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Peter Segall / Juneau Empire There aren’t many patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 at Bartlett Regional Hospitals, seen here on Wednesday, but health officials are urging Alaksans to get vaccinated as a flood of new cases is straining health care systems in other parts of the state.

Officials encourage vaccination as hospitals in state near capacity

Hospitalizations remain low locally, but there’s concern about a surge.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire There aren’t many patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 at Bartlett Regional Hospitals, seen here on Wednesday, but health officials are urging Alaksans to get vaccinated as a flood of new cases is straining health care systems in other parts of the state.
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State lawyer no longer with law department after social media report

Accusations remain unconfirmed.

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Shoppers wear masks inside of The Cool store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course Tuesday, July 27, 2021, on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging. City and Borough of Juneau officials are considering extending local mitigation measures that advise residents to wear masks when in indoor public spaces. (AP Photo/ Marcio Jose Sanchez)

City assembly to revisit mitigation measures

A special meeting is set for Wednesday evening

Shoppers wear masks inside of The Cool store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course Tuesday, July 27, 2021, on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging. City and Borough of Juneau officials are considering extending local mitigation measures that advise residents to wear masks when in indoor public spaces. (AP Photo/ Marcio Jose Sanchez)
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building in October 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

Permanent Fund posts record earnings as lawmakers debate state deficit

Record earnings, lengthy debate.

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building in October 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
A nearly full moon can be seen rising over Thunder Mountain last December. According to NASA, a normal lunar fluctuation-called a moon wobble- will cause coastal flooding in many parts of the country in the mid 2030s. However, an oceanographer says that Southeast Alaska will not experience the same level of flooding due to declining ocean depths driven by glacial retreat. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Researcher: Moon wobble unlikely to flood Juneau

Glacial retreat and natural tide fluctuations offer protection

A nearly full moon can be seen rising over Thunder Mountain last December. According to NASA, a normal lunar fluctuation-called a moon wobble- will cause coastal flooding in many parts of the country in the mid 2030s. However, an oceanographer says that Southeast Alaska will not experience the same level of flooding due to declining ocean depths driven by glacial retreat. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Deputy City Clerk Diane Cathcart finalizes the list of candidates seeking office in the October municipal election on Monday afternoon. On Monday, races for seats on both the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly and Juneau School District Board of Education took shape. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

Local election takes shape ahead of filing deadline

Mayor unopposed, school race heats up

Deputy City Clerk Diane Cathcart finalizes the list of candidates seeking office in the October municipal election on Monday afternoon. On Monday, races for seats on both the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly and Juneau School District Board of Education took shape. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
COVID-19 cases are rising and health officials say new variants are spurring the increase, even among the vaccinated. But health officials note the majority of hospitalizations and deaths are occurring in unvaccinated people. (Michael Lockett / Juneau Empire file)

Officials urge health diligence as COVID cases rise

Mask up indoors.

COVID-19 cases are rising and health officials say new variants are spurring the increase, even among the vaccinated. But health officials note the majority of hospitalizations and deaths are occurring in unvaccinated people. (Michael Lockett / Juneau Empire file)
Contractors raise a totem pole honoring veterans of the armed services into place in Hoonah on July 24, 2021, in a ceremony attended by hundreds. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Photos: Totem pole honoring veterans raised in Hoonah

Hundreds gather for ceremony.

Contractors raise a totem pole honoring veterans of the armed services into place in Hoonah on July 24, 2021, in a ceremony attended by hundreds. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Ginger Hudson, seen here on July 23, 2021, stepped up as the manager of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum in January of 2021, taking over one of the northernmost arboretums in the world, as well as one renowned internationally for its collection of primrose plants. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

New arboretum manager takes root

It’s a rare gardner that has experience growing plants this far north.

Ginger Hudson, seen here on July 23, 2021, stepped up as the manager of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum in January of 2021, taking over one of the northernmost arboretums in the world, as well as one renowned internationally for its collection of primrose plants. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Gabriel Katzeek, 39, works unloading supplies at the new Glory Hall facility on Teal Street in the Mendenhall Valley on Friday. The new facility opened the day before, and Katzeek said he hoped the services provided at the Glory Hall will help people get back on their feet.

