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Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, spoke on the first day of the year’s second special session of the Alaska State Legislature on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Kiehl said he was not happy to be there. Gov. Mike Dunleavy brought lawmakers back to Juneau to fix what he called a defective budget but legal questions remain unresolved. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Lawmakers optimistic but vague about budget negotiations

Speaker said talks have improved, decline to give details

In this April 23, 2021, file photo, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks during a news briefing at the White House in Washington. On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, Haaland and other federal officials are expected to announce steps that the federal government plans to take to reconcile the legacy of boarding school policies on Indigenous families and communities across the U.S. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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Dark history of Indigenous boarding schools to be reviewed

For over 150 years, Indigenous children were taken from their communities and forced into boarding schools that focused…

The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Malaspina and Amak Towing tugboat Jennie B. share a mooring in Ketchikan, Alaska on May 21. The state of Alaska is trying to dispose of the 58-year-old ferry, and even has offered to give it free to the government of the Philippines. CoastAlaska reports Gov. Mike Dunleavy offered to give the Malaspina ferry away in a letter last month to the Philippines consul general in San Francisco. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

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Alaska offers 58-year-old ferry for free to the Philippines

Gov. Mike Dunleavy offered to give the Malaspina ferry away in a letter last month to the Philippines…

Clarion file

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Federal Subsistence Board seeks comment on proposed changes

In total, there are 56 new proposed subsistence program regulations.

AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz, File Royal Caribbean’s “Radiance of the Seas” is docked in Seward on Sept. 7, 2007.

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Alaska’s cruise season ‘good to go’

Ships expected late July.

A sign invites visitors into the Alaska State Capitol building on Monday, June 21, 2021. Lawmakers will begin their second special session of the year Wednesday after Gov. Mike Dunleavy sent the state’s budget bill back to lawmakers saying it lacked critical components. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Courts asked to clarify budget dispute

Shutdown remains possible.

Screenshot A recently released map by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration shows the vast areas of low data speeds and access by broadband users across Alaska and the rest of the U.S.

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White House laying groundwork for improved internet infrastructure

In Alaska, providers are looking at their own improvments to access.

A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 25th Fighter Squadron taxi during exercise Red Flag-Alaska 21-02 at Eielson Air Force Base on June 14. Tech. Sgt. Peter Thompson / U.S. Air Force

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Air Force kicks off major multinational exercise in Alaska

More than 100 aircraft from three countries will be involved.

Alaska House Speaker Louise Stutes, center, along with leaders of the House majority coalition, Rep. Bryce Edgmon, left and Rep. Kelly Merrickspeaks, right, speak to reporters on the final day of a special legislative session in Juneau, Alaska Friday, June 18, 2021. The special legislative session limped toward a bitter end Friday, with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and House majority leaders sharply disagreeing over the adequacy of the budget passed by lawmakers earlier this week. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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Special session limps toward its end, another looms

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and House majority leaders sharply disagreed on the adequacy of the budget passed by lawmakers.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Gov. Mike Dunleavy held a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday to say he was ready to call lawmakers into yet another special session if they didn’t rectify by Friday issues with the budget passed earlier this week.

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Dunleavy calls on lawmakers to solve budget conflict

Another special session could be coming.

Ron Gillham, who represents District 30 in the Alaska House of Representatives, is seen here in this undated photo. (Courtesy Ron Gillham)

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Gillham files intent to run in 2022 primary

Gillham did not indicate the office he plans to run for.

Tensions were running high during the Senate debate over the budget, and Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, spoke to Sen. Tom Begich, D-Anchorage, about comments he made on the floor on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)

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State avoids shutdown, but PFD questions remain

Capitol reopened, and lawmakers prepare for take off.

In this Sept. 9, 2019, file photo, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water was blocked Tuesday, June 15, 2021, by a federal judge in Louisiana. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed in March by Louisiana’s Republican attorney general, Jeff Landry and officials in 12 other states. Doughty’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction to those states said his order applies nationwide. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

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Federal judge blocks Biden’s pause on new oil, gas leases

The decision is a blow to Democratic President Joe Biden’s efforts to rapidly transition the nation away from…

Alaska Senate President Peter Micciche prepares for the start of a brief Senate floor session on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Lawmakers were trying to reach resolution on a state spending package during the special legislative session. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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Budget talks break down as shutdown looms

Legislative leadership met for most of the day Tuesday.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Juneau residents place hundreds of pairs of children’s shoes in front of the statue at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on Saturday as they mourned for the 215 dead children uncovered at a residential school in Canada.

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Juneau community holds vigil for residential school victims

Many of the residential schools in Alaska ran until the late 20th century.

Alaska House and Senate members who make up a budget conference committee are shown before starting a meeting in Juneau, Alaska, on Sunday, June 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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Lawmakers decry ‘bully tactics’ in budget proposal

The proposal allocates an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend payment of $1,100 but splits the funding sources for the…

In this July 31, 2013, file photo, tourists visiting the Mendenhall Glacier in the Tongass National Forest are reflected in a pool of water as they make their way to Nugget Falls in Juneau. The federal government has announced plans to repeal or replace a decision by the Trump administration to lift restrictions on logging and road building in a southeast Alaska rainforest that provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plans for the Tongass National Forest were described as consistent with a January 2021 executive order from President Joe Biden that called for reviewing agency actions during the Trump administration that could be at odds with Biden’s environmental priorities. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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US will revisit Trump-era decision on Tongass

Conservationists cheered the announcement as a positive step.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, talks during an interview in the Empire’s offices. During the conversation, Young discussed ongoing infrastructure bill negotiations, the Arctic’s strategic importance to the U.S. and why he’s seeking a 26th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

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Sitting down with Rep. Young

Congressman shares thoughts on infrastructure, the Arctic and reelection.

Gavin Hunt, 13, receives his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the walk-in clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna, Alaska on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

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Data show vaccinated people less than 1% likely to get COVID

As of April 30, approximately 101 million people in the U.S. were considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

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‘A lot of work to do’: Officials hope for summer bounce in vaccinations

Zink said just six months ago she didn’t think the state would have as much vaccine stock as…