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In preparation for a possible glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) this summer, local, tribal, and state agencies have formed a joint communications initiative aimed at improving public safety and emergency response in Juneau.
The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida), and the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) are coordinating with several federal and state partners to streamline flood messaging and improve community readiness.
The collaborative effort stems from increased awareness of the growing risks posed by the Mendenhall Glacier’s Suicide Basin and recent flood events that have affected homes, infrastructure, and traditional lands. With the basin approaching capacity, agencies are taking proactive steps to minimize confusion, provide timely updates, and improve response coordination in the event of a flood.
The new effort, called the Joint Information Center (JIC), was established under the Incident Command System and includes coordination from the National Weather Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This partnership will allow us to pool our resources to make sure our residents receive accurate, timely information—especially during high-stress situations like a flood,” said CBJ City Manager Katie Koester.
The JIC will provide consistent emergency alerts, preparedness tips, and flood status updates through email, social media, media briefings, and partner websites. The group will release email updates twice a week and near-daily social media posts to help keep the public informed.
“Community emergencies such as flood events do not recognize jurisdictional boundaries,” said Tlingit & Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard J. Peterson. “That’s why collaboration between tribal, municipal, state, and federal partners is critical as we prepare our community, pool our resources, knowledge and coordinate response. Together, we are building a framework that prioritizes public safety and ensures that no one is left behind when it matters most.”
Key Ways Residents Can Stay Informed:
- Sign up for emergency alerts at bit.ly/CBJAlerts
- Check in with the Juneau Flood Ready website at bit.ly/JuneauFloodReady
- View road closure leading up to and during an event at 511.Alaska.gov
- Stay tuned to the National Weather Service Suicide Basin monitoring page (link)
5 Review the interactive flood inundation maps available at JuneauFlood.com. - Follow partner agencies on social media.
NOTN- Goldbelt, Inc., Juneau’s urban Alaska Native corporation, has launched the permitting process for its new West Douglas cruise ship port, according to a news release from Goldbelt.
The site for Goldbelt Aaní, Tlingit for “land”, sits on the corporation’s Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands on the west side of Douglas Island, approximately 12 minutes from downtown Juneau.
Goldbelt met with the City and Borough of Juneau’s Planning and Zoning Department to discuss the early requirements for what would be the municipality’s first cultural cruise destination.
Conceptual plans include a recreated 1800s-era Tlingit village, Indigenous art installations, local foods, and cultural attractions.
According to Goldbelt, infrastructure designs call for two single-berth cruise ship docks with tour boat access, piers connected to the shore by arching transfer spans, and a 32,000-square-foot welcome center. Additional amenities proposed in initial meetings include onsite housing for ship crew members and a childcare center.
“This is not a new plan—we’re activating a vision developed with the City and Borough of Juneau more than 25 years ago,” said Goldbelt President and CEO McHugh Pierre. “Goldbelt Aaní will strengthen infrastructure, disperse tourism in a balanced way, and create meaningful, lasting value for both Goldbelt shareholders and the community.”
City records show that planning efforts between the city and Goldbelt for West Douglas date back three decades. In 1999, the city allocated $600,000 to hire an engineering firm to design a master plan for the area. The current concept closely mirrors elements from that original plan, including a Tlingit cultural village, tour boat harbor with floatplane slips, a retail promenade called Goldbelt Way, a 28,000-square-foot restaurant, a spa, and waterfront lodging such as bungalows and elevated treehouses.
While the proposal does not directly address road development along Pioneer Road, it does incorporate plans for growth in utilities and supporting infrastructure.
Anchorage-based Solstice Environmental and Juneau-based Northwind Architects are leading the permitting and design process. Goldbelt plans to hold a series of public meetings to gather input from Juneau residents.
NOTN- The Juneau International Airport will conduct a full-scale emergency response exercise on Saturday, July 26, simulating an aircraft crash and live fire response. The exercise will run from approximately 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is part of required Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety training.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon says residents can expect to see visible black smoke and flames on the airport grounds as part of the simulation.
“They’ll be conducting a simulated airport crash and live fire training to allow everybody to get a chance to play all their roles. So this will be controlled burning of fuel, which will produce black smoke to replicate a real world aircraft fire, and so there will be a lot of emergency response vehicles in and around the airport. But again, there’s no danger to the public.”
The exercise is being conducted in coordination with local emergency response agencies and the burning complies with Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) open burning guidelines, which allow limited black smoke emissions for firefighter training purposes. Airport officials say all reasonable efforts are being made to limit environmental impact and minimize the duration of smoke.
