Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

The City and Borough of Juneau is accepting applications for its Systemic Racism Review Committee to address longstanding issues related to race in the community.

The Juneau assembly created the committee in August after protests and public listening sessions called for concrete action against systemic racism.

The seven-person committee will review proposed laws and advise the assembly if they include a policy or implication that is racist. It will also review ordinances and resolutions to see if they perpetuate racism.

Seats on the committee are open to all community members who are 18 or older. But according to a press release from the city, they’re looking for people who have experience identifying unlawful discrimination and inequity or intimate knowledge of local and tribal cultures and practices.

Assembly member Loren Jones says Juneau residents with experience in social justice, human rights or research at the university level are encouraged to apply. Applicants will receive a list of questions asking why they’re a good fit for the role.

The deadline to apply is Sunday, Jan. 10.

In this newscast:

• Juneau is accepting applications for its Systemic Racism Review Committee to address longstanding issues related to race in the community.
• Around Christmas, there were reports of an earthquake and major mountain rockslide in the wilderness near Juneau.
• Anyone in the U.S. or Canada who pulled up a Google search on Wednesday would have a seen the homepage logo replaced with an illustration of Alaska civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich.

It has been a tough year for students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But one program at Juneau’s Yaakoosgé Daakahidi High School is seeing students flourish with distance learning.

Recently, students at Yaakoosgé Daakahidi High School showed off handmade gingerbread houses for an end-of-the-year talent show. But because classes are virtual, they were called into a digital spotlight instead of standing in front of other students.

Each student described their technique as they put their own twist on the holiday treat.

The virtual talent show was part of an advisory class program at the school. While all high schools in the Juneau School District have advisory classes two times a week, the program at Yaakoosgé Daakahidi has five, with one each day.

“These classes are more focused at creating a connection and bond with students between staff at the school and the students, and also allows students to connect with one another on a more, deeper level. And so they’re more focused towards the students’ emotional and social well-being,” said Mary Wright, an advisor at the school.

Wright said small student groups allow for that more meaningful connection that aids learning. Topics include mental health, self care and healthy boundaries.

Back in the talent show, students expressed themselves through song, jokes and visual art. It was vibrant and kind of noisy.

Devin Tatro is a social studies teacher and an advisor at the school. She said advisors see students through their learning journey at Yaakoosgé from start to finish.

“What’s special about advisory Is that really the point is to do social emotional skills, and community building with that group of students, and also to empower the students to form relationships with staff and students in the rest of the school,” Tatro said.

Each teacher has an advisory group of about 16 kids. Advisors work with students to create a graduation plan, keep track of grades and communicate with parents. Upon graduation, advisors give a speech about each student.

That extra attention is having a positive impact on students. And this year, with mandatory distance learning, some students who might have struggled in normal times are flourishing in advisory classes.

Connor Carroll is one of those students.

“I feel more connected to my teachers at Yaakoos(gé),” Carroll said. “And other schools, I really feel like I didn’t have that connection. And that had a big effect on my grades and the work I did.”

Carroll said the virtual classes have helped him break out of his shell.

“I have a harder time in public situations, especially with larger crowds,” he said. “And that’s another great thing about Yaakoosgé. It’s not that big of a crowd, so it’s more comfortable.”

And while the upcoming school year is expected to be at least partially in-person, Carroll said he looks forward to the next semester.

In this newscast:

• Before their deadlines passed, applications surged for two of Juneau’s pandemic relief programs designed to put thousands of dollars into locals’ hands.
• One program at Juneau’s Yaakoosgé Daakahidi High School is actually seeing students flourish with distance learning.
• Eaglecrest Ski Area’s season-opening was delayed because of record-setting rain and warm weather, and when it finally happened last Saturday, turnout was light.
• Bartlett Regional Hospital’s Board of Directors has a new president, among other changes to leadership.

In this newscast:

• The Juneau Assembly is holding a special meeting Tuesday to consider changes to its pandemic relief programs.
• Changes are still coming to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area and residents can still weigh in on a plan that will make a long-term impact.
• An online Alaska news outlet is suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration.
• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Tuesday that he’s splitting the state’s health department in two.

It has been a quiet year at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. But changes are still coming, and residents can still weigh in on a plan that will make a long-term impact to the region’s famous attraction.

Barbara Miranda is the recreation area’s director. She said she’s looking forward to seeing tourism bounce back in 2021.

“Even with this downturn in visitation in 2020, we’re still being told by our consultants that we’re anticipating about a million, close to a million visitors annually by 2040,” she said.

She also said there have been some changes and modifications to the plan that the public should know about.

“We’re proposing to make the Nugget Falls trail into a loop and we’re proposing to put some public use cabins in the campground,” said Miranda.

Miranda said other changes also include new trailheads and creating more opportunities to view wildlife. Some residents have already voiced their concerns over the proposed changes.

“Comments submitted earlier in the process stand and don’t need to be resubmitted,” she said. “Folks should be looking at those things that have been modified since the last scoping period [which] was last February of 2020.”

Previous versions of the plan included the controversial addition of boats that would take visitors across Mendenhall Lake to see the glacier up close. Because the glacier is receding, it eventually won’t be visible from where the visitor center is.

As it now stands, Miranda says the plan proposes to build three docks to allow boats on Mendenhall Lake. One by the visitor center, one by the glacier and one on the west side of the lake.

The deadline for this round of public comments is Jan. 15. Miranda said the Forest Service will release an environmental impact statement around summer 2021, followed by another round of public comments.

A previous version of this story stated that the decision to use boats on Mendenhall Lake has been postponed. That proposal has been revised since spring 2021. The current plan proposes building three docks on the lake.