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Ted Burke and wife Jan pose for a photo at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament on Saturday. Burke was the recipient of the Dr. Walter Soboleff Award. (Klas Stolpe/For the Juneau Empire)

Ted Burke receives Dr. Walter Soboleff Award at Gold Medal Tournament

“I was definitely surprised,” Burke said. “I didn’t even think there was going to be one this year.”

Ted Burke and wife Jan pose for a photo at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament on Saturday. Burke was the recipient of the Dr. Walter Soboleff Award. (Klas Stolpe/For the Juneau Empire)
Hoonah’s Masters Bracket team poses for a group photo on Saturday after being crowned this year’s champs for the M bracket in the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament at JDHS. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Hoonah crowned Gold Medal Masters Bracket champs

Hoonah’s Albert Hinchman named MVP.

Hoonah’s Masters Bracket team poses for a group photo on Saturday after being crowned this year’s champs for the M bracket in the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament at JDHS. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
C Bracket champions Filcom pose with their trophy. (left to right) Charlie Herrington, Alex Heumann, Tom Gizler, Adam Brown, Mike Lim, Andrew Malacas, Nino Bohulano, Ray Zimmer, Larry Cooper, Ronin Tagsip and Jason Haskell at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, Saturday, March 25, at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Klas Stolpe/For the Juneau Empire)

Juneau’s Filcom wins Gold Medal C Bracket Championship

Filcom caps undefeated tournament run with 73-49 win over Klukwan

  • Mar 26, 2023
  • By Klas Stolpe For the Juneau Empire
  • Basketball
C Bracket champions Filcom pose with their trophy. (left to right) Charlie Herrington, Alex Heumann, Tom Gizler, Adam Brown, Mike Lim, Andrew Malacas, Nino Bohulano, Ray Zimmer, Larry Cooper, Ronin Tagsip and Jason Haskell at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, Saturday, March 25, at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Klas Stolpe/For the Juneau Empire)
President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 23, 2023, celebrating the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok over its Chinese ownership and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of young voters, a group that’s been largely in his corner. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Biden’s moves on Willow, TikTok test young voters

A potential TikTok ban and the Alaska drilling could weigh down reelection bid.

President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 23, 2023, celebrating the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok over its Chinese ownership and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of young voters, a group that’s been largely in his corner. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Students dance their way toward exiting the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé gymnasium near the end of a performance held before a Gold Medal Basketball Tournament game between Juneau and Hydaburg. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Over $2,500 raised for Tlingit language and culture program during Gold Medal performance

A flurry of regionwide generosity generated the funds in a matter of minutes.

Students dance their way toward exiting the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé gymnasium near the end of a performance held before a Gold Medal Basketball Tournament game between Juneau and Hydaburg. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A ConocoPhillips sign covered in ice at the Colville-Delta 5, or as it's more commonly known, CD5, is seen at a drilling site on Alaska's North Slope on Feb. 9, 2016. ConocoPhillips has detailed reasons and remedies following a natural gas leak last year on the North Slope that caused 300 employees to be evacuated. Company officials spoke Thursday, March 23, 2023, during an Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission hearing into the leak at its Alpine field. It said pumping 170 barrels of diesel fuel into a disposal well to prevent freezing caused a component to fail. The leak went unnoticed for days but was corrected. A company official says no one was harmed by the leak. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

ConocoPhillips details gas leak cause, remedies at hearing

ANCHORAGE — ConocoPhillips, which last week received U.S. government approval for the massive Willow oil drilling project in Alaska, detailed reasons for a natural gas… Continue reading

A ConocoPhillips sign covered in ice at the Colville-Delta 5, or as it's more commonly known, CD5, is seen at a drilling site on Alaska's North Slope on Feb. 9, 2016. ConocoPhillips has detailed reasons and remedies following a natural gas leak last year on the North Slope that caused 300 employees to be evacuated. Company officials spoke Thursday, March 23, 2023, during an Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission hearing into the leak at its Alpine field. It said pumping 170 barrels of diesel fuel into a disposal well to prevent freezing caused a component to fail. The leak went unnoticed for days but was corrected. A company official says no one was harmed by the leak. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)
Legislative fiscal analysts Alexei Painter, right, and Conor Bell explain the state’s financial outlook during the next decade to the Senate Finance Committee on Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Legislators eye oil and sales taxes due to fiscal woes

Bills to collect more from North Slope producers, enact new sales taxes get hearings next week.

