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A Sitka Assembly seat just opened — and the window's short
A Sitka Assembly seat opened when Tim Pike resigned — and residents have only until July 8 to apply for the appointment before October's election decides it for good.

In Sitka, they're carrying your luggage by hand this summer
Sitka is running its biggest projects all at once — and at the torn-up airport, workers are hand-carrying travelers' bags to keep flights moving through tourist season.

Petersburg's hospital more than doubled its cash reserves in three years
While rural hospitals nationwide struggle, Petersburg's has more than doubled its cash cushion in three years, to 133 days on hand, on tighter billing and better management.

Petersburg residents can finally get an MRI without leaving the island
Petersburg just got its first MRI, so island residents no longer have to travel off-island for a scan. A July 14 open house lets people tour the new suite.

In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions
Juneau's shellfish rules split around July 1: personal-use king crab reopens for residents, but shrimping in Section 11-A and Tenakee Inlet stays closed with no date set.

Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers
Fishing out of Craig or Klawock? Certain fish have to come back whole — so the dock crews counting them can do the sampling that keeps the fishery healthy.

Sitka confronts a child care shortage it can't fully fix alone
Sitka doesn't have enough child care — a problem hitting all of Alaska, driven partly by the real cost of the safety rules that make care expensive to provide.

Juneau's ski hill picks a new leader — in public
Eaglecrest is interviewing its lone GM finalist in open session Thursday — a returning Juneau face — while a mystery sit-down with Goldbelt raises the more interesting question.

A Tlingit robe turns a warrior's last stand into sacred clan property
A Juneau artist is beading the story of a Tlingit ancestor who fought a giant octopus into a clan robe — a piece that will become at.óow, sacred property with a soul.

Soccer came home this summer — Where to watch the World Cup in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is happening across North America with viewer-friendly Alaska timing, and Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau have free or easy watch parties through mid-July.

Juneau to host world premiere of first Tlingit opera
Juneau hosts the world premiere of Ḵutulagaaw, the first Tlingit opera in recorded history, Sept. 11-20, performed entirely in Tlingit language.

A new cruise terminal could rise in a humpback whale feeding ground near Juneau
The feds want comment on a Douglas Island cruise terminal whose two years of pile driving could "harass" 10 marine mammal species in a humpback feeding ground.

Juneau harbor board considers $2.5M ADOT grant bids, insurance surcharge cut
Juneau's harbor board backed a $2.5 million state grant bid for two projects and recommended cutting the uninsured moorage surcharge to $1.00 per linear foot from $1.50.

A Ketchikan stabbing, and the jail violence the public rarely sees
A man at the Ketchikan jail is charged with stabbing another inmate with pencils — a rare public glimpse of the kind of violence that is common behind bars and rarely reported.

NSRAA shuts Southeast Cove, Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum all season
NSRAA closed Southeast Cove and Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum fishing all season, cutting purse seine access at two northern Southeast harvest areas.

Juneau fills its airport, harbor and ski-area boards
Juneau, the only U.S. capital you can't drive to, just appointed 11 unpaid volunteers to oversee its airport, harbors and ski hill — all without a single objection.

Alaska's new ethics law puts legal teeth behind gift-travel rules
Alaska's rewritten ethics law took effect June 24 without Dunleavy's signature. Its big change: gift-funded travel now needs a documented purpose, or you repay it.

A refusal to explain a gift-funded trip exposed a hole in Alaska's ethics rules
A legislator and a staffer took a gift-funded Arctic Winter Games trip, then wouldn't explain why — exposing that the ethics committee had no power to make them.

Alaska's ethics committee wants out of harassment training so it can get back to ethics
Alaska's ethics committee voted to hand off harassment training, saying it's crowded out real ethics instruction. The training continues — just not under them.

An ethics panel found probable cause that Rep. Sarah Vance misused her office to pressure a newspaper
An ethics panel found probable cause Rep. Sarah Vance used state resources to pressure the Homer News, which then pulled the article and dropped the reporter's byline.

