News

State’s only coal mine to halt exports

ANCHORAGE — Alaska’s only working coal mine plans to halt exports for the rest of the year as the slow market has forced a temporary… Continue reading

Photo: Spreading its wings

Alaskan artist Dan DeRoux moves one of seven "swans" to be hung in the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library on Monday. Titled "Flights of Imagination,"… Continue reading

A floatplane takes off from the Juneau International Airport as fall colors give way to snow on the Mendenhall Towers on Tuesday.

Photo: Scenic flight

A floatplane takes off from the Juneau International Airport as fall colors give way to snow on the Mendenhall Towers on Tuesday.… Continue reading

A floatplane takes off from the Juneau International Airport as fall colors give way to snow on the Mendenhall Towers on Tuesday.
A male hooded oriole perches on sign at the Juneau Community Garden on Tuesday. Birders from around Alaska are flocking to Community Gardens for an extremely unusual sight: a hooded oriole, a black and yellow or orange bird never before seen in the state. The bird's winter range is typically in Mexico and California; it's frequently seen around palm trees.Fourteen-year-old birder Owen Squires on Sept. 19 was the first to identify the bird. His mother, Marsha Squires, was the first to sight it. For the full story on the exciting find, video, and theories as to why the bird might be in Alaska, check out Friday‚s Juneau Empire outdoors section.

Photo: Rare tweet

A male hooded oriole perches on sign at the Juneau Community Garden on Tuesday. Birders from around Alaska are flocking to Community Gardens for an… Continue reading

A male hooded oriole perches on sign at the Juneau Community Garden on Tuesday. Birders from around Alaska are flocking to Community Gardens for an extremely unusual sight: a hooded oriole, a black and yellow or orange bird never before seen in the state. The bird's winter range is typically in Mexico and California; it's frequently seen around palm trees.Fourteen-year-old birder Owen Squires on Sept. 19 was the first to identify the bird. His mother, Marsha Squires, was the first to sight it. For the full story on the exciting find, video, and theories as to why the bird might be in Alaska, check out Friday‚s Juneau Empire outdoors section.

House weighs military justice bill

The judiciary committee of the House of Representatives met Tuesday to discuss judicial reforms inspired by a series of savage sexual assaults in the Alaska… Continue reading

In this 2013 photo released by the University of Alaska Museum of the North earth sciences curator Pat Druckenmiller digs for dinosaur bones along the Colville River near Nuiqsut, Alaska. Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have found a third distinct dinosaur species documented on Alaska's oil-rich North Slope. The new species is a type of hadrosaur, a duck-billed plant-eater. (Greg Erickson/UA Museum of the North via AP)

New dinosaur discovered

ANCHORAGE — Fossils from a unique plant-eating dinosaur found in the high Arctic of Alaska may change how scientists view dinosaur physiology, say Alaska and… Continue reading

In this 2013 photo released by the University of Alaska Museum of the North earth sciences curator Pat Druckenmiller digs for dinosaur bones along the Colville River near Nuiqsut, Alaska. Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have found a third distinct dinosaur species documented on Alaska's oil-rich North Slope. The new species is a type of hadrosaur, a duck-billed plant-eater. (Greg Erickson/UA Museum of the North via AP)

Around town for Wednesday, Sept. 23

Parks and Recreation Wednesday hike, 9:30 a.m., call for location. Details: 586-0428.Day of quilting, sewing and good fellowship, 10 a.m., Resurrection Lutheran Church. Quilts donated… Continue reading

Man gets 3 years in Alaska diving death

KETCHIKAN — A commercial fisherman found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a Kansas diver who died while harvesting sea cucumbers was… Continue reading

Police & Fire for Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015

Assault• At 10:27 a.m. Monday, JPD investigated a report of assault in the 1600 block of Renninger Street.Disorderly conduct• At 2:53 a.m. Monday, JPD responded… Continue reading

Alaska Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Brad Tilden speaks in Honolulu on Monday. Alaska Airlines saw an opportunity in the Hawaii market nearly eight years ago that was too good to pass up. Tilden said he remains bullish as Hawaii closes in on its fourth straight year of record visitor arrivals and spending.

Alaska Airlines fueled by boom in isle tourism

HONOLULU — Alaska Airlines saw an opportunity in the Hawaii market nearly eight years ago that was too good to pass up.Aloha and ATA airlines… Continue reading

Alaska Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Brad Tilden speaks in Honolulu on Monday. Alaska Airlines saw an opportunity in the Hawaii market nearly eight years ago that was too good to pass up. Tilden said he remains bullish as Hawaii closes in on its fourth straight year of record visitor arrivals and spending.

Defense: Shooter’s dad never told he couldn’t have guns

SEATTLE — Prosecutors told jurors Tuesday that the father of the teenager who shot and killed four classmates and himself repeatedly lied on forms to… Continue reading

Charges filed against owners of marijuana businesses

ANCHORAGE — The owners of two marijuana delivery services and the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club in Anchorage have been charged with drug crimes… Continue reading

Felony pot charges for teens being reduced in Asotin County

ASOTIN, Wash. (AP) — A prosecutor in Washington’s southeastern corner is reducing felony marijuana charges he filed against six juveniles because of a misinterpretation of… Continue reading

Los Angeles panel proposes homelessness emergency, funds

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s no secret to people who walk or drive the streets of Los Angeles that homeless people — tens of thousands… Continue reading

Sage grouse plan aims for industry, wildlife balance

BILLINGS, Mont. — A cooperative effort to save a ground-dwelling bird has diverted it from possible extinction, federal officials declared Tuesday, as they sought to… Continue reading

Deputy saves drowning kids in dark pond; the dad is arrested

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy says he heard wailing in the darkness and plunged into an apartment complex’s pond at night… Continue reading

Activists of the Hungarian Red Cross give water to migrants who arrived by train from Tovarnik, Croatia at the railway station in Zakany, 230 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. (Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP)

European ministers agree to relocate 120,000 refugees

BRUSSELS — Deeply divided European Union ministers agreed Tuesday to relocate 120,000 asylum-seekers to ease the strain on Greece and Italy, which are on the… Continue reading

Activists of the Hungarian Red Cross give water to migrants who arrived by train from Tovarnik, Croatia at the railway station in Zakany, 230 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. (Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP)

Meetings with Chinese leader bring agreement

SEATTLE — Leaders from Michigan to Beijing attended meetings Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the U.S. and signed an agreement aimed at pushing… Continue reading

Clinton breaks Keystone silence, says she opposes pipeline

DES MOINES, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she opposes construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, breaking her longstanding silence over a project criticized… Continue reading

Ranks thinning, traditional GOP candidates try to adapt

WASHINGTON — Scott Walker and Rick Perry entered the 2016 presidential race with a combined 18 years of experience as governors. They exited the Republican… Continue reading