The Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association Regional Wellness and Governance Conference has brought a slew of tribal and state leaders to Unalaska this week -- including Gov. Sean Parnell. While in Unalaska, the governor spoke to conference members about health care in rural communities, signed a scholarship bill at the local high school, and met with city officials at town hall.
He also stopped by the KUCB studios and chatted with KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez about energy development and his plans for the upcoming legislative session. Topics discussed include the potential for a liquified natural gas storage facility in Unalaska, the effect of Arctic drilling on the Aleutian region, and his proposed changes to the oil tax regimes.
On Wednesday, an unusual thing happened at the Unalaska Office of Children’s Services: It was open.
And according OCS Director Christy Lawton, it’s going to stay that way. Only, not in the way that some Unalaska residents had hoped.
“At this point, the office is still here,” says Lawton. “The doors are still hypothetically open. We’re looking at a multitude of ways to which we can have a presence.”
Driving past the clinic in Unalaska, it’s tough to miss the 33-foot-long, petal-pink bus parked in the lot out front.
The bus, nicknamed “Nancy,” is the Breast Cancer Detection Center’s new mobile exam unit. The BCDC is sending Nancy through rural Alaska this year, to areas where breast cancer screening isn’t otherwise available. Unalaska is the latest stop on a list that includes Seldovia and Tok.
City Council is continuing to weigh its options for covering the cost of utility upgrades.
The city has to overhaul its water, sewer and solid waste facilities by 2016, at a cost of roughly $40 million. At a meeting Tuesday night, Public Utilities Director Dan Winters explained that rates will have to rise dramatically to cover those costs and recommended that City Council start incremental increases of 10 percent or more as soon as January.
The proposal was met with skepticism by city councilors, who said they don’t have enough information to start making decisions.
Last night, the lobby of the Grand Aleutian hotel looked like the site of Alaska’s biggest family reunion.
Carolyn Crowder was among those receiving hugs from Southwest Alaskans that she hadn’t seen in ages. She’s the health director of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, and she’s one of the planners of the conference that APIA is holding in Unalaska this week. The theme is “Wellness and Governance,” and it’s brought in a hundred people from St. Paul, Adak, Anchorage, and all the communities in between. It’s also attracted state lawmakers like Gov. Sean Parnell, Sen. Lyman Hoffman, and Rep. Bob Herron.
Until the late Nineties, Adak was a bustling military base. It had a bowling alley, a movie theatre, and housing for thousands. Now, with the Navy gone, the Aleutian community sits mostly empty. There’s a chance Arctic drilling could turn this ghost town into a boom town, but right now, the place still feels like a collection of modern ruins.
KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez traveled to Adak to find out what it’s like to live among them.
Adak will keep its jet service for another year. The federal Department of Transportation awarded Alaska Airlines a $1.6 million contract on Tuesday to continue flying to the community as part of the Essential Air Service program.
Alaska Airlines was the lowest bidder and the only one to offer combined cargo and passenger service. The community and local businesses strongly endorsed the company’s proposal. Offshore Systems Inc wrote in a letter to the DOT that as they prepare a marine support services base in Adak, “reliable, consistent and proven air service… is critical to [the] venture’s success.”
City Council will discuss a pay increase for some city employees tonight. The proposal would boost Title III employees' wages by 3 percent to cover increased cost of living. Council last adjusted for cost of living in 2009. Since then, it’s estimated to have increased by more than 8 percent. Thirty-four full-time employees and 16 part-time employees would benefit from the adjustment. City staff couldn’t immediately comment on how much the increase would cost.
This Saturday was Unalaska’s annual women’s conference, sponsored by the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic. About 115 women registered for the event -- about three times as many as last year, says clinic director Eileen Scott.
Scott says the organizers are already talking about programming for next year. This weekend, volunteers taught classes on meditation, aromatherapy, and family planning.