On Admiralty Island, undoing the clearcuts at Cube Cove
The Forest Service closed part of Admiralty Island while crews blast out logging-era debris at Cube Cove — undoing old clearcut damage to give the salmon their streams back.

The Alaska State Museum throws a free 10th-birthday party
The building that holds Alaska's museum, library, and archives turns 10 — and Juneau's invited to the free birthday party Saturday, planetarium and cake included.

Tlingit & Haida Unveils Revitalized Veterans Totem Pole in Juneau
The Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes held a ceremony to unveil a revitalized veterans totem pole at Southeast Alaska

Why Alaska is giving out-of-staters more kings as the runs falter
Alaska just doubled out-of-staters' king limit in Southeast even as kings struggle elsewhere — because these are treaty-quota ocean fish, and visitors foot much of the state's fishing-budget bill.

Two Sitka men face child exploitation charges
A statewide task force arrested two Sitka men within a day of each other on separate child sexual abuse material charges; both are held without bail and presumed innocent.

Strangers on the Water Free a Tangled Humpback
A young humpback got snared in crab-pot lines near Juneau — and a relay of passing boat crews kept watch until rescuers could cut it loose.

Saxman man arrested for felony DV assault with prior convictions
Alaska State Troopers arrested Floyd Jackson, 59, of Saxman on June 22 for felony domestic violence assault, elevated to a class C felony by prior convictions within the past decade.

All 4 crew rescued after Coast Guard Jayhawk crashes near Sitka
All four crew members were rescued after a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crashed near Sitka.

Klehini River flows elevated near Klukwan as snowmelt continues in Chilkat Valley
Elevated snowmelt is pushing the Klehini River near Klukwan above normal through Monday evening, with flows exceeding 6,000 cubic feet per second.

Juneau Power Bills Could Jump 20 Percent This Summer
Juneau's only electric utility wants to raise bills about 20 percent — and thanks to "refundable" interim rates, you start paying the higher price before anyone decides it's fair.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed on Harbor Mountain above Sitka
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter went down on Harbor Mountain above Sitka Monday. The road is closed, and the crew that rescues others needed it

A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, the Alaska Native village corporation for Hoonah, is expanding its cruise business by adding its own vessels to a fleet that already operates ports across Southeast Alaska.

This Juneau utility filing won't change your bill, but the rate case behind it could
Alaska Electric Light & Power filed some "housekeeping" for Juneau bills. Boring, sure, but don't confuse it with the separate case where it actually wants more money.

Alaska's Mental Health Trust will log old-growth near Hollis to fund care
Alaska's Mental Health Trust is logging old-growth near Hollis to fund care for vulnerable Alaskans. Good cause, complicated trees.

Alaska Senate digs in on gas tax bill, sends it to conference
Alaska Senate refused to back down on HB 381, sending the natural gas pipeline tax bill to a conference committee to resolve how to tax the Alaska LNG Project and fund municipalities and schools.

Alaska House recesses 10 days as gas line conference committee begins
We all know they're trying, but they very well may be intending for different outcomes when it comes to Alaska's LNG.

Coeur Alaska's Berners Bay dock got federal approval for pile driving
Coeur Alaska got federal approval to disturb marine mammals during dock repairs at Berners Bay — one of Southeast Alaska's richest bays.

Dunleavy called a second special session over the unresolved LNG tax bill
Long Friday in Juneau: LNG tax bill stuck, second special session called, two vetoes overridden, three failed. Round three starts Saturday.

Petersburg trades a sliver of land for a place to put its 911 gear
Petersburg sold a 0.23-acre scrap of public land so it wouldn't have to build its own tower. 300 signatures couldn't stop the 6-0 yes.

Juneau moves to extend its seawalk to the farthest cruise dock
Juneau's spent 20 years building a waterfront path it still can't finish. Now it wants the stretch to the far cruise dock. Mind the gap.
