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A sculpture of Constantine the Great by Philip Jackson in York. (Public domain photo republished under a Creative Commons license)

Living and Growing: Christianity or Churchianity?

Several cruise ship passengers arriving in Juneau this September were greeted on the dock with a sign that asked a religious question: “Why Aren’t Christians… Continue reading

A sculpture of Constantine the Great by Philip Jackson in York. (Public domain photo republished under a Creative Commons license)
Szechwan-style fish ready to serve. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Capital City Weekly

Cooking For Pleasure: Fish Szechwan style

Ever since I started writing this column, I have debated whether to include this recipe which I have made for many years. Although complicated to… Continue reading

Szechwan-style fish ready to serve. (Photo by Patty Schied)
The author’s wife grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts where she had more classmates go to Harvard than the author had classmates total. But that doesn’t mean her upbringing was better. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Different, not better or worse

A seven-foot minuteman stands on a rock base where Massachusetts Avenue splits at the end of Lexington’s main drag. He was unveiled in 1900 to… Continue reading

The author’s wife grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts where she had more classmates go to Harvard than the author had classmates total. But that doesn’t mean her upbringing was better. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Horned grebes in winter plumage float on the tide. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Sea lions, horned grebes, and brown creepers

I often walk out to Pt. Louisa for the great vistas and a good chance of seeing some wildlife. Sometimes, of course, there are no… Continue reading

Horned grebes in winter plumage float on the tide. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
Solomon Dunlap cleans and makes up beds in the day surgery department as part of his internship at Bartlett Regional Hospital on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Scores of Alaskans face another eye-watering spike in their health care costs next year

Late last year, when I went to sign up for my 2024 health insurance on the federal Obamacare marketplace, the options all seemed expensive —… Continue reading

Solomon Dunlap cleans and makes up beds in the day surgery department as part of his internship at Bartlett Regional Hospital on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Members of the Juneau Ski Team offer cookies and other treats to people in the Senate Mall during this year’s Gallery Walk on Friday, Dec. 6. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Capital City Weekly

Gimme A Smile: Gifts through the ages

Why is it that once the gift-giving holidays are over and the New Year’s resolutions list comes out, the first thing on the list is… Continue reading

Members of the Juneau Ski Team offer cookies and other treats to people in the Senate Mall during this year’s Gallery Walk on Friday, Dec. 6. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Fred LaPlante is the pastor at Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy photo)

Living and Growing: Reflections from Advent

Do you feel pulled in so many directions this Christmas season? I know I sure have. It is hard to accomplish so many events and… Continue reading

Fred LaPlante is the pastor at Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy photo)
Win Gruening. (Courtesy photo)

Opinion: Ten years and counting with the Juneau Empire…

In 2014, two years after I retired from a 32-year banking career, I was offered the opportunity to write a biweekly opinion column for the… Continue reading

Win Gruening. (Courtesy photo)
Juneau sees common loons more often in winter than summer, when they are nesting on lakes. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Loons

One misty day in mid-December, a friend and I walked the little Fish Creek Trail. At the side of the pond, a small gray bird… Continue reading

Juneau sees common loons more often in winter than summer, when they are nesting on lakes. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
Neve Baker stands beside her poster on discovering ancient evidence of beavers in Grand Tetons National Park while she was at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C. in December 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Ancient beavers, sea floor bumps, thick air

It’s time to start emptying the notebook following the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which happened from Dec. 9-13, 2024 in Washington, D.C.… Continue reading

Neve Baker stands beside her poster on discovering ancient evidence of beavers in Grand Tetons National Park while she was at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C. in December 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
A winter’s landscape in the Douglas Island mountains. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Column: The Christmas smile

A holiday remembrance.

