Wire Service

DAN JOLING/ASSOCIATED PRESS                                Junar Lim takes photos of Ziah Lim, left, and Arsenia Lim, all of Cavite, the Philippines, at gardens in Town Square in Anchorage Thursday. Alaska recorded its warmest month ever in July and hot, dry weather has continued in Anchorage and much of the region south of the Alaska Range.

Alaska records its warmest month ever; future records likely

The effects were felt from the Arctic Ocean to Alaska’s Panhandle.

DAN JOLING/ASSOCIATED PRESS                                Junar Lim takes photos of Ziah Lim, left, and Arsenia Lim, all of Cavite, the Philippines, at gardens in Town Square in Anchorage Thursday. Alaska recorded its warmest month ever in July and hot, dry weather has continued in Anchorage and much of the region south of the Alaska Range.
Redington football notches big win over Nikiski

Redington football notches big win over Nikiski

WASILLA — During their first three meetings with Nikiski, the Redington Huskies were outscored a combined 114-6 in a trio of losses to the Bulldogs.… Continue reading

Redington football notches big win over Nikiski
Coming into the Country: Ticks

Coming into the Country: Ticks

While on a family vacation to Florida this spring we took a short walk through a lush, beautiful forest in Faver-Dykes State Park near Pellicer… Continue reading

Coming into the Country: Ticks
Pioneer Potluck: About Alaska summers — fishing, camping, traveling, visitors and mosquitoes

Pioneer Potluck: About Alaska summers — fishing, camping, traveling, visitors and mosquitoes

Taking visitors to see the peninsula is a summertime tradition.

Pioneer Potluck: About Alaska summers — fishing, camping, traveling, visitors and mosquitoes
This 1991 photo provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows spawning pink salmon in Anan Creek, near Wrangell, Alaska. In 2019, wild populations of pink salmon are flourishing. Their numbers are enhanced by the annual release of 1.8 billion fish from Alaska hatcheries and critics say they’re having an effect on other species. (ADF&G via AP)

Pink salmon numbers may threaten other North Pacific species

Researchers say the voracious eaters are thriving at the expense of higher-value sockeye, seabirds.

This 1991 photo provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows spawning pink salmon in Anan Creek, near Wrangell, Alaska. In 2019, wild populations of pink salmon are flourishing. Their numbers are enhanced by the annual release of 1.8 billion fish from Alaska hatcheries and critics say they’re having an effect on other species. (ADF&G via AP)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, Sen. Chris Birch, R-Anchorage, listens to other senators during a Senate session at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. Birch, a former state House member who also served on the Fairbanks North Star Borough and Anchorage assemblies, has died, his family said in a statement Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. He was 68. Birch died Wednesday, Aug. 7 of a torn or ruptured aorta after experiencing chest pains and being taken to an Anchorage hospital, the family said. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

Republican state Sen. Chris Birch dies

Birch was elected to the Anchorage Senate seat that had been held by Republican Kevin Meyer.

In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, Sen. Chris Birch, R-Anchorage, listens to other senators during a Senate session at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. Birch, a former state House member who also served on the Fairbanks North Star Borough and Anchorage assemblies, has died, his family said in a statement Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. He was 68. Birch died Wednesday, Aug. 7 of a torn or ruptured aorta after experiencing chest pains and being taken to an Anchorage hospital, the family said. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
Refuge notebook: The difference between predicting climate change and its ecological outcomes

Refuge notebook: The difference between predicting climate change and its ecological outcomes

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has a great online climate forecasting tool. Simply type in a town, the future decade(s), an emission scenario and voila… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: The difference between predicting climate change and its ecological outcomes
Vince Beltrami with the Alaska AFL-CIO, right, speaks at a news conference Wednesday in Anchorage. Beltrami and representatives from more than two dozen organizations are asking Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy to not cut money for early education and social service programs from the state’s budget. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Social service groups urge Dunleavy to relax veto pen

“… The real issue we are faced with today is deciding what kind of state we want to live in.”

