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Line crews from Alaska Electric Light & Power work to restore power to Thane following an avalanche on Jan. 3, 2022. (Courtesy photo / Evan Bixby)

2021 saw far fewer power outages than record year 2020

Last year was in the average range for outages here in Juneau.

Line crews from Alaska Electric Light & Power work to restore power to Thane following an avalanche on Jan. 3, 2022. (Courtesy photo / Evan Bixby)
Snow blows off Mount Roberts high above the Thane avalanche chute, where an avalanche blew across the road during a major snowstorm last weekend. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Mercurial weather may increase avalanche risk

Snow becoming rain during a storm system is generally bad news.

Snow blows off Mount Roberts high above the Thane avalanche chute, where an avalanche blew across the road during a major snowstorm last weekend. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
City and Borough of Juneau ordinances require that all dogs over six months old and residing in Juneau for more than 30 days must be registered with Juneau Animal Rescue by Jan. 1 each year. This picture shows the 2022 tag issued to registered dogs. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

Don’t get tagged: It’s time to register your dog

Local dog registration supports animal welfare

City and Borough of Juneau ordinances require that all dogs over six months old and residing in Juneau for more than 30 days must be registered with Juneau Animal Rescue by Jan. 1 each year. This picture shows the 2022 tag issued to registered dogs. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel assisted a man who went through the ice as he was walking near the Mendenhall Glacier on Jan. 4, 2022, the department’s first ice rescue call of the new year. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

CCFR assists man who went through ice near glacier

It’s the department’s first ice rescue call of 2022.

Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel assisted a man who went through the ice as he was walking near the Mendenhall Glacier on Jan. 4, 2022, the department’s first ice rescue call of the new year. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
A tree branch bears the weight of accumulated snow. Much of Southeast Alaska saw a foot or more of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Schools keep an eye on the weather ahead of return from break

Winter weather could shutter schools Monday

A tree branch bears the weight of accumulated snow. Much of Southeast Alaska saw a foot or more of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Sayéik: Gastineau Community School stands against a snowy backdrop on Jan. 4. Students in the Juneau School District are set to return to class on Monday. Despite rising COVID-19 cases across the City and Borough of Juneau, school officials say schools will be open and ready to welcome students. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

Juneau schools to reopen Monday, as planned

Omicron upends return to US schools and workplaces

Sayéik: Gastineau Community School stands against a snowy backdrop on Jan. 4. Students in the Juneau School District are set to return to class on Monday. Despite rising COVID-19 cases across the City and Borough of Juneau, school officials say schools will be open and ready to welcome students. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
Lucas Kittikamron-Mora, 13, holds a sign in support of COVID-19 vaccinations as he receives his first Pfizer vaccination at the Cook County Public Health Department, May 13, 2021 in Des Plaines, Ill. The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 decided they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their last dose. (AP Photo / Shafkat Anowar)

City raises risk level amid surging COVID cases

A dozen BRH staff members isolating; boosters likely for teens

Lucas Kittikamron-Mora, 13, holds a sign in support of COVID-19 vaccinations as he receives his first Pfizer vaccination at the Cook County Public Health Department, May 13, 2021 in Des Plaines, Ill. The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 decided they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their last dose. (AP Photo / Shafkat Anowar)
Waves pummel Sandy Beach on Douglas on Jan. 3. Avalanche debris from a weekend slide on Thane Road is visible across the Gastineau Channel. The avalanche delayed crews in responding to a power outage further down Thane Road. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

New year delivers a cold, snowy week

Falling flakes and temperatures.

Waves pummel Sandy Beach on Douglas on Jan. 3. Avalanche debris from a weekend slide on Thane Road is visible across the Gastineau Channel. The avalanche delayed crews in responding to a power outage further down Thane Road. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
Faalo Nauer holds Greyson Tafia Nauer on Monday. Greyson, who was born on Sunday, was the first baby of 2022 born in Bartlett Regional Hospital. (Courtesy Photo / Kanani Montalto, Bartlett Regional Hospital)

Hospital welcomes 1st baby of 2022

First born on the second.

Faalo Nauer holds Greyson Tafia Nauer on Monday. Greyson, who was born on Sunday, was the first baby of 2022 born in Bartlett Regional Hospital. (Courtesy Photo / Kanani Montalto, Bartlett Regional Hospital)
A tree branch bears the weight of accumulated snow. Much of Southeast Alaska saw a foot or more of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

‘A lot of people have gotten a lot of snow’

Juneau puts a new foot (of snow) forward in the new year.

A tree branch bears the weight of accumulated snow. Much of Southeast Alaska saw a foot or more of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
This combination image shows photos from stories that defined 2021. Top left, Vanessa Dickinson adjusts second grade student Kanani Dickinson’s glasses ahead of the first day of school. Top middle, doses of COVID-19 vaccination await arms during a vaccine clinic. Top right, a cruise ship looms large over downtown Juneau. Middle left, a sign marks the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area as part of the Tongass National Forest. Middle, the bygone calendar year is written in the sand. Middle right, Alan Salsman receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from VA nurse Michael Addo at Coast Guard Station Juneau. Bottom left, School board member Emil Mackey casts a ballot in Juneau’s municipal election. Bottom middle, the Alaska State Capitol stands behind a statue of William H. Seward. Bottom left, Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks during a sitdown in the Empire offices. (Juneau Empire Photos, Engin Akyurt / Unsplash)

The stories that shaped our 2021

Some loom large in 2022, too.