A winter’s landscape in the Douglas Island mountains. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, addresses a crowd with President-elect Donald Trump present. (Photo from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office)

Opinion: Sen. Sullivan’s Orwellian style of transparency

When I read that President-elect Donald Trump had filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register on Monday, my first thoughts were he promised voters… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, addresses a crowd with President-elect Donald Trump present. (Photo from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office)
(Photo courtesy of Laura Rorem)

Living and Growing: Meaningful belonging

My 57 glorious years with my beloved soul mate, Larry, created a deep sense of emotional security and stability. We truly belonged together. His loving,… Continue reading

(Photo courtesy of Laura Rorem)
Evening walks are great. Put a few pounds in a backpack and you’ll increase the health benefits of light exercise. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Numbers worth noting

Everything is being reduced to numbers which my math department friends down the hall cite as evidence of the advancement of the species. But old… Continue reading

Evening walks are great. Put a few pounds in a backpack and you’ll increase the health benefits of light exercise. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
The Wet Bandits’ Shannon Hendricks and the Nutcrackers’ Kyle Hebert play a ball during the opening night of the Holiday Cup soccer tournament at the Dimond Park Field House on Wednesday. The 32nd annual holiday tournament runs through Dec. 31. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Pure Sole: Mistletoe or turf toe

Forget the mistletoe. I fear it may be turf toe that tickles my fancy this holiday. December is arguably the best time of the year… Continue reading

The Wet Bandits’ Shannon Hendricks and the Nutcrackers’ Kyle Hebert play a ball during the opening night of the Holiday Cup soccer tournament at the Dimond Park Field House on Wednesday. The 32nd annual holiday tournament runs through Dec. 31. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Sunrise over Prince of Wales Island in the Craig Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. (Forest Service photo by Brian Barr)

Southeast Alaska’s ecosystem is speaking. Here’s how to listen.

Have you ever stepped into an old-growth forest alive with ancient trees or traveled a shoreline with migrating salmon, and thought: what treasures! Many who… Continue reading

Sunrise over Prince of Wales Island in the Craig Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. (Forest Service photo by Brian Barr)
A pygmy owl in the snow outside the doorstep of a Juneau home. (Photo by Denise Carroll)

On the Trails: Pygmy owls

This little owl was quite frequently detected in the trees at the edge of the wetlands this fall. And one appeared on the doorstep of… Continue reading

A pygmy owl in the snow outside the doorstep of a Juneau home. (Photo by Denise Carroll)
The Walter Washington Center in downtown Washington, D.C., hosted the 25,000 scientists who attended the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union from Dec. 9-13, 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: More familiar news of the North

WASHINGTON, D.C. — I am once again elbow-to-elbow with thousands of scientists, at a meeting I first attended 25 years ago. Back then, in 1999,… Continue reading

The Walter Washington Center in downtown Washington, D.C., hosted the 25,000 scientists who attended the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union from Dec. 9-13, 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
As a protester waves a sign in the background, Daniel Penny, center, accused of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, arrives at State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. A New York jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely and as Republican politicians hailed the verdict, some New Yorkers found it deeply disturbing.(Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)

Opinion: Stress testing the justice system

On Monday, a New York City jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of negligent homicide in the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. The case gained… Continue reading

As a protester waves a sign in the background, Daniel Penny, center, accused of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, arrives at State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. A New York jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely and as Republican politicians hailed the verdict, some New Yorkers found it deeply disturbing.(Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
Sparse supplies are seen on shelves at the Helping Hands Food Bank during its final days operation in November of 2022, when it was forced to close after 39 years. Other food banks throughout Juneau today are seeing high demand due in part to rising food costs. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire file photo)

Living and Growing: For those with the bounty of food, family, friends and fortune, think of those without

Unitarian Universalism is a unique religion, in that its members share no common creed. Instead, we search for our own truths while covenanting to share… Continue reading

Sparse supplies are seen on shelves at the Helping Hands Food Bank during its final days operation in November of 2022, when it was forced to close after 39 years. Other food banks throughout Juneau today are seeing high demand due in part to rising food costs. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire file photo)