Vince Beltrami with the Alaska AFL-CIO, right, speaks at a news conference Wednesday in Anchorage. Beltrami and representatives from more than two dozen organizations are asking Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy to not cut money for early education and social service programs from the state’s budget. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Ann “Grannie Annie” Berg

Pioneer Potluck: About family, friends and fun

All rhubarb, all the time

Ann “Grannie Annie” Berg

State seeks review of options for psychiatric facility

The facility has been under scrutiny from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Members of the Inland Boatmen’s Union of the Pacific picket in front of the Auke Bay Terminal in Juneau, Alaska, Thursday, July 25, 2019. The union called a strike on Wednesday over failed negotiations with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration. State officials said Thursday more than $580,000 in fares has been refunded to passengers affected by striking ferry workers. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP)

Striking ferry workers, state reach tentative deal

DOA: Both sides made concessions and compromises on wages, health care, length of the contract.

Members of the Inland Boatmen’s Union of the Pacific picket in front of the Auke Bay Terminal in Juneau, Alaska, Thursday, July 25, 2019. The union called a strike on Wednesday over failed negotiations with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration. State officials said Thursday more than $580,000 in fares has been refunded to passengers affected by striking ferry workers. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP)
Alaska Voices: Dunleavy must be recalled

Alaska Voices: Dunleavy must be recalled

What we cannot afford is for Gov. Dunleavy to remain in office.

Alaska Voices: Dunleavy must be recalled
One of the Alaska Shriners waves to the crowd during the 2019 July 4th parade in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: My fifteen minutes …

Hubby and I were pleased to be asked to participate in the Fourth of July parade.

One of the Alaska Shriners waves to the crowd during the 2019 July 4th parade in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Commissioner Designee Bruce Tangeman presents the state’s revenue forecast to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Opinion: The private sector, not the government, is what drives an economy

It is more important than ever that we create a smaller governmental footprint.

Commissioner Designee Bruce Tangeman presents the state’s revenue forecast to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Voices of the Peninsula: The preposterous ACLU Lawsuit

Voices of the Peninsula: The preposterous ACLU Lawsuit

Recently, I defended Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s token gesture of docking the judiciary’s administrative budget $344,000 — the amount that the courts unconstitutionally demand the Legislature… Continue reading

Voices of the Peninsula: The preposterous ACLU Lawsuit
Refuge notebook: Rethinking nonnative species in a human-driven world

Refuge notebook: Rethinking nonnative species in a human-driven world

Wow. In the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 2019-2020 hunting regulations, mule deer and white-tailed deer can now be harvested. These two nonnative species… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: Rethinking nonnative species in a human-driven world
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire                                A ridicule pole carved by Sitka artist Tommy Joseph stands in front of the Planet Alaska Gallery on Ferry Way on Wednesday, in Juneau. The pole includes likenesses of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump.

Group seeks to oust Dunleavy

The group will need to gather 28,501 signatures.

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire                                A ridicule pole carved by Sitka artist Tommy Joseph stands in front of the Planet Alaska Gallery on Ferry Way on Wednesday, in Juneau. The pole includes likenesses of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump.
In this May 29, 2019 file photo U.S. Attorney General William Barr, standing, greets participants at a roundtable discussion at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska Native villages are receiving almost $5 million from the U.S. Justice Department to combat numerous public safety problems, including no law enforcement presence in some communities. The announcement Tuesday, July 30, 2019, comes nearly two months after Barr met with tribal representatives during a visit to the state who detailed slow response times from authorities, violence against women and abuse of alcohol and drugs, including opioids. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Alaska Native villages get $5M to combat rural violence

The award comes nearly two months after AG William Barr met with tribal representatives.

In this May 29, 2019 file photo U.S. Attorney General William Barr, standing, greets participants at a roundtable discussion at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska Native villages are receiving almost $5 million from the U.S. Justice Department to combat numerous public safety problems, including no law enforcement presence in some communities. The announcement Tuesday, July 30, 2019, comes nearly two months after Barr met with tribal representatives during a visit to the state who detailed slow response times from authorities, violence against women and abuse of alcohol and drugs, including opioids. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Alaska Voices: Thugs and leaders in Juneau

Alaska Voices: Thugs and leaders in Juneau

Thugs steal our future, while leaders see hope and opportunities and take steps in that direction.

Alaska Voices: Thugs and leaders in Juneau
Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka

Tshibaka: DOA open to a fair, legal labor agreement

Under law, the IBU is obligated to end the strike and reach a deal.

Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka