Capital City Weekly

Alaska For Real: Waiting for the weekly mail plane

Alaska For Real: Waiting for the weekly mail plane

Mail days are an ordeal.

Alaska For Real: Waiting for the weekly mail plane
Alaska for Real: Lessons learned at the end of the world

Alaska for Real: Lessons learned at the end of the world

When I signed the book deal to write a memoir about my childhood growing up in the burned ruins of an old cannery way out… Continue reading

Alaska for Real: Lessons learned at the end of the world
A stranger helping out a single mom on the ferry. Tara Neilson | For the Capital City Weekly

Alaska for Real: The ferry way

The ferry crewmember shared a conspiratorial smile with me as we crept up on the lounge. We peeked around the doorway. “Do you see them?”… Continue reading

A stranger helping out a single mom on the ferry. Tara Neilson | For the Capital City Weekly
Summer boating: Adrift, aground, flipped, sunk

Summer boating: Adrift, aground, flipped, sunk

It was a sunny beautiful day and my parents and I took my brother Jamie’s little boys, Sterling and Ethan, over to the small bay… Continue reading

Summer boating: Adrift, aground, flipped, sunk
The Jeff Smith’s Parlor Museum on Second Ave and Broadway in Skagway. CCW file photo.

Southeast in Sepia: Skagway tourism

Tourism in Southeast Alaska dates back to the 1880s with cruises up the Inside Passage to see the varied sights. By the time of the… Continue reading

The Jeff Smith’s Parlor Museum on Second Ave and Broadway in Skagway. CCW file photo.
Southeast in Sepia: Finding ‘A Day in Skagway’

Southeast in Sepia: Finding ‘A Day in Skagway’

My column today is how a little bit of the area’s history dropped into our respective laps one day a few years ago and from… Continue reading

Southeast in Sepia: Finding ‘A Day in Skagway’
Southeast in Sepia: Mollie Brackett’s lost photo album

Southeast in Sepia: Mollie Brackett’s lost photo album

Mollie’s album gives us precious glimpses into the past, like personal letters and diaries. They show us the forgotten faces of people who, without these pictures, might be lost to history.

Southeast in Sepia: Mollie Brackett’s lost photo album
Southeast in Sepia: The Dyea townsite

Southeast in Sepia: The Dyea townsite

Dyea was one of the major towns to grow into prominence as a result of the Klondike gold rush.

Southeast in Sepia: The Dyea townsite
Friends of the SLAM invite authors, artists to exhibit

Friends of the SLAM invite authors, artists to exhibit

The Friends of the Alaska State Library, Archives & Museum invite Alaskan authors and artists to submit an application for vending space at the APK… Continue reading

Friends of the SLAM invite authors, artists to exhibit
Planet Alaska: Afloat

Planet Alaska: Afloat

Grief is a shared condition for humans and killer whales alike.

Planet Alaska: Afloat
Symphony sets sail and sales

Symphony sets sail and sales

It will be a well orca-strated event. The Juneau Symphony Annual Wildlife Cruise was Saturday afternoon, and the fundraiser that combines whale watching, wine tasting… Continue reading

Symphony sets sail and sales
New totem pole on Prince of Wales Island honors Alaska’s veterans

New totem pole on Prince of Wales Island honors Alaska’s veterans

KLAWOCK — A well-attended, three-day celebration culminated with a totem pole raising ceremony Aug. 18 at Prince of Wales Island. The 37-foot totem stands to… Continue reading

New totem pole on Prince of Wales Island honors Alaska’s veterans
Tony Tengs listens to music at this year’s Southeast Alaska State Fair with his mother. (Courtesy photo)

Real Music: Tony Tengs finds new songwriting inspiration in retirement

Tony Tengs employs the double negative when it comes to his relationship with songwriting. He can’t not think musically, he said, so it’s a natural… Continue reading

Tony Tengs listens to music at this year’s Southeast Alaska State Fair with his mother. (Courtesy photo)
Tracy K. Smith, the 52nd Poet Laureate of the United States, is greeted by Juneauites before Smith’s reading at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith brings poetry to the people

The end of Tracy K. Smith’s reading in the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff building sounded more like the wrap up of a comedy set than… Continue reading

Tracy K. Smith, the 52nd Poet Laureate of the United States, is greeted by Juneauites before Smith’s reading at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Jennie Thlunaut (left) with weaving apprentice Anna Brown Ehlers. Thlunaut and Ehlers both were named National Heritage Fellows by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986 and 2017 respectively. The award is the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. (Courtesy Photo | William L. Paul, Sr., Sealaska Heritage Institute)

Nonprofit buys final Chilkat blanket by renowned weaver

When she sold her final Chilkat blanket in 1985, famed Tlingit weaver Jennie Thlunaut wrote a notarized note to the buyer, Dr. Robert Page. In… Continue reading

Jennie Thlunaut (left) with weaving apprentice Anna Brown Ehlers. Thlunaut and Ehlers both were named National Heritage Fellows by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986 and 2017 respectively. The award is the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. (Courtesy Photo | William L. Paul, Sr., Sealaska Heritage Institute)
A rotten rung in the old roof ladder on Aug. 21.

Alaska For Real: The ladders of bush living

I’ve been watching my dad build ladders for most of my life. With a handsaw, that almost seems like an extension of his arm at… Continue reading

A rotten rung in the old roof ladder on Aug. 21.
Josh Wynn and J.T. Ferris win the fish tote race. (Maia Mares | For the Capital City Weekly)

Delicious & Sustainable: Sitka festival celebrates seafood

Held every August, the Sitka Seafood Festival is a summer tradition.

Josh Wynn and J.T. Ferris win the fish tote race. (Maia Mares | For the Capital City Weekly)
Fish Factor: Tariffs increase cost of seafood

Fish Factor: Tariffs increase cost of seafood

Trump’s trade war now includes tariffs on seafood going to and from China. China is Alaska’s biggest seafood buyer, purchasing 54 percent of Alaska seafood… Continue reading

Fish Factor: Tariffs increase cost of seafood
Art of Teri Tibbett by Libby Stringer. Photo by Libby Stringer.

Teri Tibbett finds new inspiration after decades of songwriting, performing

Local open mic regulars know Juneau musician Teri Tibbett. Either they’ve performed at an open mic she’s hosted or they’ve seen her perform at The… Continue reading

Art of Teri Tibbett by Libby Stringer. Photo by Libby Stringer.
The wetlands near the Juneau International Airport, facing the Mendenhall Glacier. Photo courtesy of Clara Miller.

Farewell, from the CCW Editor

This July 18 issue will be my last working for the Capital City Weekly. I’ve found working at my local newspaper has made me see… Continue reading

The wetlands near the Juneau International Airport, facing the Mendenhall Glacier. Photo courtesy of Clara Miller.