Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska's Energy Desk - Juneau
Conservationists Declare Victory in Court’s Tongass Road Ruling
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2003 exemption today that would have made it possible to build roads through the Tongass National Forest.
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Forgiving Without Forgetting: A Tlingit Village Up in Smoke
In 1962, the Douglas Indian Village was set ablaze to make way for a new harbor. This month marks 53 years since the city displaced households of Tlingit T’aaku Kwáan families. Little to no restitution has ever been offered.
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Bust a move: International duo brings breakdancing to Juneau
A visiting breakdance duo has been teaching Juneau residents some new moves. They’re featured in a documentary that’s playing in town over the weekend about hip hop culture and social change in Uganda.
K-9 in training to combat Juneau’s heroin problem
Juneau Police have a new tool to sniff out a steady flow of heroin and other narcotics entering the city. It's been about 25 years since the department had a K-9 on staff.
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New RX Drug Drop gives community a chance to safely purge meds
Starting Monday, Juneau residents will be able to walk into the police department and hand over prescription drugs without consequence. It’s been several months since the community could safely dispose of their medications.
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AK: Adventure-bound Juneau couple moves into $8,600 tiny house on wheels
A 1,200-square-foot house is considered small by today’s standards. But one Juneau couple is leaving their home for something with less than 100 square feet of livable space. They’re hitting the road, but that doesn’t come without sacrifice.
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Six-hour chum fishery to open in Juneau’s Amalga Harbor
Thursday is the opening of the purse seine season at Amalga Harbor in Juneau. Commercial fishermen will be able to catch chum, released from the DIPAC hatchery.
East Coast theology school selling off Alaska Native art, feds to investigate
The country’s oldest theological school is selling off its Native art collection, and Sealaska Heritage Institute is asking the feds to investigate. Tlingit and Haida pieces are among the works–some of which might be sacred.
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Juneau soccer camp grooms players for the international field
As the U.S. team heads to the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals this weekend, a Juneau soccer camp is teaching kids all about the global sport.
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Bloom Boom: Juneau farmer joins Alaska peony rush
Interior Alaska has about 50 commercial peony farmers and now a Southeast grower is about to give the cash crop a shot. The flowers are supposed to be the next big boom in Alaska exports.
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Online Map Keeps Tabs on the Lay of Juneau’s Cemetery
A grease-smudged stack of 25 fading sheets of paper in a storage shed is one of only two copies of who’s buried where in Evergreen Cemetery. All the burials since 1986 are handwritten, but that’s about to change. The City and Borough of Juneau was recently awarded a grant to map its graves digitally.
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Juneau Protesters Rally Against Shell’s Arctic Plans
The crowd of about 40 gathered in the drizzling rain outside Juneau’s federal building this afternoon to protest Royal Dutch Shell’s oil rig, the Polar Pioneer. The vessel left Seattle on Monday after weeks of public outcry.
Juneau SEARHC opens its doors to non-Natives seeking mental health services
About 15 new patients are scheduled for behavioral health services at a tribal health consortium in Southeast Alaska. SEARHC recently its practice in Juneau to offer services to non-Native people.
Juneau Symphony Names Troy Quinn its Newest Conductor
The Juneau Symphony has named Troy Quinn its newest conductor. While Quinn has an advanced degree in conducting, he’s also game to bring pop culture to the orchestra.
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Tracking State Layoff Notices From the Mailroom to the Mailbox
A lot of unhappy letters are arriving this week at state workers’ homes, following the announcement of mass layoffs if the legislature can’t pass a budget by July 1.
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Juneau to become third city in Alaska to shelter high-risk homeless
Juneau will become the third city in Alaska to offer permanent supportive housing to the high-risk, chronically homeless. Those are the people who have been on the streets the longest, and may suffer from addiction or mental health issues.
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AK: A teenager and his past
It’s graduation season for Alaska’s high school seniors. Earning a diploma marks a milestone in a person’s life. And for one Juneau student, that milestone is especially sweet after his high school experience was interrupted with several trips to juvenile detention.
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New Business: Salmon Skin Wallets, Crab Shell Shirts For the Masses
A small Juneau business launched a Kickstarter campaign this week to crowdsource funds for a unique line of apparel and accessories. Tidal Vision is hoping it’s onto the next big thing: garments sewn from discarded salmon skin and crab shells.
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Tribes, Forest Service partner on climate change research
At the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society Conference in Juneau this week, a panel of five discussed climate change and traditional knowledge.
Sealaska Unveils Its New Building in Downtown Juneau
The Sealaska Heritage Institute unveiled its new structure in downtown Juneau on Friday. It’s called the Walter Soboleff Building after the late Tlingit scholar, elder and religious leader. Inside stands a full-sized replica of a traditional red cedar clan house.
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