To support the drill, Mayor Weldon says the Airport Dike Trail parking lot off Radcliffe Road will be closed to the public, “airport dyke trail parking lot will be closed from 5pm on Friday, July 25 to 1pm on Saturday, July 26 So, and that’s usually one of their staging areas. So just be aware, if you’d like to walk that trail, you might pick a different trail to walk Saturday morning or walk in the afternoon.”
Airport authorities thank the public for their cooperation and understanding as they conduct this important safety training.
Seven people have been indicted and arrested in connection with a large-scale drug trafficking operation that funneled methamphetamine into Juneau from California, following a months-long investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies, according to a press release by the Juneau Police Department.
Beginning in October 2024, Task Force Officers from the Alaska State Troopers’ Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) and Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD), working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), launched an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of Juneau.
The initial investigation began when task force members obtained evidence that showed that 41-year-old Juneau residents Patrick Iler, and 39-year-old Juneau resident Erika Porter were involved with the distributing methamphetamine throughout Juneau. 46-year-old Juneau resident Timothy Miller was identified as a distributor of methamphetamine working with Iler and Porter in Juneau.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized a combined 1.32 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $130,000.
Investigators traced one of the drug sources to Highland, California. In May 2025, Alaska-based task force officers traveled to California and arrested 67-year-old Kinarla Miles, who is accused of supplying methamphetamine to the Juneau network.
Three other Juneau residents, 51-year-old Jerome Larue, 38-year-old Travis Lind, and 60-year-old Edie Seslar, were also arrested as co-conspirators.
Authorities estimate the drug ring distributed approximately 7 kilograms of methamphetamine in total, with an approximate street value of $700,000.
In May 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage indicted Miles, Larue, Lind, and Seslar on charges of drug conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
In July 2025, additional indictments were filed against Miller, Porter, and Iler for drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Porter and Miller were arrested in Juneau on July 23 and 24 and booked into Lemon Creek Correctional Center on federal warrants.
The investigation is ongoing and involves coordination between the Alaska State Troopers, USPIS, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage.
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Three Alaska school districts have joined a coalition from across the country — including school districts, teachers unions, parents and advocacy groups — suing the Trump administration for blocking $6.8 billion in congressionally approved education funding.
The Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Kuspuk school districts joined the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court. The suit challenges the withholding of funds as unlawful and unreasonable, as well as violating Congress’ authority and the separation of powers.
“The lawless and last-minute withholding of federal education funds is not just a bureaucratic failure—it is a direct attack on our most vulnerable students. Less than a month before school starts, we’ve been forced to plan for cuts instead of preparing to serve children,” said Fairbanks Superintendent Luke Meinert in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The Trump administration has said it’s withholding the funds pending a review of the grant programs to ensure they align with the Republican president’s priorities, and to “prevent them from promoting a ‘left-wing’ agenda,” according to the lawsuit.
For Alaska, an estimated $46.4 million was allocated across five grant programs, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. That includes funding to support migrant education, academic enrichment, English language learning, and other types of instruction, as well as teachers’ professional development. In addition, an estimated $1.1 million was withheld for adult education programs.
According to the lawsuit, school districts nationwide are facing millions in budget shortfalls, and have had to “cancel orders for new curriculum, delay critical teacher training, pause contracts for services for English language learners, or take other actions to avoid incurring expenses that they cannot afford to pay without the money normally provided by the Formula Grant Programs.”
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District serves more than 12,000 students across 33 schools, and has seen over $2.57 million frozen, according to the lawsuit.
“Without these Title program funds, nearly 200 education jobs are in jeopardy,” Meinert said. “Our classrooms will be less supported, and students will be left behind. This isn’t just fiscal irresponsibility—it’s a moral failure that jeopardizes the future of the very students federal law is meant to protect.”
The Kuspuk School District serves 320 students in nine schools across 12,000 square miles in Western Alaska — and has received national attention for its deteriorating school buildings and severe maintenance needs. It is facing over $180,000 in frozen funds.
Among the grants frozen was funding to support teacher training, school supplies, enrichment programs and English language learning, including for over 130 staff. “Because English is not the first language for more than 60% of the district’s teaching staff, sustained … training has been critical to ensuring educators can effectively support English Learners across subjects and grade levels,” according to the lawsuit.
Superintendent Madeline Aguillard said in a statement the programs are “not line items, they are lifelines” for students.