Legislative fiscal analysts Alexei Painter, right, and Conor Bell explain the state’s financial outlook during the next decade to the Senate Finance Committee on Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows a porcupine near Valdez. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: The porcupine’s winter in slow-motion

While running through Bicentennial Park in Anchorage, biologist Jessy Coltrane spotted a porcupine in a birch tree. On her runs on days following, she saw… Continue reading

This photo shows a porcupine near Valdez. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
Expert skateboarder Di’Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and whose work is featured on the new U.S. stamps, rides her skateboard next to her artworks in the Venice Beach neighborhood in Los Angeles Monday, March 20, 2023. On Friday, March 24, the U.S. Postal Service is debuting the “Art of the Skateboard,” four stamps that will be the first to pay tribute to skateboarding. The stamps underscore how prevalent skateboarding has become, especially in Indian Country, where the demand for designated skate spots has only grown in recent years. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Indigenous artists help skateboarding earn stamp of approval

Years ago, skateboarding was branded as a hobby for rebels or stoners in city streets, schoolyards and back alleys. Those days are long gone. Skateboarding,… Continue reading

Expert skateboarder Di’Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and whose work is featured on the new U.S. stamps, rides her skateboard next to her artworks in the Venice Beach neighborhood in Los Angeles Monday, March 20, 2023. On Friday, March 24, the U.S. Postal Service is debuting the “Art of the Skateboard,” four stamps that will be the first to pay tribute to skateboarding. The stamps underscore how prevalent skateboarding has become, especially in Indian Country, where the demand for designated skate spots has only grown in recent years. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the most aggressive of four alternatives for expanding the mine in an environmental impact assessment published Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The tailings stack is modestly to drastically smaller in the other alternatives. The public comment period for the study is from March 24 to May 8. (U.S. Forest Service)

New study digs into alternatives for Greens Creek Mine expansion

Public comment starts Friday on four options that could extend mine’s life up to 40 years

A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the most aggressive of four alternatives for expanding the mine in an environmental impact assessment published Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The tailings stack is modestly to drastically smaller in the other alternatives. The public comment period for the study is from March 24 to May 8. (U.S. Forest Service)
The FBI Anchorage Field Office is seeking information about this man in relation to a Wednesday bank robbery in Anchorage, the agency announced Thursday afternoon. Anyone with information regarding the bank robbery can contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at 907-276-4441 or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. (FBI)

FBI seeks info in Anchorage bank robbery

The robbery took place at 1:24 p.m. on Wednesday.

  • Mar 23, 2023
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
The FBI Anchorage Field Office is seeking information about this man in relation to a Wednesday bank robbery in Anchorage, the agency announced Thursday afternoon. Anyone with information regarding the bank robbery can contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at 907-276-4441 or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. (FBI)
Kuspuks of varying colors displayed at a tribal consultation meeting in Anchorage on Sept. 21 represent Indigenous victims of violence. From left, the colors are red for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, orange for victims of boarding schools, the baby kuspuk for children who will never be born, purple for victims of domestic violence, turquoise for victims of sexual assault, multicolor for LGBTQ victims and black for men who are victims. The kuspuks were arrayed at the Justice Department's annual tribal consultation conference required under the Violence Against Woman Act. In testimony Wednesday to the state House Tribal Affairs Special Committee, members of a working group listed several practical steps they said could improve safety of Indigenous people. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Budget items and policy changes recommended to help protect Indigenous women and girls

Dangers can be addressed through the budget and through other practical actions, activists said.

