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Firefighter medic Andy Tighe snaps a photo of the breakaway plus-class cruise ship Norwegian Bliss while Captain Tracy Mettler operates a fireboat in the Tongass Narrows in Ketchikan, Alaska, on June 4, 2018. President Joe Biden signed into law Monday, May 24, 2021, legislation that opens a door for resumed cruise ship travel to Alaska after the pandemic last year scrapped sailings. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

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Biden signs bill that may let cruises resume

Canada, amid COVID-19 concerns, has barred cruise operations through February.

In this April 22, 2021, photo, signs of spring thaw appear along the Tazlina River in Tazlina, Alaska. The Catholic Church wants to sell 462 acres that once housed the Copper Valley mission school to the Native Village of Tazlina, a federally recognized tribe. The tribe is scrambling to raise the nearly $1.9 million asking price so it can regain stewardship of its ancestral land. (John Tierney/Indian Country Today)

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Alaska village eyes return of ancestral lands

A federally recognized tribe is scrambling to raise funds to regain stewardship of the lands.

File

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Heroin overdose deaths increase, officials wonder if it’s pandemic-related

Alaska and other states saw a decrease in opioid overdoses in 2018, an increase in 2019 and then…

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

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State alert level drops to intermediate

The Kenai Peninsula Borough also remains in the intermediate alert division.

From left to right: Sens. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Monday, May 24, 2021, the first day of one of two special sessions called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Lawmakers: Budget negotiations to begin Wednesday

Buttoning up the budget.

A sticker given out at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by the Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska, is seen on March 13, 2021. (Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

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Vaccination rates climb

As of Friday afternoon, 53.7% of Alaskans 16 and up had received at least one dose of the…

Proclamations from Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling special sessions of the Alaska State Legislature for late May and early August were posted in the otherwise quiet office of the House Clerk on Friday, May 21, 2021. The first special session has started but the Capitol building was quiet as most of the work before lawmakers will take place in committee. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Special session begins, aims to solve Alaska’s fiscal deficit for good

Get ready in May for August.

This May 2020 photo shows an open sign illuminated on a Juneau business. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports the state has added jobs but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of employment. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

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Alaska gains jobs but doesn’t reach pre-pandemic levels

Numbers still lagged what they were before the pandemic, per state report.

A row of skiffs and small boats are moored on Friday, May 21, 2021, at the Homer Harbor in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

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USCG National Safe Boating Week reinforces new engine cut-off switch laws

The U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary hosts National Safe Boating Week

Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, spoke to reporters in his office on Thursday, May 20, 2021, to discuss next steps after the Senate debated the state budget until just before midnight the night before. Senators voted for a Permanent Fund Dividend of $2,300, the largest in history, but negotiations with the House of Representatives are still to come. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Senate votes for $2,300 PFD, but the amount could change

It would be the largest PFD in state history.

The Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management offered the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Soldotna Prep School on Friday, May 14, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

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Cases decrease as more get vaccinated, but officials say the pandemic isn’t over yet

Although positive COVID cases are decreasing overall, the state continues to see more of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant.

Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, urges her colleagues to vote for a bill to have the state recognize the Alaska's 229 already federally recognized tribes on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The bill was one of dozens heard Wednesday as lawmakers tried to pass as much legislation on the last day of the legislative session. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Budget debate takes lawmakers into evening

More time for debate.

The Alaska State Legislature passed a bill to create a new oversight board for the Alaska Marine Highway System and its ships like the Tazlina, seen here coming into dock at Juneau on May 16, 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Bill to create new AMHS board heads to governor

It’s been a years-long effort.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

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DHSS reports 1 new COVID death on Wednesday

A Palmer man in his 60s died.

Supporters of the conservation corps programs established with CARES Act funding last year rallied in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to advocate for continued funding. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Advocates don’t want conservation corps efforts to trail off

Building up trail building.

Blogtrepreneur/Flickr photo

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COVID-19 resources not affected by malware attack

COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling and the data dashboards can still be accessed through covid19.alaska.gov.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

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4 new COVID deaths reported Tuesday

The state also saw 56 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 66,867.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee discussed the state's capital budget bill in a meeting on Monday, May 17, 2021, but it's not clear when it might be debated on the floor. Lawmakers had been pushing to finish the bill before May 19, but a special session from the governor has given them more time. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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With more time, lawmakers take step back on budget

Work to be done.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

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1 in 2 Alaskans 16 and older have received at least 1 dose of vaccine

44.16% of residents 16 and older in the Kenai Peninsula Borough had received at least one dose of…

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Masks were made optional Friday in the Alaska House of Representatives, but lawmakers are still trying to get their work done. Gov. Mike Dunleavy called two special sessions Thursday, but the proposal was met with mixed reactions.

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Lawmakers mixed on governor’s special sessions

A lot of work to do.