“These are not extras. These are the programs that give our students a chance,” she said. “When funding is blocked, it does not just stall services. It dismantles the systems we have built to reach those most in need. When the federal government walks away from its obligation, it is not a delay. It is denial. Denial of access. Denial of progress. Denial of the futures our students have a right to pursue.”
For Anchorage, the state’s largest district by population at more than 43,000 students in 94 schools, the frozen funds are estimated at $11.8 million.
In an interview last week on the district’s budget challenges ahead of the lawsuit, Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the funding freeze on July 1, at the start of the fiscal year was “severe,” particularly having just signed new contracts for teachers and staff. “If you offer somebody a role and no longer have the funds for it — it’s so unprecedented that the federal government would not essentially pay its bills on time because these monies were appropriated. This is not a budget reduction conversation. This is a executing the will of the Congress of conversation,” he said.
The freeze comes amid an ongoing state education funding debate with the Alaska State Legislature meeting for a special session on Aug. 2, as well as a dispute over local contributions to school funding. School officials said this combination of issues is devastating to public education in Alaska. Earlier this year, the Anchorage School District reported it had to lay off 42 staff positions, and cut more than $30 million in salaries, benefits and services.
Bryantt said the district had to immediately lay off five staff members following the funding freeze announcement, and transfer about a dozen more to alternate roles. “We can make sure that folks are employed. That’s my top priority, in addition to the continuity of our students’ learning,” he said, and recruiting and hiring teachers is an ongoing challenge.
“Teachers are a national commodity,” he added.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Rhode Island, names the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, its director Russ Vought, the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. It asks a judge to compel the department to release the funds.
Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined nine other Republican senators in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging the department to release K-12 funds, as well as over $700 million for adult education programs.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will release some of the withheld grants, an estimated $1.3 billion that goes to support after-school care and summer school programs, though it’s unclear when those funds will be received by districts.
President Donald Trump signed the wide-ranging One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025. It focuses on cutting taxes, mainly for households that earn US$217,000 or more each year, as well as increasing funding for military and border security and revamping social programs.
Republicans tout it as providing “an economic lifeline for working families” and “laying a key cornerstone of America’s new golden age.”
Democrat lawmakers argue that, in reality, Trump’s act “steals from the poor to give to the ultra-rich.”
The act is estimated to increase the country’s debt by more than US$3 trillion over 10 years, while knocking more than 10 million people off Medicaid.
About 41.4 million adults in the U.S. receive Medicaid. And 49% of Medicaid recipients who voted in the 2024 election backed Trump.
While 94% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said in a May 2025 survey that they are worried Medicaid cuts will lead to more adults and children losing their health insurance, 44% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents expressed concern about this, according to the KFF Health Tracking Poll.
Why, then, do Trump’s Make America Great Again supporters – especially those who will be hit hard by cuts to food assistance programs and health care, including hospitals – continue to support him even as he enacts policies that some think go against their interests? Indeed, over 78% of Republicans or Republican-leaning voters say they support the measure Trump signed.
As an anthropologist who studies MAGA and American political culture, I understand that many of the MAGA faithful believe that Trump is a once-in-a-lifetime leader who is catapulting the U.S. into a new golden age.
Sure, their reasoning goes, bumps in the road are expected. But they think that most of the criticism of Trump and this latest bill is ultimately fake news spread by radical leftists who have what some call Trump Derangement Syndrome, meaning anti-Trump hysteria.
Alex Brandon − Pool/Getty Images
Trump alone can fix it
In the eyes of the MAGA faithful, Trump is no ordinary politician. To them, he is a savior who can help ward off the threat of radical left socialism. They believe Trump’s proclamation: “I alone can fix it.”
Some see Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, as evidence he is divinely chosen to lead the country. Trump himself claimed during his second inaugural address, “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
As I have repeatedly observed firsthand at Trump rallies and MAGA gatherings and heard in my conversations with Trump supporters, many Trump supporters – even those whom Democrats contend will be hurt by the bill – see the bill as a key step to making America great again. Doing so will not be easy and may cause some pain.
But as Trump himself has noted about policies such as tariffs, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
‘Fake news!’
Even if the bill may cause some short-term pain, MAGA stalwarts contend, the apocalyptic claims of critics of massive health cuts are hoaxes spread by the radical left media. White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, for example, dubbed the Medicare cut claims “a big fake news story.”
