News

Trump transition team limits EPA at environmental forum

ANCHORAGE — The Environmental Protection Agency halved the number of staffers attending an annual Anchorage forum on issues like climate change in response to a… Continue reading

  • Feb 11, 2017
  • By The Associated Press

Kenai borough may scrap religious invocations before meetings

KENAI — An Alaska borough will consider scrapping invocations before meetings as a case challenging the policy moves through court. The Peninsula Clarion reports (http://bit.ly/2lCPbEb)… Continue reading

  • Feb 11, 2017
  • By The Associated Press

House’s majority coalition unveils budget fix, including income tax and Permanent Fund spending

The coalition leading the Alaska House of Representatives has unveiled the core of its plan to erase Alaska’s $2.7 billion annual deficit. On Friday, members… Continue reading

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, accompanied by their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Akie Abe, wave before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base Maryland on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. Trump is hosting Abe at his estate Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida for the weekend. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

White House seeks to regroup after stinging legal defeat

WASHINGTON — Seeking to regroup after a stinging legal defeat, President Donald Trump said Friday he is considering signing a “brand new order” after his… Continue reading

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, accompanied by their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Akie Abe, wave before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base Maryland on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. Trump is hosting Abe at his estate Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida for the weekend. (Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

Low snow prompts Iditarod to move race’s start to Fairbanks

ANCHORAGE — A lack of snow in the Alaska Range is forcing the start of the world’s most famous sled dog race from the Anchorage… Continue reading

  • Feb 10, 2017
  • By The Associated Press

Bill requiring police training on disabilities advances

FAIRBANKS — Alaska lawmakers have voted to advance a bill aimed at improving interactions between law enforcement and people with disabilities. The House passed the… Continue reading

Tribe works on new regulations for Kenai River fishing net

KENAI — An Alaska Native tribe is working to implement new regulations for its fishing net in the Kenai River that address conservation concerns. Ninilchik… Continue reading

  • Feb 10, 2017
  • By The Associated Press

Lawmaker proposes boosting studded tire tax from $5 to $75

ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage state senator has introduced a bill to increase the state tax on studded snow tires. Republican Cathy Giessel told Anchorage television… Continue reading

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson smiles at a news conference about a federal appeals court’s refusal to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Seattle. The ruling dealt another legal setback to the new administration’s immigration policy. In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block a lower-court ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the U.S. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible. (Elaine Thompson | The Associated Press)

A look at what comes next in Trump travel ban case

SEATTLE — A federal appeals court has handed a resounding victory to Washington state and Minnesota in their challenge of President Donald Trump’s travel ban,… Continue reading

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson smiles at a news conference about a federal appeals court’s refusal to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Seattle. The ruling dealt another legal setback to the new administration’s immigration policy. In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block a lower-court ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the U.S. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible. (Elaine Thompson | The Associated Press)
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, dead common murres lie washed up on a rocky beach in Whittier, Alaska. A year after tens of thousands of common murres, an abundant North Pacific seabird, starved and washed ashore on beaches from California to Alaska, researchers have pinned the cause to unusually warm ocean temperatures that affected the tiny fish they eat. (Mark Thiessen | The Associated Press file)

Warm ocean water triggered vast seabird die-off, experts say

ANCHORAGE — A year after tens of thousands of common murres, an abundant North Pacific seabird, starved and washed ashore on beaches from California to… Continue reading

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, dead common murres lie washed up on a rocky beach in Whittier, Alaska. A year after tens of thousands of common murres, an abundant North Pacific seabird, starved and washed ashore on beaches from California to Alaska, researchers have pinned the cause to unusually warm ocean temperatures that affected the tiny fish they eat. (Mark Thiessen | The Associated Press file)
Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Noah Jenkins, left, Marcus Kinman, Andrew Bishop, Brady Fink and Chad Gustafson practice ice rescue training at Twin Lakes on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Photos: Ice rescue practice

… Continue reading

Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Noah Jenkins, left, Marcus Kinman, Andrew Bishop, Brady Fink and Chad Gustafson practice ice rescue training at Twin Lakes on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

US Rep. Young named chairman emeritus of House committee

ANCHORAGE — A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Don Young says the Alaska congressman has been named chairman emeritus of the House Natural Resources Committee. Young… Continue reading

Nathan Denette | The Canadian Press In this Dec. 12, 2016 photo, a woman runs on a snowy path in High Park in Toronto. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday pronounced the most recent La Nina event over as of January.

