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Traffic passes by Fred Meyer in Juneau in November 2019. Many Juneau residents may need — or at least want — to get their prescriptions somewhere other than Fred Meyer as of Jan. 1, since its parent company Kroger has announced the termination of an agreement with a pharmacy benefit manager that works with insurers such as Cigna and Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Insured prescriptions from Fred Meyer may end for many Jan. 1

Corporate parent severing contract with company that reimburses city, military, other local workers

Traffic passes by Fred Meyer in Juneau in November 2019. Many Juneau residents may need — or at least want — to get their prescriptions somewhere other than Fred Meyer as of Jan. 1, since its parent company Kroger has announced the termination of an agreement with a pharmacy benefit manager that works with insurers such as Cigna and Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Juneau Police Department responds to motor vehicle crash on Egan Drive near Fred Meyer on Monday night. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Plans in place to improve site of recent crash

Only minor injuries reported.

Juneau Police Department responds to motor vehicle crash on Egan Drive near Fred Meyer on Monday night. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
This photo was taken after the Alaska Peace Officers Association’s annual Guns and Hoses hockey game and fundraiser in 2018. This year’s game will be at the Douglas Treadwell Arena at 6:30 p.m. Friday. (Courtesy / Shawn Phelps)

Paired-on-ice city: Guns and Hoses hockey fundraiser is coming up

Take my down to the capital city where the rink is clean and the fundraiser names are witty.

This photo was taken after the Alaska Peace Officers Association’s annual Guns and Hoses hockey game and fundraiser in 2018. This year’s game will be at the Douglas Treadwell Arena at 6:30 p.m. Friday. (Courtesy / Shawn Phelps)
Capital City Fire/Rescue (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

CCFR fights fire and propane leak off Glacier Highway

No injuries reported.

Capital City Fire/Rescue (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
A school bus sits in the parking lot of the University of Southeast Alaska Tech Center downtown. In the fall of 2024, a new commercial driver’s license education training program is expected to be offered at the campus. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

UAS to establish Juneau-based CDL program amid driver shortage

New program could put driver shortage in the rear-view mirror.

A school bus sits in the parking lot of the University of Southeast Alaska Tech Center downtown. In the fall of 2024, a new commercial driver’s license education training program is expected to be offered at the campus. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Applications and notifications about changes to benefits line a table at the entrance of the Alaska Division of Public Assistance office in Juneau. The division’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is months behind processing applications to due to workforce shortages and lingering problems of a cyberattack. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Food stamps backlog expected to continue for months

8,000 Alaska households go months without SNAP benefits; cyberattack, lack of workers blamed

Applications and notifications about changes to benefits line a table at the entrance of the Alaska Division of Public Assistance office in Juneau. The division’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is months behind processing applications to due to workforce shortages and lingering problems of a cyberattack. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A bucket of compost awaits pickup by Juneau Composts on Douglas Tuesday morning. The City and Borough of Juneau was earmarked to be included in the $1.7 trillion spending bill which would allocate $2.5 million in funding toward designing and constructing a commercial-scale compost facility in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

City set to receive $2.5M from feds to create new commercial-scale compost facility

City officials say it could extend the landfill’s dwindling lifespan.

A bucket of compost awaits pickup by Juneau Composts on Douglas Tuesday morning. The City and Borough of Juneau was earmarked to be included in the $1.7 trillion spending bill which would allocate $2.5 million in funding toward designing and constructing a commercial-scale compost facility in Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Rachelle Garrett kicks the ball over the leg of opposing player, Ariel Barrios, during a soccer match Monday evening at the Dimond Park Field House a part of the Holiday Cup soccer tournament. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Juneau Holiday Cup soccer tournament kicks 2022 goodbye

The annual tournament celebrates 30th anniversary

Rachelle Garrett kicks the ball over the leg of opposing player, Ariel Barrios, during a soccer match Monday evening at the Dimond Park Field House a part of the Holiday Cup soccer tournament. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows a high school basketball. The start of the Princess Cruises Capital City Classic has been delayed due to flight cancellations, but is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Canceled takeoffs mean delayed tipoff for Capital City Classic

Games will be played Wednesday through Friday.

This photo shows a high school basketball. The start of the Princess Cruises Capital City Classic has been delayed due to flight cancellations, but is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire The former Juneau Youth Services building was recently purchased by JAHMI Health and Wellness Inc. and is set to be renovated into specialized behavioral health care for children, adolescents and their families. The renovations, expected to be complete in May, are funded by an $870,000 allocation earmarked in the recently passed $1.7 trillion spending bill.