This combination image shows photos from stories that defined 2021. Top left, Vanessa Dickinson adjusts second grade student Kanani Dickinson’s glasses ahead of the first day of school. Top middle, doses of COVID-19 vaccination await arms during a vaccine clinic. Top right, a cruise ship looms large over downtown Juneau. Middle left, a sign marks the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area as part of the Tongass National Forest. Middle, the bygone calendar year is written in the sand. Middle right, Alan Salsman receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from VA nurse Michael Addo at Coast Guard Station Juneau. Bottom left, School board member Emil Mackey casts a ballot in Juneau’s municipal election. Bottom middle, the Alaska State Capitol stands behind a statue of William H. Seward. Bottom left, Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks during a sitdown in the Empire offices. (Juneau Empire Photos, Engin Akyurt / Unsplash)
Moisture-laden air coming from the northwest is expected to dump more than a foot of snow on parts of Southeast Alaska, including Juneau, with the heaviest snowfall predicted to hit during the evening of New Year’s Eve. (Screenshot/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Get ready to ring in the new year with wet, heavy snow

Snow is expected to be heaviest as partygoers would be getting started.

Moisture-laden air coming from the northwest is expected to dump more than a foot of snow on parts of Southeast Alaska, including Juneau, with the heaviest snowfall predicted to hit during the evening of New Year’s Eve. (Screenshot/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The Dan Austin Center, run by the St. Vincent De Paul Society of Juneau, is once again the home of Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Community Assistance Response and Emergency Services sobering center.

Officials say sobering center operating smoothly

Pickups for the community health program are split between the Valley and downtown.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The Dan Austin Center, run by the St. Vincent De Paul Society of Juneau, is once again the home of Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Community Assistance Response and Emergency Services sobering center.
Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire Snow is piled up Tuesday outside the Mt Jumbo gym building in Douglas.

Snow removal debate sparks a flurry of comments

Resident asks city crews to stop blocking driveways

Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire Snow is piled up Tuesday outside the Mt Jumbo gym building in Douglas.
Teaser

City reports ‘significant’ increase in new COVID cases

Increase likely driven by omicron variant; no new hospitalizations shared.

Teaser
Southeast Alaska’s rural communities are geographically isolated and the SSP works to connect them. While the SSP has programs and partners that span the region, it has historically focused on Yakutat, Sitka (pictured), Hoonah, Kake, Kasaan, and Klawock. With increased financial support, the SSP intends to expand in geography, depth, and focus. (Courtesy Photo / Bethany Sonsini Goodrich)

Resilient Peoples & Place: Southeast Alaskans should care about the Seacoast Trust. Here’s why

What does this actually mean for the lives of Southeast Alaskans?

Southeast Alaska’s rural communities are geographically isolated and the SSP works to connect them. While the SSP has programs and partners that span the region, it has historically focused on Yakutat, Sitka (pictured), Hoonah, Kake, Kasaan, and Klawock. With increased financial support, the SSP intends to expand in geography, depth, and focus. (Courtesy Photo / Bethany Sonsini Goodrich)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File Capital City Fire/Rescue fire marshal Dan Jager demonstrates the proper stance for use of a fire extinguisher on Oct. 30, 2020. Jager had a number of winter safety tips for residents.

Fire department talks home safety do’s and don’ts

Are you going 10/10 on this list?

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File Capital City Fire/Rescue fire marshal Dan Jager demonstrates the proper stance for use of a fire extinguisher on Oct. 30, 2020. Jager had a number of winter safety tips for residents.
Petco had a small fire in a ceiling heating unit on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, said a Capital City Fire/Rescue officer in a phone interview. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Fire department responds to small fire at Petco

No one was injured and damage was minor.

Petco had a small fire in a ceiling heating unit on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, said a Capital City Fire/Rescue officer in a phone interview. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy art /SHI There are ten proposed locations for a “totem pole trail” that the Sealaska Heritage Foundation just received a $2.9 million dollar grant for, as well as the location of a new 360-degree totem pole to be raised separately in the SHI arts campus downtown.

Sealaska Heritage gets multimillion dollar grant for totem pole trail

Before these ten go up, however, a unique totem pole will be raised in the new arts campus downtown.

Courtesy art /SHI There are ten proposed locations for a “totem pole trail” that the Sealaska Heritage Foundation just received a $2.9 million dollar grant for, as well as the location of a new 360-degree totem pole to be raised separately in the SHI arts campus downtown.
This photo illustration shows some of the things city, state and federal officials told the Empire what they want for Christmas. Less COVID-19 cases and an end to the pandemic were popular requests. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

And checking it twice: Officials share their holiday wish lists

Two front teeth didn’t crack the list.

This photo illustration shows some of the things city, state and federal officials told the Empire what they want for Christmas. Less COVID-19 cases and an end to the pandemic were popular requests. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)