Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

In this newscast:

• A new report captures a grim economic snapshot of how Southeast Alaska has been affected by COVID-19.
• State troopers have solved a 24-year-old sexual assault and homicide case in Sitka.
• Alaskans unemployed due to COVID-19 would receive $300 more weekly than normal under a plan announced by Governor Mike Dunleavy today.
• Some churches in Alaska’s largest city have recently defied the emergency order limiting the size of gatherings in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Juneau police are investigating racist graffiti in the woods near Floyd Dryden Middle School as a hate crime. The graffiti, which police described as including “hateful and vulgar messages,” was reported to the department Wednesday afternoon.

Retired schoolteacher Janna Lelchuk and her husband were walking their dogs at Adair-Kennedy Park in Juneau last weekend when they encountered racist and obscene words in white spray paint on a bridge and some trees.

“There were horrible things written,” Lelchuk said. “Like, all over. And what really shocked me and surprised me there was this A-L-M sign, which absolutely didn’t go along with what was, you know, on the bridge or with all the writings and all the pictures.”

A-L-M stands for “All Lives Matter.”

Lelchuk later went back to take photos of the graffiti and posted them in a public Facebook group.

“I was kind of hoping that we stay away from all that, you know, disgracefulness that’s happening around,” Lelchuk said. “Unfortunately, we see it happening here, too, and that’s frustrating and kind of sad. Very sad.”

Juneau resident Chelsea Elliott says she got a group together to clean up the graffiti.

“You know, when we went out there to clean it, they had a sporting event going on,” Elliott said. “There were kids wandering around the trees and stuff right around that area. Lots of families and younger kids that can see stuff like that.”

She says they scrubbed the paint off easily with dish soap.

Juneau Police Lt. Krag Campbell says the penalty for racist graffiti can go beyond vandalism.

“That ‘Oh, a tree got spray painted.’ Yeah, that’s the physical part of it,” Campbell said. “But there’s an emotional side of it that damages people who see that. And we just want to make sure that we understand, that people understand this. This is not okay. It’s not okay to do these types of things. And it impacts a lot of people.”

Campbell says Juneau police are investigating the graffiti as a hate crime. He’s asking anyone with information to contact police.

In this newscast:

• Residents clean up some racist graffiti at a Juneau park after it’s reported on a public social media page. Juneau police are investigating it as a hate crime.
• Attorneys for the family of a man fatally shot by a Juneau police officer in December say publicized audio shows the officer’s state of mind.
• Republican state House of Representatives candidate Leslei Becker took to social media on Wednesday to explain a racially charged post last year on a religious blog.
• Kensington Mine reported Wednesday that a total of 19 of its employees have now tested positive for COVID-19.

In this newscast:

• Attorneys for the family of a man fatally shot by a Juneau police officer last December are highlighting audio of the officer talking to himself before shooting Kelly Stephens.
• Local officials in Juneau are moving toward using a prescribed set of policies that shift on the fly, according to the community’s risk status.
• A Petersburg-based whale watching and charter company documented a rare white orca swimming in the waters of Southeast Alaska.
• The passenger who tested positive for coronavirus abord the only cruise ship to sail in Alaska during the pandemic does not have COVID-19.
• The mother of a baby born on an airplane that was taking her to a hospital in Anchorage has named her son Sky to reflect his unique birth.

In this newscast:

• The state of Alaska is filing a lawsuit in federal court, alleging the U.S. Office of Subsistence Management has overstepped its authority.
• Hear from three candidates running against Dan Sullivan for the U.S. Senate race to represent Alaska.
• The Southeast community of Angoon is now requiring face coverings in most public places.
• An Anchorage diner owner who kept his restaurant open in defiance of a city order says the business will be open for takeout only.

In this newscast:

• Juneau’s students are going back to school this week, but they’re not physically going back to school.
• With a renewed sense of urgency since the pandemic, an online Tlingit class works on the frontlines of language revitalization in Alaska.
• A fishing crew near Prince of Wales Island recently made an unusual catch — a Pacific green sea turtle.
• A flood warning for the Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River is in effect until at least 11 o’clock Monday.