Weak and short La Nina fades away; climate shifts to neutral

WASHINGTON — La Nina, we hardly knew ye. U.S. weather forecasters said Thursday the cool flip side to the climate phenomenon El Nino has faded… Continue reading

Nathan Denette | The Canadian Press In this Dec. 12, 2016 photo, a woman runs on a snowy path in High Park in Toronto. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday pronounced the most recent La Nina event over as of January.

This Day in Juneau History: Feb. 10, 1987

On Feb. 10, 1987, the City and Borough of Juneau did not respond to a Juneau Harbors Board report about a needed ice machine, therefore… Continue reading

Police calls for Friday, Feb. 10, 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

Christopher D. Strawn appears in Juneau Superior Court on Thursday during his trial on charges in the murder of 30-year-old Brandon C. Cook at the Kodzoff Acres Mobile Home Park Oct. 20, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Officers testify in second day of trailer park murder trial

Christopher Strawn has been taking an active role during his trial for the shotgun murder of Brandon Cook. One juror was dismissed and another’s presence… Continue reading

Christopher D. Strawn appears in Juneau Superior Court on Thursday during his trial on charges in the murder of 30-year-old Brandon C. Cook at the Kodzoff Acres Mobile Home Park Oct. 20, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
A new American Society of Civil Engineers plaque recognizing the Governor’s House as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in Juneau on Wednesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Engineers highlight importance of Governor’s House with renewed designation

In Juneau, the importance of the Alaska Governor’s House is well known, representing the significance to the city of being Alaska’s capital, even before there… Continue reading

A new American Society of Civil Engineers plaque recognizing the Governor’s House as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in Juneau on Wednesday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Appeals court refuses to reinstate Trump travel ban

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court refused Thursday to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, dealing another legal… Continue reading

In this April 12, 2014 photo, the Bundy family and their supporters fly the American flag as their cattle is released by the Bureau of Land Management back onto public land outside of Bunkerville, Nev. A federal judge in Nevada is considering crucial rulings about what jurors will hear in the trial of six defendants accused of stopping U.S. agents at gunpoint from rounding up cattle near Cliven Bundy’s ranch in April 2014. (Jason Bean | Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Jury hears openings in trial for 6 in Bundy ranch standoff

LAS VEGAS — A jury in Las Vegas heard competing narratives Thursday about six men accused of illegally wielding weapons to block a federal roundup… Continue reading

In this April 12, 2014 photo, the Bundy family and their supporters fly the American flag as their cattle is released by the Bureau of Land Management back onto public land outside of Bunkerville, Nev. A federal judge in Nevada is considering crucial rulings about what jurors will hear in the trial of six defendants accused of stopping U.S. agents at gunpoint from rounding up cattle near Cliven Bundy’s ranch in April 2014. (Jason Bean | Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Military vehicles are staged near the path of the Dakota Access pipeline Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The developer says construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under a North Dakota reservoir has begun and that the full pipeline should be operational within three months. One of two tribes who say the pipeline threatens their water supply on Thursday filed a legal challenge asking a court to block construction while an earlier lawsuit against the pipeline proceeds. (James MacPherson | The Associated Press)

Tribe files legal challenge to stall Dakota Access pipeline

CANNON BALL, N.D. — Construction crews have resumed work on the final segment of the Dakota Access pipeline, and the developer of the long-delayed project… Continue reading

Military vehicles are staged near the path of the Dakota Access pipeline Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The developer says construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under a North Dakota reservoir has begun and that the full pipeline should be operational within three months. One of two tribes who say the pipeline threatens their water supply on Thursday filed a legal challenge asking a court to block construction while an earlier lawsuit against the pipeline proceeds. (James MacPherson | The Associated Press)