Rick Cotten talks about work done to close up the leaking skylight on Friday, May 5, 2017, before the Bergmann Hotel can reopen. The city closed the hotel on health and safety concerns in March. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Bergmann owners want to reopen this month, but lots of work remains

It’s been nearly two months since building officials and police officers evicted residents from the century-old Bergmann Hotel, which had been classified as unsafe for… Continue reading

  • May 7, 2017
  • By LIZ KELLAR
Rick Cotten talks about work done to close up the leaking skylight on Friday, May 5, 2017, before the Bergmann Hotel can reopen. The city closed the hotel on health and safety concerns in March. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Callie Conerton stands in front of Mount Juneau. Courtesey of Callie Conerton.

Graduating college: UAS students tell their stories

Graduating from college is a momentous occasion filled with silly hats and cards of congratulations, but as a graduating student, I can say that there… Continue reading

Callie Conerton stands in front of Mount Juneau. Courtesey of Callie Conerton.
A pair of tundra swans bond at Moose Lake in Juneau. (Photo by Gina Vose)

Photo: Love birds

A pair of tundra swans bond at Moose Lake in Juneau. (Photo by Gina Vose)… Continue reading

A pair of tundra swans bond at Moose Lake in Juneau. (Photo by Gina Vose)

Police & Fire for Friday, May 5, 2017

This report contains public information available to the Empire from law enforcement and public safety agencies. This report includes arrest and citation information, not conviction… Continue reading

  • May 4, 2017
  • By Juneau Empire
  • Crime

Suspect pleads guilty to two car thefts in return for residential drug treatment

A man who has racked up more than 100 criminal charges since 1997, with 14 cases last year alone, took a plea agreement in his… Continue reading

Reggie Peterson has carved two totem poles, this one is the raven pole, that will be presented at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery on Saturday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

DIPAC raising two totem poles

It took a quarter-century for it to happen, but Ladd Macaulay’s vision has come to fruition, and it’s happening this Saturday. Macaulay, the namesake of… Continue reading

Reggie Peterson has carved two totem poles, this one is the raven pole, that will be presented at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery on Saturday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
JoMarie Alba will be the student speaker at University of Alaska Southeast’s graduation ceremony this Sunday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Meet JoMarie Alba, UAS student graduation speaker

University of Alaska Southeast doesn’t name a valedictorian, but students and faculty nominate students to speak at commencement. Of the four finalists, Chancellor Richard Caulfield… Continue reading

JoMarie Alba will be the student speaker at University of Alaska Southeast’s graduation ceremony this Sunday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
State won’t consider changes to beer tax

State won’t consider changes to beer tax

The state of Alaska is spending $3 million per year on beer. That fact won’t change until at least 2018. On Wednesday afternoon, the Alaska… Continue reading

State won’t consider changes to beer tax
Ross Mahon and Ben Ellison touchdown in Juneau downtown harbor in a plane they’re calling a Gweduck (misspelled on purpose) on Thursday, May 4, 2017. A “new twist on an old design,” the plane looks like an vintage aircraft but is made with modern materials. It began as a side project for the two aeronautical engineers from Seattle and is now a reality. It made the stop in Juneau on Thursday on its way to Anchorage. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Innovative, nostalgic plane makes stop in Juneau

A twin-engine piece of nostalgia touched down in Juneau on Thursday. Two decades ago, Seattle aeronautical engineers Ben Ellison and Ross Mahon began to design… Continue reading

Ross Mahon and Ben Ellison touchdown in Juneau downtown harbor in a plane they’re calling a Gweduck (misspelled on purpose) on Thursday, May 4, 2017. A “new twist on an old design,” the plane looks like an vintage aircraft but is made with modern materials. It began as a side project for the two aeronautical engineers from Seattle and is now a reality. It made the stop in Juneau on Thursday on its way to Anchorage. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Thinkstock

Oil bill could cost billions

The Alaska Senate’s plan to cut the state subsidy for oil and gas drilling could cost Alaska billions of dollars. That’s the conclusion of the… Continue reading

Thinkstock

JPD arrests suspect in Thane Road stabbing

The 37-year-old suspect in a stabbing last month has been apprehended. The Juneau Police Department received a tip Thursday morning that Joshua Levi Brown was… Continue reading

  • May 4, 2017
  • By LIZ KELLAR

Downtown bar assault caught on camera

The Juneau Police Department has turned to social media for help in identifying the suspects in a brawl that was caught on surveillance video. According… Continue reading

  • May 4, 2017
  • By Juneau Empire
Alaska Earthquake Center field technician Dara Merz services a seismic station in the White Mountains in 2014. (Photo by Ian Dickson, courtesy Alaska Earthquake Center)

Alaska may lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors to budget cuts

When the shaking stops, Alaska’s seismologists have a goal: 10 minutes. That’s the time it should take for them to consult their instruments, run calculations,… Continue reading

Alaska Earthquake Center field technician Dara Merz services a seismic station in the White Mountains in 2014. (Photo by Ian Dickson, courtesy Alaska Earthquake Center)

Tlingit & Haida crowdsources name for coffee shop

The Tlingit & Haida Central Council has a caffeine conundrum on its hands. The organization has two coffee shops, but not a name for either… Continue reading

In Alaska, mosquitoes bite where Zika won’t

In Alaska, mosquitoes bite where Zika won’t

Mosquitoes bite. In Alaska, Zika won’t. That’s the conclusion of the state’s medical experts, a week after a third Alaskan was identified to have the… Continue reading

In Alaska, mosquitoes bite where Zika won’t

Tlingit and Haida backs House tax plan

Juneau’s regional tribal organization is throwing its support behind the Alaska House Majority’s plan for fixing the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit. On Tuesday, Grace Singh, speaking… Continue reading

Police & Fire for Thursday, May 4, 2017

This report contains public information available to the Empire from law enforcement and public safety agencies. This report includes arrest and citation information, not conviction… Continue reading

  • May 4, 2017
  • By Juneau Empire
  • Crime

Csonka entertains with football tales

Larry Csonka can’t argue he was lucky to find a post-football career without even turning in a resume. After retiring from 11 years of playing… Continue reading

Eddie Petrie, left, talk with Mike Walters, right, as Jason Cameron and Alan Gordon, listen during Coeur’s Kensington Mine Rescue team practice at Savikko Park on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Kensington team and one from Hecla’s Green Creek Mine will compete next week at the Central Mine Rescue Competition in Kellogg, Idaho. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Mine rescue crews train for competition

Dominic Hoy had an important message for Alan Gordon, who was deep in an imaginary mine. “Alan, listen carefully … it’s not fully sealed, so… Continue reading

Eddie Petrie, left, talk with Mike Walters, right, as Jason Cameron and Alan Gordon, listen during Coeur’s Kensington Mine Rescue team practice at Savikko Park on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Kensington team and one from Hecla’s Green Creek Mine will compete next week at the Central Mine Rescue Competition in Kellogg, Idaho. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Legi-slap: Reporter says he was struck by Wasilla lawmaker

A news reporter with the Alaska Dispatch News on Tuesday filed a police report, saying a lawmaker from Wasilla struck him on the face inside… Continue reading