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A recent episode of the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch could be used as evidence in a criminal case. The crew of the F/V Northwestern is under investigation by the state and they may have unintentionally ratted themselves out on camera.

During Tuesday’s meeting, city council tackled big topics in work session. Utility rate increases and revisions to the sales tax code generated significant discussion.

Utility rates will rise at least 50 percent
Mike Hubbard, of the Financial Engineering Company, teleconferenced in to talk to council about paying off massive overhauls of three utilities. He’s given a similar talk before. But this time, Hubbard provided a clearer picture of what the new utilities might cost consumers.

A thorny debate broke out in City Hall on Tuesday night. City council was divided on how it should handle a museum funding request, and whether it created a conflict of interest. The funding advanced — and council revisited tough procedural questions that came up along the way.

The Aleutians East Borough, the Aleutian Region, and the Pribilof School Districts are all seeking waivers that would allow them to allocate less than 70 percent of their budgets to instruction-related costs.

The state has 54 school districts, and 23 of them are looking for relief from the Alaska Board of Education's “70-30 rule.” If they exceed the 30-percent budgetary threshold, districts must show that non-instructional expenditures are beyond their control.

City council will hold an early meeting tonight, convening at 6 pm for the first reading of a contentious funding proposal from the Museum of the Aleutians. After input from the community, city councilor and museum director Zoya Johnson says she’ll ask to be recused from voting.

At the last council meeting, Johnson requested $202,000 to fund an extensive museum redesign. The museum is planning a new permanent exhibit, called "Aleutian Islands: Crossroads of the North Pacific." The design is meant to tell the story of the Unangan people before and after their interactions with outsiders from Russia and the United States.

King Cove and Cold Bay are the latest communities to be certified as ‘Tsunami Ready’ by the National Weather Service. The program recognizes cities that have planned extensively for tsunamis.

“They have signage, they have evacuation routes, they have a tsunami shelter, they have sirens and they also have awareness to recognize what the natural warning signs are when a tsunami is coming," says coordinator Cindi Preller.

It was a busy weekend for local athletes, as Raider swimmers and wrestlers had some of their last home meets before regional tournaments kick off. 

Raider swimmers hit the pool Friday for their senior night and community meet. Even though they weren’t competing against an opposing team, coach Julie Heard says the team members logged impressive performances.

"We had a lot of swimmers do personal bests, shaving off one, two, three, four seconds on their time," Heard says.

Illegal fishing in Russian waters could negatively impact crab prices this year.

The advance price for Bristol Bay red king crab was set last week at $7.25 per pound, putting the early value of the fishery at $57 million. Last year, the advance price was slightly higher and was revised to more than $10 a pound. Meanwhile, the advance price for St. Matthew Island blue king crab is $3.75 per pound. It was $4.25 in 2011.

Jake Jacobsen is the director of the Inter-Cooperative Exchange, which represents much of the Bering Sea crab fleet. He says that the 2012 dockside prices aren’t expected to exceed last year’s record levels, even though the quota is roughly the same. About half of the Bering Sea’s king crab is exported to Japan, and Jacobsen says that even though currency conditions are favorable the prices there are lower because of shady competition.

"Right now, DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON."

At 10:18 this morning, those instructions blared over the speaker system at the Unalaska City School. In the library, at least a dozen kids huddled under tables and gripped on to the legs. They were taking part in the world’s largest earthquake drill – the “Great ShakeOut.” In Alaska, over 60,000 people registered for the drill, and across the world 14 million people have committed to participate.