‘So far, so good’: New Glory Hall facility opens on Teal Street

Step in the right direction.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Gabriel Katzeek, 39, works unloading supplies at the new Glory Hall facility on Teal Street in the Mendenhall Valley on Friday. The new facility opened the day before, and Katzeek said he hoped the services provided at the Glory Hall will help people get back on their feet.
Assembly members Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, left, Carole Triem, center, and Wade Bryson watch results come in at City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Empire Live: Unofficial results are in for New JACC grant, Assembly and school board

Results are in!

Assembly members Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, left, Carole Triem, center, and Wade Bryson watch results come in at City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Emergency response crews transport an injured passenger to an ambulance at the George Inlet Lodge docks, Monday, May 13, 2019, in Ketchikan, Alaska. The passenger was from one of two float planes reported down in George Inlet early Monday afternoon and was dropped off by a U.S. Coast Guard 45-foot response boat. (Dustin Safranek | Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

Search continued for three missing passengers

Two float planes likely collided in the air.

Emergency response crews transport an injured passenger to an ambulance at the George Inlet Lodge docks, Monday, May 13, 2019, in Ketchikan, Alaska. The passenger was from one of two float planes reported down in George Inlet early Monday afternoon and was dropped off by a U.S. Coast Guard 45-foot response boat. (Dustin Safranek | Ketchikan Daily News via AP)
The Serenade of the Seas arrives in Juneau early Friday morning. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship is the first large cruise ship to come to Juneau since the pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 cruise ship season and delayed the 2021 season. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)

They’re back: Large cruise ships return to Southeast Alaska

Juneau’s first large cruise ship since start of the pandemic arrived today.

The Serenade of the Seas arrives in Juneau early Friday morning. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship is the first large cruise ship to come to Juneau since the pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 cruise ship season and delayed the 2021 season. (Dana Zigmund / Juneau Empire)
This chart shows City and Borough of Juneau's 14-day COVID-19 active case trend. As of Thursday, there were 80 active cases in the city. Amid rising rates of new cases, the city's community risk level is being raised. That comes with reimplimenting some mitigation measures that will go into effect at noon on Friday. (Screenshot / CBJ)

City raises community risk level amid rising case rates

New risk level, familiar mitigation measures.

This chart shows City and Borough of Juneau's 14-day COVID-19 active case trend. As of Thursday, there were 80 active cases in the city. Amid rising rates of new cases, the city's community risk level is being raised. That comes with reimplimenting some mitigation measures that will go into effect at noon on Friday. (Screenshot / CBJ)
Mount Juneau, looms above downtown Juneau in this April 2021 photo. More structures and swaths of land in downtown Juneau are located in avalanche or landslide-prone areas, according to new maps commissioned by the City and Borough of Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

New maps show updated landslide and avalanche risk downtown

Regulatory changes to be considered next year

Mount Juneau, looms above downtown Juneau in this April 2021 photo. More structures and swaths of land in downtown Juneau are located in avalanche or landslide-prone areas, according to new maps commissioned by the City and Borough of Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
The Teal Street Center, shown here in concept, is a combined social services hub located next to the new Glory Hall and expected to break ground this autumn. (Courtesy art / United Human Services)

Combined social services center receives major funding grant

The center, located next to the new Glory Hall, breaks ground this autumn.

The Teal Street Center, shown here in concept, is a combined social services hub located next to the new Glory Hall and expected to break ground this autumn. (Courtesy art / United Human Services)
Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Salmon returns set records in Bristol Bay while Southeast runs struggle

Prices are up all around.

Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka aircrew rescued three mariners on the Chilkat River near Haines, Sunday night.

Coast Guard rescues 3 near Haines

A seperate mission rescued a person injured by a bear near Nome.

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka aircrew rescued three mariners on the Chilkat River near Haines, Sunday night.
Cathy Mendoza sits in the driver's seat of her ice cream truck on July 18. She recently launched the ice cream truck business in Juneau. She said that despite the concept being new to Juneau, sales have been brisk. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)

The scoop on Juneau’s new ice cream truck

New addition brings joy to the streets

Cathy Mendoza sits in the driver's seat of her ice cream truck on July 18. She recently launched the ice cream truck business in Juneau. She said that despite the concept being new to Juneau, sales have been brisk. (Dana Zigmund/Juneau Empire)
A sign on a city bus urges the use of face coverings. Masks are again required in city facilities because of an uptick in cases locally and throughout the state. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Update: Masks required in city facilities, encouraged in other indoor spaces

Juneau is seeing highest rates of new infections since December.

A sign on a city bus urges the use of face coverings. Masks are again required in city facilities because of an uptick in cases locally and throughout the state. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)