News

New GE salmon labeling bill requires third party review

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced a bill on Thursday that would require all genetically engineered salmon to carry the words “genetically engineered” or “GE.”The… Continue reading

Aakash Bathija, Katrina Buchanan and Brian Holst get an opportunity to educate acting Mayor Mary E. Becker about their research into "The Effects of Salinity and Copper on the growth rate of Ulva lactuca."

Photos: Sharing science

Aakash Bathija, Katrina Buchanan and Brian Holst get an opportunity to educate acting Mayor Mary E. Becker on their research into “The Effects of Salinity… Continue reading

Aakash Bathija, Katrina Buchanan and Brian Holst get an opportunity to educate acting Mayor Mary E. Becker about their research into "The Effects of Salinity and Copper on the growth rate of Ulva lactuca."
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, file photo, carrying an image of Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli in a makeshift cat litter pan, AIDS activists and others are asked to leave the lobby during a protest highlighting pharmaceutical drug pricing. The same strategy that Shkreli used to get away with a 5,000-percent price increase on an old drug is used by many other drugmakers to maintain sky-high prices on billions of dollars' worth of medications. Shkreli, who resigned from Turing Pharmaceuticals in December 2015, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy charges. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

Drug distribution becomes weapon to block competition

WASHINGTON — The same strategy that Martin Shkreli used to get away with a 5,000-percent price increase on an old drug is used by many… Continue reading

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, file photo, carrying an image of Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli in a makeshift cat litter pan, AIDS activists and others are asked to leave the lobby during a protest highlighting pharmaceutical drug pricing. The same strategy that Shkreli used to get away with a 5,000-percent price increase on an old drug is used by many other drugmakers to maintain sky-high prices on billions of dollars' worth of medications. Shkreli, who resigned from Turing Pharmaceuticals in December 2015, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy charges. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
Men carry tree branches for firewood at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, March 4, 2016. More than 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border as Greek officials said that nearly 32,000 migrants were stranded in the country after drastically reduce of number of transiting migrants.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In field on edge of Greece, refugees’ desperation grows

IDOMENI, Greece — By the hundreds they come, trudging along the sides of highways and across fields, dragging tired toddlers and pushing the elderly and… Continue reading

Men carry tree branches for firewood at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, March 4, 2016. More than 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border as Greek officials said that nearly 32,000 migrants were stranded in the country after drastically reduce of number of transiting migrants.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Battling outbreak, Hawaii faces obstacles

CAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii — On a farm in the heart of Hawaii’s ongoing dengue outbreak, coffee grows wild among the ferns, and vanilla vines climb… Continue reading

Man indicted for heroin possession

A Juneau grand jury indicted a Juneau man Friday for possessing heroin.Dwayne L. Clements, 47, faces a class C felony — fourth-degree misconduct involving a… Continue reading

Researchers plan further study of 1813 shipwreck near Sitka

SITKA — Archaeologists want to pay another visit this summer to a more than 200-year-old shipwreck near Sitka in a push to uncover more clues… Continue reading

Coast Guard Auxiliary class targets first-time boat captains

When a recreational boating accident happens, chances are that the operator was not paying enough attention or the lookout wasn’t doing his or her job.Operator… Continue reading

Thunder Mountain High School senior Deanna Hobbs speaks to students outside the Capitol before they attended a Senate Education Committee hearing at on SB 191 on Thursday. The bill mandates penalties on teachers, including termination or the loss of their teaching certificates, for using sex ed materials from an abortion care provider.

Juneau teens say banning Planned Parenthood is bad for students

When Planned Parenthood came into her freshman health class, Sage Zahnd was relieved to talk about consent.“It’s not something that a lot of teenagers get… Continue reading

Thunder Mountain High School senior Deanna Hobbs speaks to students outside the Capitol before they attended a Senate Education Committee hearing at on SB 191 on Thursday. The bill mandates penalties on teachers, including termination or the loss of their teaching certificates, for using sex ed materials from an abortion care provider.

Man found dead on Seward

A group of passersby found an unresponsive 73-year-old man at 6:08 p.m. Thursday on a sidewalk in the 200 block of Seward Street. Paramedics pronounced… Continue reading

Early, absentee voting now underway

Juneau residents who want to cast an absentee ballot for the Tuesday, March 15 special municipal election may now do so at City Hall or… Continue reading

Senate panel proposes changes to legislative budget

JUNEAU — A legislative panel on Thursday proposed reducing funds for Senate travel and for the division responsible for the statewide network of legislative information… Continue reading

Around Town

Open trap shooting, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Juneau Trap Club, 1 Mile Montana Creek Road. The Juneau Trap Club is open to members and public trap… Continue reading

Anchorage police report 15-car pileup amid snowy conditions

ANCHORAGE — Anchorage police have responded to a 15-car pileup amid snowy conditions in the state’s largest city.Police said in a release that the inbound… Continue reading

US rig count drops 13 this week to 489; Texas down 4

HOUSTON — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 13… Continue reading

Senate panels close out university, health budgets

JUNEAU — University of Alaska system president Jim Johnsen says a Senate panel’s recommendations for system funding are a major improvement over what a House… Continue reading

Police & Fire for Sunday, March 6, 2016

This report contains public information available to the Empire from law enforcement agencies. This report includes arrest and citation information, not conviction information. Anyone listed… Continue reading

Group promoting tourism as great investment for state

JUNEAU — An Alaska travel association is running a TV ad touting tourism as a great investment for the state as lawmakers mull cuts to… Continue reading

Rep. Gruenberg’s widow seeks control of legislative records

JUNEAU — The wife of late state Rep. Max Gruenberg wants her husband’s legislative records to help his work continue but officials say she can’t… Continue reading

Anchorage man in state prison custody dies at hospital

ANCHORAGE — A man in state custody has died at an Anchorage hospital.Alaska State Troopers say 26-year-old Mavaega Tautua had been housed at the Spring… Continue reading