New youth behavioral health facility set to open in Juneau this spring

Renovations to begin “as soon as possible,” funded by omnibus spending package allocation.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire The former Juneau Youth Services building was recently purchased by JAHMI Health and Wellness Inc. and is set to be renovated into specialized behavioral health care for children, adolescents and their families. The renovations, expected to be complete in May, are funded by an $870,000 allocation earmarked in the recently passed $1.7 trillion spending bill.
CCFR prepares to perform a rescue on the frozen ice on Saturday after receiving a report of a man slipping and injuring himself roughly half a mile from the visitor’s center at the Mendenhall Glacier. (Courtesy Photo / Capital City Fire/Rescue)

CCFR rescues injured man near Mendenhall Glacier on Christmas Eve

He was rescued safely with non-life threatening injuries.

CCFR prepares to perform a rescue on the frozen ice on Saturday after receiving a report of a man slipping and injuring himself roughly half a mile from the visitor’s center at the Mendenhall Glacier. (Courtesy Photo / Capital City Fire/Rescue)
Bill Legere, president and general manager of KTOO since 1991, is retiring on Jan. 3 after a career in public broadcasting spanning more than 50 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Legere leaves a legacy

KTOO’s president and general manager retiring after 40 years of transforming Alaska’s public media

Bill Legere, president and general manager of KTOO since 1991, is retiring on Jan. 3 after a career in public broadcasting spanning more than 50 years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A worker replenishes the dairy goods at Foodland IGA downtown Thursday morning ahead of the holiday weekend and winter storm. Many Juneau stores will be closing their doors to observe the holiday weekend. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Holiday weekend closures and reduced hours in Juneau

Only a handful of businesses will remain open, most shelters open

A worker replenishes the dairy goods at Foodland IGA downtown Thursday morning ahead of the holiday weekend and winter storm. Many Juneau stores will be closing their doors to observe the holiday weekend. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
The Assembly Building is seen on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in downtown Juneau, Alaska. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Legislature votes $6.6M for legislative housing near Capitol

A House-Senate committee of the Alaska Legislature has approved spending $6.6 million to renovate a downtown Juneau office building into 33 apartments for legislators and… Continue reading

The Assembly Building is seen on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in downtown Juneau, Alaska. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Kendra Hergett wraps a cookbook at Kindred Post located downtown at 145 S. Franklin St. Friday morning as part of their gift wrapping service. Each gift comes complete with two types of wrapping paper, ribbon and a wax seal stamped with the store’s logo. Kindred Post will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

A delightful dozen: 12 shoppers reflect on best gifts given or received

What’s on your list?

Kendra Hergett wraps a cookbook at Kindred Post located downtown at 145 S. Franklin St. Friday morning as part of their gift wrapping service. Each gift comes complete with two types of wrapping paper, ribbon and a wax seal stamped with the store’s logo. Kindred Post will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire State Rep. Andi Story chats with Tawnya Kreft at her office in the Alaska State Capitol during the Juneau legislative delegation’s holiday open house Thursday afternoon.

Holiday cheer as the legislative session nears

Residents chat and snack with Juneau’s delegation during open house at Capitol.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire State Rep. Andi Story chats with Tawnya Kreft at her office in the Alaska State Capitol during the Juneau legislative delegation’s holiday open house Thursday afternoon.
Leona Santiago smiles while holding a beaded key chain made with devil’s club during a celebration of the winter solstice on Wednesday afternoon at Generations Southeast. According to David Abad, a volunteer at the event who supplied the plant, Devil’s club often represents protection in Alaska Native cultures. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Event finds inner light during winter solstice

‘It’s about us nurturing the light that’s within us’

Leona Santiago smiles while holding a beaded key chain made with devil’s club during a celebration of the winter solstice on Wednesday afternoon at Generations Southeast. According to David Abad, a volunteer at the event who supplied the plant, Devil’s club often represents protection in Alaska Native cultures. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Snow blankets a statue in front of the Alaska State Capitol. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

A white Christmas is in Juneau’s forecast

Winter storm warning issued through the holiday.

Snow blankets a statue in front of the Alaska State Capitol. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
JDHS boys basketball team poses for a group photo on Monday in Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic tournament. (Courtesy Photo / Robert Casperson)

Both JDHS basketball teams compete in Las Vegas tournament

What happens in Vegas, gets reported from Vegas.

JDHS boys basketball team poses for a group photo on Monday in Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic tournament. (Courtesy Photo / Robert Casperson)
Helena Fagan speaks during the event, Family Stories — Juneau and the Holocaust, at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library Tuesday evening. Fagan shared two excerpts of a memoir she is writing about her mother’s story of her narrow survival from the terrors of the Holocaust and Auschwitz concentration camp. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

‘We tell our story as an urgent plea to stay ever vigilant’: Juneau residents share family stories of the survival and loss during the Holocaust

It coincided with the final day to visit an exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Helena Fagan speaks during the event, Family Stories — Juneau and the Holocaust, at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library Tuesday evening. Fagan shared two excerpts of a memoir she is writing about her mother’s story of her narrow survival from the terrors of the Holocaust and Auschwitz concentration camp. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)