Site Logo
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Opinion

Opinion: The foolish men claiming self-defense

It’s not just misguided teenagers carrying guns who find themselves in trouble with the law.

Alaska Rep. David Eastman sits at his desk on the Alaska House floor in Juneau, Alaska, on March 5, 2020. Dozens of West Point graduates have demanded state Rep. Eastman resign from office over his ties to a right wing extremist group, saying his affiliation has betrayed the values of the U.S. Military Academy he attended. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

News

70 West Point grads call on Alaska lawmaker to resign

Fellow West Point graduates called on Eastman to resign after his membership in the Oath Keepers became public.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talks to reporters about plans to pass President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda as the House meets to debate the Build Back Better Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

News

Dems’ sweeping social, climate bill nears approval

House approval is still expected on a near party-line vote.

The Tongass National Forest sign stands near the Auke Village Recreation Area. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

News

Feds aim to block Tongass forest logging

At 16.7 million acres, Tongass is the largest national forest in the country.

Workers with the Pebble Mine project test drill in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, near the village of Iliamma, on July 13, 2007. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, it is extending through May a timeline to decide how or whether to proceed with proposed restrictions on mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is known for its salmon runs. (AP Photo/Al Grillo, File)

News

EPA sets timeline to weigh next steps related to Pebble Mine

In 2019, during the Trump administration, the EPA withdrew proposed restrictions.

Raynelle Hoskie attaches a hose to a water pump to fill tanks in her truck outside a tribal office on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Ariz., on April 20, 2020. A massive infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed this week includes billions of dollars to address long-standing issues with water and sanitation on tribal land. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

News

Tribes welcome infusion of money in infrastructure bill

President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion deal earlier this week that includes about $11 billion in benefits…

Clouds over the sky over Lazy Mountain and the Matanuska River on March 23, 2016, in Palmer, Alaska. Lights from downtown Palmer and Pioneer Peak can be seen in the lower right. Some critics say a new map of state political boundaries drawn following the last Census short-changes the fast-growing area north of Anchorage seen as a hotbed of conservatism. (AP Photo/Dan Joling, File)

News

Critics raise concerns with new Mat-Su redistricting

Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka, said the Matanuska-Susitna region is “getting Cheated, Shortchanged, and Hosed.”

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, speaks to reporters after filing for re-election Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at the Division of Elections office in Anchorage, Alaska, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

News

Murkowski to run in 2022; Trump backs rival

So far, she has outraised her Trump-backed opponent Kelly Tshibaka, according to fundraising reports.

(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion

The sad diminishment of Rep. Don Young

Young seems afraid to demand his party leader defend the dignity of the institution he loves.

Associated Press A Utah doctor is accused of lying to get a high-elevation helicopter to rescue him off the tallest mountain in North America and then destroying evidence.

News

Utah doctor accused of lying for Denali helicopter rescue

Dr. Jason Lance was charged Tuesday with three misdemeanors from his May attempt to summit Denali.

The Final Redistricting Map approved for the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna area is seen on Nov. 9, 2021. (Map via akredistrict.org)

News

Alaska redistricting board pairings draw criticism

Tuesday’s actions followed pointed exchanges on proposed maps for the area Monday and extended executive sessions.

File

News

Alaska officials consider more charges in Safeway shooting

Police said Joshua Eric Butcher sprayed bullets throughout the Safeway store early Sunday evening.

President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

News

Biden: Infrastructure win a ‘monumental step forward’

The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday.

The Entrance to the University of Alaska Southeast. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Opinion

Opinion: The University of Alaska is the state’s most important resource

Together, let’s break the record for donor participation.

Relatives of Luis Enrique Rodriguez, who died of COVID-19, visit where he was buried on a hill at the El Pajonal de Cogua Natural Reserve, in Cogua, north of Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Rodriguez died May 14, 2021. Relatives bury the ashes of their loved ones who died of coronavirus and plant a tree in their memory. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

News

COVID-19’s global death toll tops 5 million

The U.S. alone has recorded over 745,000 lives lost, more than any other nation.

(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Opinion

Opinion: The glass house where Dunleavy lives

Let’s look at how Dunleavy has dishonored his own past statements.

The Falcon heavy-lift vessel carrying the jack-up rig Randolph Yost left Kachemak Bay on Monday afternoon, Oct. 25. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

News

Jack-up rig leaves Homer

Oil rig was brought up to drill in upper Cook Inlet in 2016.

Nicholas Begich III, middle, speaks with supporters ahead of announcing his plans to run for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Wasilla, Alaska. Begich, a Republican, plans to run for the seat that has been held since 1973 by Republican Rep. Don Young. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

News

Begich announces US House bid: ‘Alaska needs new energy’

Begich said his loyalties lie with the values and principles of the Republican party.

Alaska state Rep. Laddie Shaw, an Anchorage Republican, waits for the start of a so-called technical session on the House floor, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. The fourth special legislative session of the year began Oct. 4, in Juneau, but there has been little action at the Capitol and little progress toward resolving Alaska’s fiscal issues. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

News

Special session plods on with little action

Many legislative offices have been dark and floor sessions in some cases have lasted seconds.

Rep. Don Young talks during a June 2021 interview with the Empire. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Young to face off with a Begich yet again

Young, 88, seemed unfazed by Begich’s entry into the race.