News

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)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Thursday, Dec. 29

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

  • Dec 28, 2022
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Wednesday, Dec.28

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

  • Dec 28, 2022
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
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)
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program conducts a preflight checklist before the Asteroid Bounce campaign Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in Gakona, Alaska, as temperatures hit 40 below. The mission is slated for Dec. 27. (Photo courtesy UAF/GI photo by JR Ancheta)

Alaska research site to send radio signal to asteroid

The purpose of the experiment is to probe the interior of the asteroid

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program conducts a preflight checklist before the Asteroid Bounce campaign Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in Gakona, Alaska, as temperatures hit 40 below. The mission is slated for Dec. 27. (Photo courtesy UAF/GI photo by JR Ancheta)
Pacific wrens were formerly included with winter wrens, but are now considered to be a separate species (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Field notes and name games

Thoughts on the taxonomic road and local trails.

  • Dec 27, 2022
  • By Mary F. Willson For the Juneau Empire
Pacific wrens were formerly included with winter wrens, but are now considered to be a separate species (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Tuesday, Dec.27

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

  • Dec 27, 2022
(Michael Penn / 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)
This photo provided by Amy Watson of Portland, Ore., shows her during an iron infusion in December 2022. Watson, approaching 50, says she has “never had any kind of recovery” from COVID-19. She has had severe migraines, plus digestive, nerve and foot problems. Recently she developed severe anemia. (Amy Watson)

Long COVID: Could mono virus or fat cells be playing roles?

Scientists are still trying to figure out why some people get long COVID.

This photo provided by Amy Watson of Portland, Ore., shows her during an iron infusion in December 2022. Watson, approaching 50, says she has “never had any kind of recovery” from COVID-19. She has had severe migraines, plus digestive, nerve and foot problems. Recently she developed severe anemia. (Amy Watson)
Blowing snow impairs visibility in rural Linn County, Iowa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. A winter storm brought wind chill values of more than 30 degrees below zero and whiteout conditions to Eastern Iowa. (Nick Rohlman / The Gazette)

Winter storm batters U.S. power, snarling Christmas travel

A winter storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. Saturday.

Blowing snow impairs visibility in rural Linn County, Iowa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. A winter storm brought wind chill values of more than 30 degrees below zero and whiteout conditions to Eastern Iowa. (Nick Rohlman / The Gazette)
The Aurora Borealis glows over the Mendenhall Glacier in 2014. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Aurora forecast

Forecasts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute for the week of Dec. 25.

  • Dec 24, 2022
The Aurora Borealis glows over the Mendenhall Glacier in 2014. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
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)
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Police calls for Saturday, Dec.24

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

  • Dec 24, 2022
(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Courtesy / U.S. Coast Guard Funding to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, was cut from $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress. According both of Alaska’s Republican senators, it is a disappointing cut.

Icebreaker plan hits snag after funding cut

$150M allocation pulled late, Murkowski says; multiple Juneau-based projects still receive funding.

Courtesy / U.S. Coast Guard Funding to purchase the Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, was cut from $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress. According both of Alaska’s Republican senators, it is a disappointing cut.
Staff Sgt. Travis Snyder, left, receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine given at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, Dec. 16, 2020, south of Seattle. U.S. military forces around the world will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The mandate was lifted under an $858 billion defense spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law Friday by President Joe Biden. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)

New law ends COVID-19 vaccine mandate for US troops

WASHINGTON — U.S. military forces around the world will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the mandate was lifted under an… Continue reading

Staff Sgt. Travis Snyder, left, receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine given at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, Dec. 16, 2020, south of Seattle. U.S. military forces around the world will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The mandate was lifted under an $858 billion defense spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law Friday by President Joe Biden. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)
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)
A black-capped chickadee pecks at a frozen turkey carcass in Fairbanks. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Finding a midwinter night’s roost

During the darkest days of Alaska’s winter, black-capped chickadees stuff themselves with enough seeds and frozen insects to survive 18-hour nights. Where chickadees spent those… Continue reading

A black-capped chickadee pecks at a frozen turkey carcass in Fairbanks. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)