This view, based on my research and observations, is unsurprising. Trump has been pushing the “fake news conspiracy” theory, which holds that the media is part of the deep state, since his first term. He even dubbed the press “the enemy of the people.”
Trump’s fake news rhetorical strategy has been successful in helping him maintain support. Trump supporters take it for granted that negative news coverage of the president is most likely fake news.
The Trump administration frequently invokes this conspiracy theory, including statements with headlines like “100 Days of HOAXES: Cutting Through the Fake News.”
The White House is taking the same approach with the new legislation. In June 2025, the Trump administration issued a statement stating “Myth vs. Fact: The One Big Beautiful Bill” and “MYTHBUSTER: The One Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Spending, Deficit – and That’s a Fact.”
There is already evidence that this depiction is resonating in places such as rural Nebraska, where many residents do not blame Trump for a health clinic that claims it is shutting down due to Medicaid cuts. “Anyone who’s saying that Medicaid cuts is why they’re closing is a liar,” said one woman of the clinic’s closure.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
‘Crushing it’ in the Golden Age
More broadly, the MAGA faithful contend, the bill’s critics miss the bigger picture. For the most part, Trump has been “crushing it” while putting “‘W’ after ‘W’ on the board.”
From their perspective, Trump has assembled an all-star Cabinet team that is implementing key pillars of the MAGA agenda, such as restricting immigration, blocking unfair trade and avoiding drawn-out wars.
Trump supporters underscore the president’s accomplishments on immigration. Attempted unauthorized border crossings of migrants have plummeted in 2025, amid a rise in arrests of immigrants.
“Our message is clear,” stated Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.”
Gas prices are also down. Trump has followed through on his pledge to supporters to purge what he calls the deep state, by downsizing or gutting entire government departments and agencies.
Trump has clamped down on woke universities that brainwash students, as MAGA supporters see it.
He withheld funding from the University of Pennsylvania until it agreed to ban transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams. Trump also cut $400 million in funding for Columbia University because the administration said it did not sufficiently protect Jewish students from harassment during Palestinian rights protests.
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in July for his diplomatic work in the Middle East.
Recounting Trump’s foreign policy achievements, one conservative commentator gushed that Trump “promised we would win so much we’d get tired of winning. Instead, the wins keep coming – and America isn’t tired at all.”
Trumpism = Trump
Yet, Trump faces challenges.
A June 2025 KFF Health Tracking Poll found that support for the new legislation decreased when people were informed about its negative health care impact, for example.
Republicans could also face backlash in 2028 after the full impact of the act takes effect and people lose health insurance and other public benefits.
Regardless, I believe MAGA faithful will likely continue to support Trump.
They may argue over parts of his bill, the airstrikes on Iran or the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
But, in the end, they will circle the wagons around Trump for a simple reason. Trump created the MAGA movement. He dominates the Republican Party. And there is no Trumpism without Trump.
Alex Hinton receives receives funding from the Rutgers-Newark Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America, Rutgers Research Council, and Henry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
Politics + Society – The Conversation
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The celebrity deaths just keep coming this week.
The latest famous name to leave us is music legend Chuck Mangione.
The jazz trumpeter who famously played himself on the beloved animated sitcom King of the Hill was 84 years old.
A spokesperson confirmed to People magazine that Mangione passed away at his home in Rochester, New York on July 22.
No cause of death has been revealed.
Chuck Mangione leaves behind musical legacy
A two-time Grammy winner and 14-time nominee, Mangione released more than 30 albums over the course of his career.
He’s likely best remembered for his 1977 hit “Feels So Good.”
According to a biography on his official website, Chuck and his brother Gap Mangione were influenced from a young age by their parents’ love of music.
“Their father would invite these amazing artists to come home with them for a good home-cooked Italian meal,” the website states.
“Of course, they were more than happy to eat home cooking after being on the road. Chuck grew up thinking everyone had Carmen McRae and Art Blakey over for dinner.”
Chuck and Gap would go on to find acclaim as the Jazz Brothers Band. But it was as a solo artist that Chuck would reach his greatest success.
Inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Chuck was the winner of two Grammys: best pop instrumental performance for Children of Sanchez in 1979, and best instrumental composition for “Bellavia” in 1977.
He wrote the latter song for his beloved mother.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mangione reached a new generation of fans thanks to his frequent cameos on King of the Hill.
Our thoughts go out to Chuck Mangione’s loved ones as they mourn the loss of this music legend.
Chuck Mangione Cause of Death: Music Legend, ‘King of the Hill’ Star Passes … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip