Unalaska’s smallest processing plant is now a major player in the Aleutian Islands golden king crab fishery. A recent purchase by one of Bering Fisheries’ parent companies will bring an extra 1.2 million of pounds of king crab through the plant every year.
Dick Tremaine is the asset manager for Siu Alaska Corporation, which owns half of the plant. He says the purchase will help Bering Fisheries compete in a marketplace dominated by big processors.
At a meeting Tuesday night, city council will revisit some budget amendments that failed to win support earlier this month.
A $15,000 grant for public safety and a public works request for $32,000 are back on the agenda in the same budget package – along with a much-discussed grant for renovations at the Museum of the Aleutians.
At the last council meeting, the museum’s $75,000 grant was the sticking point that caused the entire budget package to fail. This time, the grant amount is increased to $202,000. That’s the full amount that the museum needs to hold onto the outside grants they’ve already secured, and start building their designs.
Unalaska Public Works Director Nancy Peterson was recently recognized as the Alaska Municipal League’s Employee of the Year. City Manager Chris Hladick says she got a standing ovation from the crowd when the award was announced.
“They read a little bio, and so they lead up to who the person is without saying who they are or where they’re from. And Nancy was very surprised by it.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has fined four Alaska seafood processing vessels for alleged Clean Water Act violations. The processors agreed to pay a combined total of more than $300,000 to settle the allegations, which revolve around seafood waste discharge. All four vessels process groundfish in the federal waters off Alaska’s coast, and dump unusable fish waste back into the ocean.
After a week of harsh weather, responders were finally able to remove fuel from a tug that grounded off the Alaska Peninsula.
The Polar Wind was carrying about 20,000 gallons of diesel when it -- and the barge it was towing -- ended up on the rocks. About 6,000 gallons were lost after the accident, but there have been no reports of oiled animals.
According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the weather quieted down Friday, and a salvage team was able to lighter almost all of the remaining fuel over the weekend. The team also recovered 1.5 million pounds of frozen seafood from the barge Unimak Trader, and they’ve sent those containers on to Unalaska.
Shell’s Kulluk drill rig is back in Unalaska after spending the fall in the Beaufort Sea, but it may not be around for long. Shell previously said the Kulluk would overwinter in Unalaska at its custom dock in Captain’s Bay, but spokesperson Kelly op de Weegh now says that it may go south for maintenance.
Meanwhile, Shell’s other drill rig - the Noble Discoverer - left for Seward late last week, just a few days after an engine backfire at City Dock. Op de Weegh says the rig will dock in Seward temporarily before heading south to an undisclosed West Coast port.
More shoppers than ever before attended Black Friday sales this year -- but not in Unalaska, where there are no big box stores or shopping malls. Still, residents managed to find great deals the morning after Thanksgiving. KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal has the story.
It’s been five years since the federal government started requiring Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, or TWIC cards, for dock workers. Now, the first cards issued are starting to expire.
And that’s highlighting some big problems with the TWIC program in Alaska, according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
In a November 16 letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Murkowski points out that there are only seven enrollment centers in the entire state. Unalaska’s office, which the city operates out of the public library, is one of them. Murkowski says it’s unreasonable to expect Alaskans to travel to those centers twice to register for an ID.
A 31-year-old man has received a lengthy prison sentence for raping a woman in False Pass, wrapping up a four-year legal saga that involved two jury trials.
The attack occurred in 2008, while Jason Downard was working as a commercial fisherman. He was initially charged with sexual assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, and attempted sexual assault. The woman sustained multiple injuries, and there was evidence she had been strangled.
