should warn you now: If you ever go to a sporting event with me, I tend to yell a lot and I will sing… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Photos by Mary F. Willson Female goatsbeard flowers, left, are less conspicuous, so the inflorescence is less decorative. Male goatsbeard flowers, right, have visible stamens and slightly larger petals than females, making the inflorescence showy.

On the Trails: Cowee Meadows

On a cool, gray day just after the sunny summer solstice, a group of friends set out to enjoy the annual Cowee Meadow flower show.… Continue reading

Photos by Mary F. Willson Female goatsbeard flowers, left, are less conspicuous, so the inflorescence is less decorative. Male goatsbeard flowers, right, have visible stamens and slightly larger petals than females, making the inflorescence showy.
A totem stands outside the former Hospice and Home Care of Juneau on Oct 14, 2022. The facility shut down days later after providing services for about 20 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

My Turn: Ongoing lack of hospice care complicates matters of life and death

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” - Joni Mitchell Last September Juneau’s Hospice and Home… Continue reading

A totem stands outside the former Hospice and Home Care of Juneau on Oct 14, 2022. The facility shut down days later after providing services for about 20 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alexander B. Dolitsky

My Turn: What is freedom?

Editor’s note: The following is an account of a fictional conversation. Recently I had a conversation with an American in her late 20s about current… Continue reading

  • Jul 1, 2023
  • By Alexander B. Dolitsky
Alexander B. Dolitsky
Public domain photo from the Library of Congress Jefferson “Soapy” Smith standing at bar in saloon in Skagway on July 29, 1989.

My Turn: Soapy Smith rides again

I recently spent a rainy Sunday afternoon in the Gold Rush cemetery in Skagway, wandering behind tour guides who reenacted Skagway’s most famous story: the… Continue reading

  • Jul 1, 2023
  • By Barbara Hood
Public domain photo from the Library of Congress Jefferson “Soapy” Smith standing at bar in saloon in Skagway on July 29, 1989.
UAF Chancellor Dan White pretends to take a sample from a mammoth skull with the help of Matthew Wooller to promote the Adopt a Mammoth Program at the Museum of the North on the UAF campus on Aug. 5, 2022.

Alaska Science Forum: Adopted mammoth fell 15,000 years ago

A few days ago, Mat Wooller had news about a woolly mammoth my friend LJ and I “adopted” last October. “You’ve got one of the… Continue reading

  • Jun 29, 2023
  • By Ned Rozell
UAF Chancellor Dan White pretends to take a sample from a mammoth skull with the help of Matthew Wooller to promote the Adopt a Mammoth Program at the Museum of the North on the UAF campus on Aug. 5, 2022.
Author standing at the Sitka terminal ramp May 22 waiting to board the Columbia to Haines. (Photo courtesy of Regina Discenza)

My Turn: My costly experience with the Alaska Marine Highway System

Last year during the summer of 2022 I wanted to visit a few small towns in Alaska with the ferry. Air service to Gustavus was… Continue reading

Author standing at the Sitka terminal ramp May 22 waiting to board the Columbia to Haines. (Photo courtesy of Regina Discenza)
Resurrection Lutheran Church, which provides a weekly food pantry, is seen here in April. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Living and Growing: Learning to ‘see’ people as well as serving them

I was a transactional Lutheran. I attended church regularly. I volunteered for anything and everything. I believed that this was my duty as a Christian.… Continue reading

Resurrection Lutheran Church, which provides a weekly food pantry, is seen here in April. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
In this June 21 photo, meteorologist David Percy films the daily “Alaska Weather” program in a makeshift studio at the National Weather Service office in Anchorage. The “Alaska Weather” program she oversees, the only weather show produced by the National Weather Service, will have its last on-air broadcast Friday after Alaska Public Media dropped distribution, forcing it to YouTube. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Capital City Weekly

How’s the weather up there? It’ll be harder for Alaska to tell as a longtime program goes off air

ANCHORAGE — Before Morris Nashoanak heads out for days in search of bearded seals, beluga whales or salmon, he catches the weather on TV. But… Continue reading

In this June 21 photo, meteorologist David Percy films the daily “Alaska Weather” program in a makeshift studio at the National Weather Service office in Anchorage. The “Alaska Weather” program she oversees, the only weather show produced by the National Weather Service, will have its last on-air broadcast Friday after Alaska Public Media dropped distribution, forcing it to YouTube. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau, seen here Sept. 28, 2022, is where most the corporation’s estimated 70 employees work. APFC leaders are considering options to move some operations and staff to Anchorage during the next year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Capital creep — a way to weaken state government

I just read that the Permanent Fund Corp. has been considering a move to Anchorage since 2019. I was stunned. An essential part of the… Continue reading

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau, seen here Sept. 28, 2022, is where most the corporation’s estimated 70 employees work. APFC leaders are considering options to move some operations and staff to Anchorage during the next year. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
The inflorescences of cow parsnip are sheathed protectively, often with an attendant leaf that may emerge before the inflorescence, as shown here. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)

On the Trails: Lupine and cow parsnip puzzles

From time to time, I venture out on the wetlands. I have to prepare myself to endure the racket from aircraft. In addition to the… Continue reading

The inflorescences of cow parsnip are sheathed protectively, often with an attendant leaf that may emerge before the inflorescence, as shown here. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)
In this October 2018 photo, Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in British Columbia, Canada. (Courtesy Photo | Chris Miller)

My turn: Cleaning up Tulsequah Chief Mine is a way to protect salmon as habitats face other threats

King salmon runs along our coast are in trouble. Most scientists think changing ocean conditions are the problem. Since fixing these conditions is unlikely, at… Continue reading

In this October 2018 photo, Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in British Columbia, Canada. (Courtesy Photo | Chris Miller)
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: Alaska’s reckoning with the past could improve care for psychiatric patients

There are a lot of similarities between the federally funded Indian boarding schools and locked psychiatric facilities of the early 1900s. The best examples: the… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2023
  • By Faith J. Myers
  • Opinion
Faith Myers stands at the doors of API. (Courtesy Photo)
Washboard roads form on dry, unpaved road surfaces, of which there are many in Alaska. (Illustration by Liza McElroy)

Alaska Science Forum: The ups and downs of washboard roads

While driving Alaska’s graveled highways, people sometimes wonder how an unpaved road can turn into a bed of corduroy. Keith Mather had the same question… Continue reading

Washboard roads form on dry, unpaved road surfaces, of which there are many in Alaska. (Illustration by Liza McElroy)
The current Juneau City Hall, which municipal leaders say is outdated and costly to rent. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

My Turn: Glory Hall or new City Hall, that is the question

The relentless drumbeat of the outgoing city manager may leave the CBJ in financial ruin because he has pressed forward with the FY24 budget with… Continue reading

The current Juneau City Hall, which municipal leaders say is outdated and costly to rent. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Daniel Ellsberg, speaking at a press conference in New York City in 1972. (Public domain photo by Bernard Gotfryd)

Opinion: Ellsberg’s leaking of Pentagon Papers is still a model for truth in the digital age

Daniel Ellsberg, known for leaking a secret study about the Vietnam war to the news media, died last week at the age of 92. The… Continue reading

Daniel Ellsberg, speaking at a press conference in New York City in 1972. (Public domain photo by Bernard Gotfryd)