Wire Service

State prepares for changes in food stamps program

About 5,000 Alaskans could lose food stamp benefits under new rules set to take effect April 1.

Ann Berg

Pioneer Potluck: Old black stoves and wringer washing machines

The old farmhouse was cozy and warm in the kitchen with the big black cookstove in the corner.

Ann Berg
In this March 15, 2009, Jeff King leaves the Kaltag, Alaska, checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Emergency surgery has sidelined the four-time race winner days before he was set to compete in his 30th race. King withdrew Tuesday, March 3, 2020, over concerns for his health, a spokeswoman for the Iditarod told The Associated Press. The race will start Sunday north of Anchorage. (AP Photo/Al Grillo,File)

4-time Iditarod champ sidelined

Jeff King withdrew Tuesday over concerns for his health.

In this March 15, 2009, Jeff King leaves the Kaltag, Alaska, checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Emergency surgery has sidelined the four-time race winner days before he was set to compete in his 30th race. King withdrew Tuesday, March 3, 2020, over concerns for his health, a spokeswoman for the Iditarod told The Associated Press. The race will start Sunday north of Anchorage. (AP Photo/Al Grillo,File)
Someone holds up an inflatable Alaska Marine Highway ferry at at a rally to support of the Alaska Marine Highway System on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Incompetence turns inefficiency into failure for ferries and Real IDs

Welcome to the Gov. Mike Dunleavy era of efficient government.

Someone holds up an inflatable Alaska Marine Highway ferry at at a rally to support of the Alaska Marine Highway System on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)
Michael Dinneen / Associated Press                                2018 champion Joar Lefseth Ulsom runs his team down Fourth Ave during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage on March 2, 2019. Alaska Airlines announced Monday that it will drop its sponsorship of the event.

Alaska Airlines drops sponsorship of Iditarod

Alaska Airlines spokesman said in an email that “PETA did not play a role in our decision.”

Michael Dinneen / Associated Press                                2018 champion Joar Lefseth Ulsom runs his team down Fourth Ave during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage on March 2, 2019. Alaska Airlines announced Monday that it will drop its sponsorship of the event.
An ambulance worker adjusts her protective mask as she wheels a stretcher into a nursing facility where more than 50 people are sick and being tested for the COVID-19 virus, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Kirkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Opinion: Preparing for the new coronavirus

Here are a few key steps everyone can do now.

An ambulance worker adjusts her protective mask as she wheels a stretcher into a nursing facility where more than 50 people are sick and being tested for the COVID-19 virus, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Kirkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Robert Archibald

Voices of the Peninsula: Public input needed to safeguard state protections

It would be easy to develop a false sense of security and let complacency creep back in.

Robert Archibald
File

Schools briefs for the week of March 1-7

What’s happening this week

File
In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 photo, Stephan Patterson poses for a photo in Anchorage, Alaska. Patterson and other U.S. Census takers are reporting problems when conducting first-in-the-nation counts in rural parts of Alaska, including lack of communication about assignments, frustration with a smartphone app for filing time sheets and disappointment when they find out they are not being reimbursed for purchasing cold-weather gear. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Census hiccups in Alaska may offer preview for rest of US

Starting in May, hundreds of thousands of census takers will be sent to homes nationwide.

In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 photo, Stephan Patterson poses for a photo in Anchorage, Alaska. Patterson and other U.S. Census takers are reporting problems when conducting first-in-the-nation counts in rural parts of Alaska, including lack of communication about assignments, frustration with a smartphone app for filing time sheets and disappointment when they find out they are not being reimbursed for purchasing cold-weather gear. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Bonita Banks in a photo taken in June 2019 in Connemara, Ireland. (Photo courtesy Bonita Banks)

Voices of the Peninsula: The Importance of Social Wellness

The social dimension of wellness plays a significant role in many aspects of one’s health.

Bonita Banks in a photo taken in June 2019 in Connemara, Ireland. (Photo courtesy Bonita Banks)
Sonia Nagorski, assistant professor of Geology Arts and Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, investigates the broken oxbow along the Mendenhall River in this October 2018 photo. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: It should be easier to protect Alaskan water

Our waters are routinely used as cheap sewers for industry whose only goal is to maximizing profits.

Sonia Nagorski, assistant professor of Geology Arts and Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, investigates the broken oxbow along the Mendenhall River in this October 2018 photo. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
Minister’s Message: Finding time

Minister’s Message: Finding time

God’s word offers timely advice about time.

Minister’s Message: Finding time
The Tatsuda’s IGA building in Ketchikan, Alaska was condemned Feb. 27, 2020 after it was struck early Thursday morning by a rockslide. The main portion of the slide hit the northeast corner of the building which collapsed part of the roof and ruptured a water main causing extensive damage to both the interior and exterior. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

Landslide demolishes Ketchikan grocery store; no one injured

“Trees, rocks, overburden came down, went right in the store.”

The Tatsuda’s IGA building in Ketchikan, Alaska was condemned Feb. 27, 2020 after it was struck early Thursday morning by a rockslide. The main portion of the slide hit the northeast corner of the building which collapsed part of the roof and ruptured a water main causing extensive damage to both the interior and exterior. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)
Refuge Notebook: I Think I Can Ski

Refuge Notebook: I Think I Can Ski

Let us start with a riddle. There are 11 frogs sitting on a log. Five of the frogs decide to jump off the log. How… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: I Think I Can Ski
The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill March 24, 1989, blackened hundreds of miles of coastline in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, devasting wildlife and altering lives in fishing communities for generations. (John Gaps III / Associated Press)

Alaska Voices: Pressures are mounting on Alaska’s oil spill prevention and response system

We cannot afford a return to the complacency which triggered the worst oil spill in Alaska’s history.

The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill March 24, 1989, blackened hundreds of miles of coastline in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, devasting wildlife and altering lives in fishing communities for generations. (John Gaps III / Associated Press)
Cathy Sandeen, UAA’s new Chancellor, photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building.

Alaska Voices: How UAA is charting a positive course for the future

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we have not entered into this process lightly.

Cathy Sandeen, UAA’s new Chancellor, photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building.
Bryan Schroder, center, U.S. attorney for Alaska, speaks at a press conference announcing the seizure of 82 illegally possessed guns in Anchorage and surrounding communities on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. U.S Marshal Rob Heun, left, and Darek Pleasants of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, right, look on. The investigation resulted in federal charges against 16 people for firearm or drug trafficking counts. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

Guns, drugs seized in Alaska multi-agency investigation

About one-third of the seized guns had been stolen.

Bryan Schroder, center, U.S. attorney for Alaska, speaks at a press conference announcing the seizure of 82 illegally possessed guns in Anchorage and surrounding communities on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. U.S Marshal Rob Heun, left, and Darek Pleasants of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, right, look on. The investigation resulted in federal charges against 16 people for firearm or drug trafficking counts. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Direct democracy won’t fix the budget

Not knowing isn’t a matter of ignorance of apathy. It’s not our job.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
In this Jan. 31, 2020 photo, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters in Juneau, Alaska. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, Dunleavy proposed a state lottery as a way to provide a new source of revenue. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska Voices: State lottery nothing but a shell game

Our elected leaders need to talk truthfully about taxes.

In this Jan. 31, 2020 photo, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters in Juneau, Alaska. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, Dunleavy proposed a state lottery as a way to provide a new source of revenue. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Dr. Jim Johnsen, president of the University of Alaska, speaks to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

UA President Johnsen to make State of the University address

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen will make his annual State of the University address at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 at the Marriott Anchorage… Continue reading

Dr. Jim Johnsen, president of the University of Alaska, speaks to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce at the Moose Lodge on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)