Kuspuks of varying colors displayed at a tribal consultation meeting in Anchorage on Sept. 21 represent Indigenous victims of violence. From left, the colors are red for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, orange for victims of boarding schools, the baby kuspuk for children who will never be born, purple for victims of domestic violence, turquoise for victims of sexual assault, multicolor for LGBTQ victims and black for men who are victims. The kuspuks were arrayed at the Justice Department's annual tribal consultation conference required under the Violence Against Woman Act. In testimony Wednesday to the state House Tribal Affairs Special Committee, members of a working group listed several practical steps they said could improve safety of Indigenous people. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
A graph shows projected monetary losses and gains for government and private stakeholders in the Willow oil field project, which for the state is expected to reach a break-even point in 2030, a year after production is scheduled to begin. But a complex set of tax structures and unknown variables may cause those predictions to differ considerably. (Alaska Department of Natural Resources)

State offers brighter financial forecast for Willow

Instead of losing $1B during first decade, Alaska will break-even by 2030, revised forecast shows

A graph shows projected monetary losses and gains for government and private stakeholders in the Willow oil field project, which for the state is expected to reach a break-even point in 2030, a year after production is scheduled to begin. But a complex set of tax structures and unknown variables may cause those predictions to differ considerably. (Alaska Department of Natural Resources)
Kevin Maier

Sustainable Alaska: Climate stories, climate futures

The UAS Sustainability Committee is hosting a series of public events in April…

Kevin Maier
A sign welcomes drivers to Klawock, Alaska in 2021. (Eric Stone / KRBD)

Investigators believe Klawock killing was motivated by Facebook rumors

Two Klawock men are facing second-degree murder charges in beating death of an 80-year-old man.

A sign welcomes drivers to Klawock, Alaska in 2021. (Eric Stone / KRBD)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Thursday, March 23, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

  • Mar 23, 2023
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
From left to right, House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River; Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla; and Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla; listen to House Clerk Kris Jones during a break in the session of the Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Photo by James Brooks / Alaska Beacon)

Alaska House votes more funding to fix food-stamp crisis, prevent budget trouble

Bill includes $6.8 million to immediately address a crisis in the state’s food-stamp program.

From left to right, House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River; Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla; and Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla; listen to House Clerk Kris Jones during a break in the session of the Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Photo by James Brooks / Alaska Beacon)
A call for a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature to cast a vote that would reject recently-approved salary increases for legislators and top executive branch officials is made by State House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, during a press conference Tuesday. Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, rejected the joint session in a letter to Tilton on Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

House efforts to nix legislative pay raises hit Senate roadblock

Call for a joint session rejected by upper chamber, bills to overturn pay hikes may lack support

A call for a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature to cast a vote that would reject recently-approved salary increases for legislators and top executive branch officials is made by State House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, during a press conference Tuesday. Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, rejected the joint session in a letter to Tilton on Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Alaska residents, many of them part of an Americans for Prosperity delegation from outside Juneau, wait to testify during a House Education Committee meeting Tuesday night. Most of the people in the room opposed increasing public education spending, while a majority of residents testifying online spoke in favor of an increase.

Public, lawmakers go to school over budget

Feisty testimony offered by residents statewide and legislators respond in kind

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Alaska residents, many of them part of an Americans for Prosperity delegation from outside Juneau, wait to testify during a House Education Committee meeting Tuesday night. Most of the people in the room opposed increasing public education spending, while a majority of residents testifying online spoke in favor of an increase.
Reps. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage, and Andi Story, D-Juneau, offering competing amendments to a bill increasing the per-student funding formula for public schools by $1,250 during a House Education Committee meeting Wednesday morning. McKay’s proposal to lower the increase to $150 was defeated. Story’s proposal to implement an increase during the next two years was approved, after her proposed amounts totalling about $1,500 were reduced to $800.

Battle lines for education funding boost get clearer

$800 increase over two years OKd by House committee, Senate proposing $1,348 two-year increase

Reps. Tom McKay, R-Anchorage, and Andi Story, D-Juneau, offering competing amendments to a bill increasing the per-student funding formula for public schools by $1,250 during a House Education Committee meeting Wednesday morning. McKay’s proposal to lower the increase to $150 was defeated. Story’s proposal to implement an increase during the next two years was approved, after her proposed amounts totalling about $1,500 were reduced to $800.