Kulluk under tow on Sunday/Credit: Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Chris Usher

After days of failed rescue efforts, Shell’s Kulluk drill rig has run aground near Kodiak Island. The conical rig hit bottom in shallow offshore waters Monday night around 9pm. So far there are no reports of an oil spill, although the vessel is carrying 140,000 gallons of diesel and 12,000 gallons of other lubricants. Susan Childs, the incident commander and Shell’s venture support integrator, told reporters at a press conference Monday night that the vessel’s tanks are isolated in the interior of the vessel and encased in heavy steel.

Shell’s Noble Discoverer drill rig has had several high-profile mishaps in 2012. Now, the Coast Guard says it found problems with the rig's on-board systems during an emergency inspection in Seward.

Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow says the vessel was on the Coast Guard’s radar because of a stack fire that broke out while the rig was tied up in Unalaska in November. Then the Noble Discoverer headed for Seward, where Wadlow says it had problems with its propulsion system. Those two incidents, in such close proximity, prompted the Coast Guard to send safety inspectors aboard.

Whiteout conditions near the Unalaska airport. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

Unalaska’s White Christmas has come a day too late. A winter storm is heading through town, bringing gale-force winds and freezing temperatures. It’s expected to drop about four inches of snow on Wednesday, on top of the slush that accumulated throughout Christmas day.

The Department of Public Safety has issued a category one travel advisory this morning due to the slippery roads and blowing snow. Drivers should use headlights, and public safety director Jamie Sunderland says truck-trailers are authorized to use chains. That’s in accordance with a new ordinance approved this May, which prohibits truck drivers from using chains unless the city gives them permission to do so on bad-weather days.

Unalaska’s city hall is scheduled for more turnover in the next few months. Finance director Tonya Miller will leave her post on February 15 after six years of service, and head to another municipal job in Georgia.

Unalaska’s human resources manager, Kelly Stiles, says Miller is originally from Georgia, and had made it known that she wanted to move to be closer to family.

While the day’s not over yet, it appears the Apocalypse has been averted. But that doesn’t mean other natural disasters won’t strike. The U.S. Geological Survey is using the hype surrounding the forecasted end of the world to bring attention to the science behind forecasting the real natural disasters that threaten Alaska on a regular basis. KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce talked with USGS seismologist Sue Hough about predicting -- and preparing for -- the Earth’s next big disaster.

It’s been eight years since the Selendang Ayu cargo ship lost control and split in half outside Unalaska, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and killing six crewmembers.

Since then, a team of consultants and maritime experts have been studying ways to keep the Aleutian Islands safe from passing vessels. Many agree that a robust rescue tug would help. But there’s a lot of disagreement over how soon the tug is needed -- and whose job it is to acquire it.

The Aleut Corporation is dipping its toe into the energy business in Unalaska. CEO David Gillespie says the corporation wants to start researching geothermal power at Makushin volcano.

"Our interest is to look the current state of energy in the Aleutians and in this case, Unalaska in particular, and look at things like demand forecasts and what the role of fish processing might or might not be in the project," Gillespie says.

Criminal charges were dropped Tuesday against the man who went on a cross-town graffiti spree in April. Christopher Hadsell, 23, stood accused of spray-painting the Russian Orthodox Church, Kloosterboer cold storage facility and Highliner property. In lieu of criminal penalties, Hadsell paid $500 in restitution to the Church of the Holy Ascension, and wrote letters of apology to all three organizations.

The rash of harassing phone calls that Unalaska women have reported over the last month appears to have ended. The last reported call was received last Tuesday, bringing the total number of victims to six.

Sgt. Jennifer Shockley says no arrests have been made in connection with the obscene calls, although multiple victims identified the same possible suspect. Shockley says an officer visited the man last week, but he denied any knowledge of the incidents. Without further evidence, Shockley says it’s not possible to pursue charges at this time.