Clarise Larson

Members of the Juneau Assembly say they are hesitant to move forward with a formal resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Assembly member Christine Woll proposed the resolution during a meeting Monday night, saying she felt it could provoke action at a higher level amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. But she said she wouldn’t move forward with a resolution if she didn’t think other members would support it. 

“I personally believe that we need a ceasefire and that the Assembly has an opportunity to show that our community has influence when we use our voice to persuade our federal government to take actions that could change the course of this human rights tragedy,” she said. 

But most Assembly members did not show much enthusiasm for the idea. Some said they feared it could divide parts of the community. 

Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs said that while she personally supports a ceasefire, she isn’t sure that it’s the Assembly’s place to be weighing in on the issue. 

“As an Assembly, the more we can stay focused on nonpartisan local stuff the better for all of us because we probably start to diverge in how we feel about federal and international matters,” she said. “And yet, It’s really hard watching what’s happening. It’s a real genocide.” 

In Juneau last week, more than 150 people rallied downtown in support of a ceasefire. Participants shared fliers with a proposed Assembly resolution. Some attendees and organizers of the event, like Sonia Kumar, were at Monday’s meeting to again ask for Assembly action on the issue. 

“This ceasefire resolution means a lot to those of us who live on Lingít Aaní,” she said. “I really hope you consider supporting our resolution in showing the world that the Alaska capital wants to stand on the humane side of history.”

Local resolution efforts similar to Woll’s suggestion have been passed by dozens of cities across the country. But in Alaska, very few cities have considered them. 

On Tuesday the Anchorage Assembly passed a resolution to ask Alaska’s congressional delegation to support negotiations for a ceasefire, reversing its decision last week to reject a similar resolution.

At the end of the discussion on Monday, the Juneau Assembly did not move forward with any potential resolution.

The University of Alaska Southeast’s student news publication says the Juneau campus and its Title IX office aren’t doing enough to protect students from sexual assault.

It’s led to student outcry and prompted campus officials to bring their concerns to the university’s Board of Regents. 

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination — including sexual violence — in educational programs and activities in the U.S. All public and private schools, school districts, colleges and universities must comply with its regulations.

In mid-February, students from the publication, The Whalesong, wrote in an editorial that the Juneau campus wasn’t protecting students under that law.

AJ Schultz, the publication’s student editor, said the editorial was a response to a long-running problem.

“There are so many instances of Title IX systems failing individuals and groups at this university,” he said. “I, in my role, was just bringing that forward and trying to fairly assess all the systems at play that kind of created that environment.”

The editorial included stories from multiple students who say the university mishandled their reports of sexual assault, and in turn, made them feel unsafe to share reports in the future. And since the editorial came out, students have been sharing their stories on social media and pressuring the university for change at a series of listening sessions held on campus.  

“Me — and everybody else on Whalesong and everybody else who has been coming to the listening sessions — we’re just trying to push mainly the Board of Regents to create stronger support systems across the entire university network that exists for survivors trying to go through the grievance process safely for their physical and mental health,” he said. 

Dr. Aparna Palmer took over as chancellor of UAS last summer, and Mitzi Bolaños Anderson became the school’s Title IX coordinator in October. The two have been at the forefront of the campus response to the student outcry. 

Beginning in early February, the campus began hosting the Title IX listening sessions. Palmer said they’re a chance to hear student’s concerns and work to address them.

“I do think that these are issues that probably have been kind of collecting under the surface for quite a while, it definitely precedes me,” she said.

Palmer said students have made it clear they don’t think one employee overseeing the Title IX office is enough. They’ve also called for more engaging Title IX training and a stronger security or police presence on campus.

Palmer shared the student’s concerns regarding UA Title IX policies at a Board of Regents meeting in late February. She said the campus plans to hire a deputy Title IX coordinator to help Bolaños Anderson in her work. That person will begin this month.  

“By no means are we done in terms of how we already responded there is more to do,” she said. “I come to you today as chancellor to ask for your continued support and advocacy in regard to Title IX.”

During the meeting, UA President Pat Pitney said she takes the UAS students’ concerns seriously as the UA system continues working to better its Title IX policies and response. 

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said the UA system had badly failed students and staff who were sexually harassed and assaulted. 

“This was a major topic for the board for several years and we have made tremendous progress,” she said. “They are challenging and we want to continue to improve on the progress we’ve made over the last several years.”

In 2019, a campus climate survey estimated that more than 4,000 students across Alaska campuses had experienced some form of sexual assault — either on or off campus — since enrolling. 

Still, local experts like Mandy Cole, the executive director of AWARE, Juneau’s domestic violence support organization, said rising reports of sexual assault don’t necessarily mean campuses have gotten more dangerous – it just means more people are coming forward with their stories.

“My answer is that it’s always been there — it’s always been there. It’s always been just as bad as it is today, forever. And the only way it gets better is if we talk about it,” she said.

Palmer, the UAS chancellor, said the listening sessions will continue in the coming months. Bolaños Anderson said the changes already taking place likely wouldn’t have happened if students hadn’t shared their concerns.

After nearly a year of renovations, Juneau’s Augustus Brown Pool is finally reopening.

More than 50 people gathered outside its front entrance in downtown Juneau on Friday to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand reveal of the pool’s multimillion-dollar renovations. 

Juneau Parks and Recreation Director George Schaaf said without the Juneau community’s long-standing support for the more than 50-year-old pool, the renovation wouldn’t have been able to happen.  

“I want to say thank you to the community of Juneau, you showed at the ballot box how important this pool is to you,” he said. “We are so excited to have Juneau back to being a two-pool town again.”

Schaaf said contractors have spent the past 11 months on upgrades that many swimmers might not notice — like new boilers, electric plumbing and ventilation. But, there are some noticeable changes too — like a resurfaced leisure pool and remodeled locker rooms.

The painted tiles that once lined the locker room showers were also replaced with new ones during the renovations and high-resolution photos of the original 1999 designs now line the lobby.

After the ribbon cutting concluded, residents were invited inside where Lingít elders led a blessing of the water. 

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Junior Ellie Yerkes was one of the many who took the chance to walk around and explore the renovations. She said she grew up swimming in the pool and is excited to get back in the water after so long without it. 

“My grandfather really likes to swim and he’d always bring me down here and my cousins and we just play around,” she said. “It’s nice having it back open again because I’ve missed it.” 

Another person excited to get back in the water is former Assembly member Carole Triem, who was a driving force behind an Assembly appropriation in 2021 that helped fund the $8 million renovation. 

“I woke up and I said ‘pool day, pool day, pool day!’ It’s just really great to see this open again and to be on the deck,” she said. “I haven’t been here for so long — I can’t wait to dive in the pool.”

Though the ribbon cutting ceremony was on Friday, users won’t be able to test the waters until the pool’s soft opening on Monday, followed by an official grand reopening and community free swim on Saturday, March 9.

Clarification: This story has been updated to make Carole Triem’s role in the effort to fund the pool renovations more clear. 

Many residents in both Juneau and Haines saw a jump in their property assessments last year. Now, an Alaska Senate bill would require state accreditation for tax assessors and prevent municipalities from raising the assessed value of properties during an appeal process.

Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat, sponsored SB242. He said the bill aims to make the property assessment process in the state more fair and transparent for residents.

“This is a bill that maintains the important principle of local control in local government, but sets some basic rules of the road and a little bit of balance for property owners who disagree with the tax assessor on what their property is worth,” he said.

The bill puts into place new standards for assessors in Alaska by requiring a level 3 certification from the Alaska Association of Assessing Officers or requiring that they work under the supervision of someone who does. But it would also allow municipalities to adopt their own standards instead if they prefer.

The bill would also prevent assessors from raising the value of a property during an appeal process. And, it changes the default for who hears tax appeals to an appointed Board of Equalization, instead of the municipality’s locally elected officials. 

Residents from Juneau and Haines gave public testimony on the bill on Thursday. Brenda Josephson, a Haines resident, said she applauds the bill and the guardrails it puts in place following what she said was a “trainwreck” of an assessment process last year. 

“We had an uncertified contract assessor that was hired and he enacted a new exotic hybrid mass appraisal valuation system,” she said. “The result was assessments where some properties were assessed in excess of their full and true market value.” 

The Haines Borough faced a summer of intense public criticism following a dramatic rise in some property assessments and resulting tax bills. Many residents blamed the borough’s contract assessor who they say did not have proper credentials for the position. However, the borough says the rise in property values is the result of a hot residential real estate market and corrections for out-of-date assessments. 

Though nearly all testifiers on Thursday spoke in favor of the bill, some Juneau residents, like Howard Beary, requested Kiehl include an assessment limit in the bill to cap how much the assessed value of a property can increase from one year to the next. 

“What I noticed in this bill is there’s no limits, and my property tax went up over 40%,” he said. “This bill has some positive things, but there’s nothing in there that says that they can’t raise it 40%.”

In an interview, Kiehl said that doesn’t fit with the goal of that bill, and he doesn’t want it to disrupt different municipalities’ revenue structures across the state. 

Following public testimony, the bill was held in committee for further consideration. Kiehl said he feels good about the chances of the bill moving forward this session. 

In an unanimous vote, the Juneau planning commission agreed Tuesday to approve a permit for some major construction at Eaglecrest Ski Area this summer — including installing a used gondola. 

The approval was the final step in a two-year process for the project to finally break ground. 

Eaglecrest General Manager Dave Scanlan said the gondola will be the cornerstone for attracting more summertime visitors and making the city-owned ski area self-sustaining.

“The main focus of the gondola project, obviously, is creating a new durability to climate change, a more resilient revenue stream that’s not so winter dependent,” he said.

The city bought the used gondola from an Austrian ski resort in 2022 for about $2 million, plus an additional $1.1 million to ship it to Juneau. In December, Scanlan revealed that the gondola would need additional parts that would cost almost as much as the gondola itself.

Along with installing the gondola, the ski area plans to build three midway stations, supporting towers and a new lodge at the gondola’s summit. 

The permit also allows Eaglecrest to start building new access roads, new mountain bike trails, bridge crossings and a snow tubing park.

Juneau resident Dave Hanna was the only person who gave public testimony at the meeting. He said he thinks the projects will be exciting additions to the ski area. 

“Some people might be afraid of change, but this is going to be so good for the community,” he said. “It’s going to open up so much more for folks, for the locals to mountain bike and easier access for mountain top hiking.”

Multiple commissioners said they were concerned that the new projects would mean more traffic and less parking during the winter and summer months. 

Scanlan noted that the permit will let Eaglecrest add 30 off-street parking spaces by the Lower Nordic Trail.

Despite hopes to begin construction this May, Scanlan said it’s still going to be some time before the gondola is ready to go for riders. He said Eaglecrest hopes to have the gondola ready by the winter of 2025-2026, and fully operational by the following summer.

The gazebo at Juneau’s Marine Park was packed on Saturday as a crowd of about 150 people stood in the cold to show their support for Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. 

Many held signs and wore the colors of the flag of Palestine as they rallied to urge officials in Juneau — and across the state and country — to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where health officials say thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Nicole Church, an Indigenous singer and songwriter, gave an impassioned speech at the event and was one of many who called what was happening in Gaza a genocide. 

“If we must call it a war, call it a war of annihilation. Make no mistake, there is a genocide happening right now in Gaza as we speak,” she said.

According to the health ministry in Gaza, the death toll since the conflict began in October is nearly 30,000. 

The event, organized by Juneau for Palestine, lasted nearly two hours. Multiple speakers shared stories and their views on the issue. 

Ernestine Shaankaláx̱t’ Hayes, an award-winning Lingít author and elder, said she often asks herself what she would do if something like what is happening in Gaza happened in Juneau today. 

“What would I do? Where could I go? What would we do? Where would we be safe?” she said. “Our homes would be rubble, our hospitals would be bombed, where would we take our wounded loved ones? To find care, to be safe?”

The organizers shared a citizen’s resolution calling on the Juneau Assembly to support a permanent ceasefire, among other requests. The group previously offered the resolution to the Assembly at a public meeting last month. 

Only two Juneau Assembly members, Christine Woll and Paul Kelly, were at the event on Saturday. In an interview, Woll said she is appalled at what is happening in Gaza. 

“There are so many people dying right now, and the U.S. government is participating in that — and it feels hopeless sometimes,” she said. “But when you get together with your community, it’s helpful to see how many people are in opposition to that.”

She said she is planning to speak with other Assembly members this week to gauge whether they would support a resolution. 

“To me, this is something that, if enough people speak up in our community and communities across the country, maybe we can have a difference,” she said. 

Paul Kelly said he was inspired by the people who spoke at the rally but worries a resolution that takes a stance could isolate some members of the community. 

“Before we do a resolution that speaks to how we as a community are taking a position, I want to make sure that I’m not alienating any of my own constituents as well,” he said.

Similar resolutions are being considered in other Alaska cities. The Anchorage Assembly is expected to vote Tuesday on a resolution calling on Alaska’s congressional delegation to support a ceasefire in Gaza.