Site Logo
Chief Justice Daniel E. Winfree, right, is sword in by Justice Dario Borghesan in Anchorage on July 1, 2021. Winfree will take over after former Chief Justice Joel Bolger retired earlier this year. (Courtesy photo/Alaska Court System)

News

State Supreme Court has new Chief Justice

Governor announces appointment to high court.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, seen here speaking at a Jun 17, 2021 news conference at the Alaska State Capitol, announced $215 million in vetoes to the state budget Thursday, and called on lawmakers to come together to solve the state's fiscal issues. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

News

Gov announces $215M in vetoes —lawmakers’ per diem payments, PFD are among cuts

Announcement prompts strong pushback.

Alaska State Capitol

News

Lawmakers announce PFD working group

First meeting Wednesday.

Members of the House Republican Minority Caucus talk amongst themselves during an at ease on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday, June 28, 2021. House members reached a deal on an operating budget and avoided a government shutdown but members of the minority said they had been repeatedly pushed out of the process. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Lawmakers pass budget again; send to Gov ahead of shutdown deadline

More work and a work group ahead.

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)

News

Alaska’s cruise season ‘good to go’

Ships expected late July.

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, spoke to the Empire on Monday, June 14, 2021, about the final budget proposal for the state which he helped craft. Some lawmakers said they felt bullied by the budget's contents. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Lawmakers decry ‘bully tactics’ in budget proposal

Legislative leverage.

Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer) in the Alaska Capitol on Feb. 11, 2021 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Peter Segall/Juneau Empire)

News

Public pushback puts pause on DMV proposal

Lawmakers shutter plan to close six rural DMVs

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during an August news conference. On thursday, Dunleavy withdrew an executive order reorganizing the state’s largest department, the Department of Health and Social Services, after lawmakers sought to block it. (Courtesy Photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)

News

Governor withdraws DHSS split order

Reorganizing the department remains a priority.

The Department of Health and Social Services, its headquarters seen here in Juneau on Monday, March 8, 2021, could be split into two departments by an executive order from the governor. However, some lawmakers have raised concern about the legality of the order, saying it could lead to costly litigation. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Lawmakers question whether proposed department split is legal

Governor maintains executive order is within his powers, others are less sure.

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives gather for a Finance Committee meeting on Monday, March 1, 2021 even after a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. Meetings were canceled last week after Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, tested positive. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Work continues even with new cases at the Capitol

“Hell or high water.”

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks to colleagues on Friday, Feb 12, 2021. Edgmon, who served as speaker of the house in 31st Legislature, was named Monday as a co-chair of the House Finance Committee. A full list of committee assignments is expected soon. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

News

Alaska House on the verge of organizing

Some leadership has been named

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File There’s money in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bond proposal package for projects like the one taking place at Aurora Harbor, seen here in this Nov. 5, 2020, file photo, but Juneau’s Sen. Jesse Kiehl doesn’t think there’s enough local investment.

News

Governor’s $356M bond proposal gets cool reaction from lawmakers

Legislators cautious on revisions, additions

photo by James Brooks/Anchorage Daily News, Pool Members of the Alaska House of Representatives take their oaths of office on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in the Alaska State Capitol at Juneau. Members were allowed to remove their COVID-19 masks as they took the oath.

News

State House remains unorganized after first day

They’ll try again Wednesday.