News

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small speaks at a news conference at the Alaska State Library and Museum on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to announce roughly $9 million in development grants to 25 programs throughout Southeast Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

USDA announces $9M investment in 25 Southeast programs

A different approach.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small speaks at a news conference at the Alaska State Library and Museum on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to announce roughly $9 million in development grants to 25 programs throughout Southeast Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Rep. Sara Hannan (D-Juneau) speaks during a Friday fundraising dinner and silent auction for the people of Ukraine at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall which raised more than $30,000. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Tens of thousands raised at fundraiser for Ukraine

The fundraiser for UNICEF’s Ukraine mission was a huge success, said organizers.

Rep. Sara Hannan (D-Juneau) speaks during a Friday fundraising dinner and silent auction for the people of Ukraine at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall which raised more than $30,000. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
State and municipal public safety employees gathered on the steps of the Alaska State Captiol on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to urge senators to act on a bill to rework the state's pension system for police, fire fighters and other public safety employees. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Public safety employees promote pension plan

Workers are leaving.

State and municipal public safety employees gathered on the steps of the Alaska State Captiol on Thursday, March 31, 2022, to urge senators to act on a bill to rework the state's pension system for police, fire fighters and other public safety employees. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Featured artist Jill Kaasteen Meserve designed the logo gracing the front of Tidal Echoes’ 2022 edition. (Courtesy photo / Tidal Echoes)

Loss and birds: UAS releases annual literary journal

Eased restrictions streamlined the production, but the release event will still be online.

Featured artist Jill Kaasteen Meserve designed the logo gracing the front of Tidal Echoes’ 2022 edition. (Courtesy photo / Tidal Echoes)
The boards of the Glory Hall and Juneau Housing First Collaborative are merging, aiming to complete the process by July 1. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Glory Hall and Juneau Housing First boards to merge

Users won’t notice any difference.

The boards of the Glory Hall and Juneau Housing First Collaborative are merging, aiming to complete the process by July 1. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
It's a police car until you look closely and see the details don't quite match. (Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)

Police calls for Thursday, March 31, 2022

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

  • Mar 31, 2022
  • Juneau Empire
  • Crime
It's a police car until you look closely and see the details don't quite match. (Juneau Empire File / Michael Penn)
Passengers disembark from the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship Monday, March 16, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. Federal officials are dropping a health warning that they have attached to sailing on cruise ships since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, March 30, 2022 that they will leave it up to vacationers to decide whether they feel safe getting on a ship. (AP Photo / Mic Smith)

CDC drops COVID-19 health warning for cruise ship travelers

Cruise-ship operators welcomed Wednesday’s announcement.

Passengers disembark from the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship Monday, March 16, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. Federal officials are dropping a health warning that they have attached to sailing on cruise ships since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, March 30, 2022 that they will leave it up to vacationers to decide whether they feel safe getting on a ship. (AP Photo / Mic Smith)
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Alberta's oilsands are operating with critical staff only as the highly contagious Omicron variant sweeps the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NIAID-RML

COVID at a Glance for Wednesday, March 30

Numbers come from reports from the City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operations Center and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, as well… Continue reading

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Alberta's oilsands are operating with critical staff only as the highly contagious Omicron variant sweeps the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NIAID-RML
The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

House cancels floor sessions until next week

26 cases at the Capitol.

The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The Juneau Police Department stood up a new missing persons database to help the community in the search for the lost. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Police launch local missing people database

It’s meant to help the police and community work together to find missing persons more quickly.

The Juneau Police Department stood up a new missing persons database to help the community in the search for the lost. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, speaks on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in favor of a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people for wearing their natural hairstyles in schools and workplaces. The bill passed with only one nay vote. (Screenshot)

Natural hairstyles bill passes Senate

A national trend.

Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, speaks on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in favor of a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people for wearing their natural hairstyles in schools and workplaces. The bill passed with only one nay vote. (Screenshot)
The author thought this reel was about five years old, but this photo from a trip to the Truckee River in California seven years ago made him realize just how long his favorite reel has been around. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: What makes a favorite

By Jeff Lund I was doing some math, which can be difficult. Not just because I’m an English teacher, but because it can be hard… Continue reading

The author thought this reel was about five years old, but this photo from a trip to the Truckee River in California seven years ago made him realize just how long his favorite reel has been around. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show. (Courtesy photo / Michael Last)
Capital City Weekly

Q&A: Renowned East Coast banjo performer to headline Folk Fest

Drawing his inspiration from Black and Indigenous communties back east, Blount is the featured artist for 2022.

Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show. (Courtesy photo / Michael Last)
Cam Byrnes will be the April featured artist at Juneau Artists Gallery. (Courtesy Photo / Cam Bryrnes)
Capital City Weekly

Here’s what’s happening for First Friday

No foolin’.

Cam Byrnes will be the April featured artist at Juneau Artists Gallery. (Courtesy Photo / Cam Bryrnes)
This December 2021 photo shows Erin Heist on stage in Juneau. Heist's debut album "From the Land of Rusted Dreams" is set to be released on April 8. The album is heavily shaped by connections Heist has made through the Alaska Folk Festival, which is held annually in Juneau. (Courtesy Photo / Annie Bartholomew)
Capital City Weekly

Roots music: New album draws from memories and connections made in Southeast Alaska

Steel (pedal) yourself for new music.

This December 2021 photo shows Erin Heist on stage in Juneau. Heist's debut album "From the Land of Rusted Dreams" is set to be released on April 8. The album is heavily shaped by connections Heist has made through the Alaska Folk Festival, which is held annually in Juneau. (Courtesy Photo / Annie Bartholomew)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Riverbend Elementary School principal Elizabeth Pisel-Davis gestures at drawings of things schoolchildren were thankful for that currently decorate the walls of the school after massive flooding from a burst pipe in January meant much the school’s interior had to be gutted.

New walls, news roof, new name: Riverbend undergoing major changes

The school board will vote on the name change in April.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Riverbend Elementary School principal Elizabeth Pisel-Davis gestures at drawings of things schoolchildren were thankful for that currently decorate the walls of the school after massive flooding from a burst pipe in January meant much the school’s interior had to be gutted.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles during a meeting with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2022. Following Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to begin moving her nomination to the floor but Republicans on the panel are expected to delay the process. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Alaska’s senators say minds aren’t made up as Jackson’s confirmation pushes ahead

Upcoming votes.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles during a meeting with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2022. Following Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to begin moving her nomination to the floor but Republicans on the panel are expected to delay the process. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Chaplain Margaret G. Kibben speaks during a ceremony for the late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, as he lies in state in Statuary Hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska's congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

His absence will leave Congress less colorful and certainly less punctual

“His absence will leave Congress less colorful and certainly less punctual…”

House Chaplain Margaret G. Kibben speaks during a ceremony for the late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, as he lies in state in Statuary Hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. Young, the longest-serving member of Alaska's congressional delegation, died Friday, March 18, 2022. He was 88. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
An injured coyote with only three usable legs has survived over a year, hunting small mammals. (Courtesy Photo / Cheryl Cook)

On the Trails: Wild animals surviving serious injuries

To be adaptive, the benefits have to outweigh such costs.

An injured coyote with only three usable legs has survived over a year, hunting small mammals. (Courtesy Photo / Cheryl Cook)
A notice board at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, shows the cancellation of the House of Representatives floor session for that morning. For the second day running the House has canceled floor sessions over disagreements between caucuses over masking rules amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among some lawmakers and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

House again cancels floor session amid masking debate

Two days running.

A notice board at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, shows the cancellation of the House of Representatives floor session for that morning. For the second day running the House has canceled floor sessions over disagreements between caucuses over masking rules amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among some lawmakers and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)