University of Alaska President Pat Pitney stopped by the Empire offices in Juneau on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to talk about the system’s future. Mostly recovered from budget cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitney said the university is ready to start building Alaska’s workforce. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
University of Alaska President Pat Pitney stopped by the Empire offices in Juneau on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to talk about the system’s future. Mostly recovered from budget cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitney said the university is ready to start building Alaska’s workforce. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts as she leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Judge defends move to toss Palin’s libel case against NYT

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said he was unfamiliar with the term “push notifications”

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts as she leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
The offices of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation got some rate sun on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, as Alaska’s lawmakers urged the corporation’s Board of Directors to divest from Russian assets in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
The offices of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation got some rate sun on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, as Alaska’s lawmakers urged the corporation’s Board of Directors to divest from Russian assets in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Image via labor.alaska.gov.

Wages up from a decade ago

Yearly wages rose 11% when adjusted for inflation — or approximately $5,809 annually — from 2010 to 2020

Image via labor.alaska.gov.
In this September 2019 Empire file photo, prescriptions drugs, vitamins, hormones, and other drugs left in the drug drop box in the lobby of the Juneau Police Department are displayed. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)

Alaska to receive $58M in opioid settlement

15% of the $58 million — roughly $8.7 million — will go to the nine political subdivisions in Alaska

In this September 2019 Empire file photo, prescriptions drugs, vitamins, hormones, and other drugs left in the drug drop box in the lobby of the Juneau Police Department are displayed. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP)

Biden vows to check Russian aggression, fight inflation

“Too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills,” Biden said.

  • Mar 1, 2022
  • By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press
  • NewsState News
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Viktor Tkachenko, who moved to Alaska from Ukraine last year, holds a sign asking NATO for assistance defeating Russian airpower at a protest against the war Saturday in Marine Park.

Juneau rallies for Ukraine

Opponents of the Russian invasion of Ukraine gathered Saturday

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Viktor Tkachenko, who moved to Alaska from Ukraine last year, holds a sign asking NATO for assistance defeating Russian airpower at a protest against the war Saturday in Marine Park.
Pat Pitney was named President of the University of Alaska Friday after serving as interim president for over a year. She is the first woman to hold the position in UA’s history. (Courtesy photo / University of Alaska)

Pat Pitney named UA President

After shedding interim label, she’s the first woman to hold the post.

Pat Pitney was named President of the University of Alaska Friday after serving as interim president for over a year. She is the first woman to hold the position in UA’s history. (Courtesy photo / University of Alaska)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters in the state Capitol on on Feb. 22, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats say they are hoping for a bipartisan vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

Murkowski among senators to watch as Supreme Court fight unfolds

President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters in the state Capitol on on Feb. 22, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats say they are hoping for a bipartisan vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is currently working on a study for a second crossing across the Gastineau Channel, seen here on Aug. 22, 2021, to North Douglas Island. The public outreach portion of the study is set to begin in May, according to DOT.

Federal funds could pay for a 2nd crossing to Douglas Island

With infrastructure in focus, a decades-old idea is getting another shot

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is currently working on a study for a second crossing across the Gastineau Channel, seen here on Aug. 22, 2021, to North Douglas Island. The public outreach portion of the study is set to begin in May, according to DOT.
Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
State Rep. Ron Gillham speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 6. at Kenai Municipal Airport.

Gillham targets school reform in Juneau

Gillham said Friday that his bills are aimed at expanding parent choice in education

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
State Rep. Ron Gillham speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 6. at Kenai Municipal Airport.
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, addresses reporters during a Wendesday, March 25, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

As COVID cases drop, long-term questions remain

As COVID-19 cases are falling in Alaska and nationwide once again, health officials are pondering what other kinds of health implications survivors of the disease… Continue reading

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, addresses reporters during a Wendesday, March 25, 2020 press conference in the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference on Thursday in Juneau. (Photo courtesy Kevin Goodman, Office of the Governor)

Dunleavy reiterates budget priorities from Juneau

The governor has emphasized public safety, the PFD and education

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference on Thursday in Juneau. (Photo courtesy Kevin Goodman, Office of the Governor)
A health care worker holds a vial of Sotrovimab, a covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatment. (ice_blue/Shutterstock)

Officials report new COVID deaths, emphasize early treatment options

The state Department of Health and Social Services reported 27 more COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, pushing the total to 1,108 Alaska resident deaths since the pandemic… Continue reading

A health care worker holds a vial of Sotrovimab, a covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatment. (ice_blue/Shutterstock)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
Members of the House Committee of Military and Veterans’ Affairs heard testimony on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, on the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers amid public pressure to take disciplinary action against Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, who is a member of the group.
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
Members of the House Committee of Military and Veterans’ Affairs heard testimony on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, on the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers amid public pressure to take disciplinary action against Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, who is a member of the group.
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State announces 21 COVID deaths

The state Department of Health and Social Services reported 21 more COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, pushing the total to 1,081 Alaska resident deaths since the pandemic… Continue reading

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COVID

Masks made available as COVID cases remain high

The central peninsula is offering more free COVID-19 mitigation measures now, as cases in Alaska are still at an all-time high. Kenai Public Health Nurse… Continue reading

COVID
Senators Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, and Tom Begich, D-Anchorage, spoke with reporters in Begich’s office at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, about their thoughts on the current legislative session. The senators said there were reasons to be optimistic about meaningful progress even with the full plate before the Legislature. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Senators Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, and Tom Begich, D-Anchorage, spoke with reporters in Begich’s office at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, about their thoughts on the current legislative session. The senators said there were reasons to be optimistic about meaningful progress even with the full plate before the Legislature. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman, standing, speaks on the House floor on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Juneau Alaska. Alaska House leaders have backed away from a proposal to strip committee assignments from Eastman, who has acknowledged being a member of the far-right organization Oath Keepers, and for now plan to hold at least one hearing on the group. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska House backs off sanctions for Oath Keepers legislator

Eastman has cast the current debate around him as an extension of “cancel culture”

Alaska Republican state Rep. David Eastman, standing, speaks on the House floor on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Juneau Alaska. Alaska House leaders have backed away from a proposal to strip committee assignments from Eastman, who has acknowledged being a member of the far-right organization Oath Keepers, and for now plan to hold at least one hearing on the group. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Kenai Peninsula residents eat inside Kenai River Brewing Company in Soldotna, Alaska, on May 8, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Alcohol industry overhaul bill heads to Senate floor

A key focus of the bill is the consolidation of Alaska’s existing licensing and permitting regulations.

Kenai Peninsula residents eat inside Kenai River Brewing Company in Soldotna, Alaska, on May 8, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)