Site Logo
Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, introduces Senate Bill 22 to the Senate Resources Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The bill would allow organizations to obtain permits and enhance the habitat of shellfish in hopes of improving the seafood industry. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

Sen. Stevens visits Friday

Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, visits the lower Kenai Peninsula for two Town Hall meetings at these times and…

District 31 Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, waits for results to come in at an election night party at Land’s End Resort on Nov. 6, 2018, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

News

Vance apologizes for video bashing high school students

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct a direct quote from a Facebook video posted by…

Kevin Clarkson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s choice for Attorney General, answers questions in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

AG designee says only 10 percent of his work related to controversial social issues

Clarkson says it’s not his job to support the law, it’s to enforce it.

In this Feb. 4, 2019 file photo, former Speaker nominee Rep. Bryce Edgmon, Dillingham, right, shares a laugh with Speaker nominee Rep. David Talerico, R-Healy, as Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Neal Foster, Nome, presides over the House. Edgmon was elected Speaker of the House on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

A whirlwhind week at the state capitol

Looking back on the week in the Alaska Legislature.

Rep. David Talerico, R-Healy, speaks during a press conference with Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, left, and Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, R-Wasilla, at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

Gov’s budget draws both concern and praise from local legislators

Update: The spelling and name of Sen. Natasha von Imhof, R-Anchorage, has been corrected.

The Alaska State Capitol. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

News

No-bid contract for psychiatric institute raises questions

A previous report advised against privatizing the institute.

Andy Jones, Director of the Department of Health and Social Services’ Office of Substance Misuse, right, speak about the fiscal impacts of the opioids on the state along with Michael Duxbury, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, center, and Laura Brooks, Director of Health and Rehabilitation for the Department of Corrections, in front of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

The opioid crisis costs Alaska more than $1B per year, and it’s going to keep being costly

The cost of an epidemic.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Office of Management and Budget Director Donna Arduin presents the governor’s supplemental budget to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

Budget director’s history of cutting with ‘hatchet, not a scalpel’ sparks concern

How much power should the position have?

School buses drop students off at Thunder Mountain High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

Gov’s bills includes $20M slash to education

The money was already approved.

Rep. David Talerico, R-Healy, speaks during a press conference with Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, left, and Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, R-Wasilla,at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

News

Reps talking, but House still unsettled

The House is a week away from a dubious record.

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Borough to lose $1.4 million under proposed Dunleavy education cuts

School district says it can’t afford cut to education

Hello? Cellphones banned on Senate floor

Top News

Hello? Cellphones banned on Senate floor

Sen. John Coghill said Tuesday evening he is considering a revision of a ban of cellphone usage on…

Republican Party candidate for District 31 representative Sarah Vance waits for results to come in at an election night party at Land’s End Resort on Nov. 6, 2018, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

News

Vance holds constituent meetings this week

Rep.-elect Sarah Vance, R-Homer, will visit with District 31 residents at these times and places: