Juneau Independent

As the Alaska Legislature prepares to return to Juneau, lawmakers once again confront a familiar and contentious choice. The governor has proposed a so-called “full” Permanent Fund dividend and a budget that relies on a roughly $1.5 billion draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve to deliver it. 

Creating a charter-level process for advisory, non-binding votes would give Juneau a clearer way to hear from residents early, thoughtfully, and consistently. Importantly, such a process would apply not just to Eaglecrest, but to future decisions that shape the community over decades.

Two stories in the past week illustrate how Sen. Dan Sullivan is trying to cope with the dismantling of America’s constitutional order. They involve the authoritarian impulse to cling to power. And in both, the president of the United States makes Sullivan look like an uninformed fool. 

Eaglecrest has long been Juneau’s beloved recreational crown jewel, a recruitment tool for employers to attract a workforce and a reason for people to stay here and raise their families.

The Alaska Legislature will reconvene in Juneau in less than two weeks, with a stack of difficult issues weighing on lawmakers.

The U.S. attack on Venezuela and capture of its president early Saturday morning as observed by "Isabella," a Venezuelan woman who moved with her family to Juneau in May of 2024.

(Alaska Division of Elections photo) By Rich Moniak The U.S. Department of Justice has been unusually busy the past few months. But it has nothing to do with its mission to “uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights.” Rather, the lawsuits they filed against 21 states and Fulton County, Georgia, are part of the Trump administration’s attempt to erect a façade of credibility for the president’s never-ending lies about the 2020 election. To avoid ma

What drove me off the Juneau Assembly last year was the fever pitch of issues; the deep anger felt by my friends and constituents about, well, many things, including CBJ issues; and the speed at which a normal-seeming issue became a flashpoint. There are no normal issues these days.

When they credit the author of the most well-known and loved Christmas poem in American history, I feel a new sense of knowing, even pride at hearing the name, Clement Clarke Moore. I’m still grasping that my friend, ski buddy and fellow longtime Juneau resident Linda Ogden Squibb is a direct descendant of the author who penned what became "The Night Before Christmas" for his children nearly 200 years ago, in 1822.

The complaint regarding the historic significance of the neighborhood won’t be heard until August. However, as CBJ noted in their response to that issue in this case, Telephone Hill is not on the National Historic Register. And the bar for admission to that is so low that it contains hundreds of places that have no historic significance whatsoever.

The Alaska Division of Elections director’s office in Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent) By Bridget Smith Alaskans treasure autonomy and independence. It is part of our DNA, whether we have been here for thousands of years or we arrived last week. I wonder what Alaskans think of a recent divulging of their confidential information by the State of Alaska. On Tuesday, December 23, 2025, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, turned o

It’s the season of warm wishes, goodwill, families and friends. It’s a time for sharing old memories and making new memories with the new year. It’s a break in everyday life to remember the past and think about the future.