With thousands of ships passing through the Aleutian Islands every year along the Great Circle shipping route, it’s inevitable that every once in a while one of them will encounter a problem.
In the past, rough weather and a lack of readily available response resources have resulted in some of those problems turning into disasters. But since 2009 the Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment advisory panel has been working to improve prevention measures and response capabilities in the region.
Cleveland Volcano has exploded for the third time in just over a week. The latest eruption on Tuesday afternoon was relatively small, according to a release from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Scientists at the Observatory weren’t able detect an ash cloud associated with this event or either of the other two. There’s no real-time monitoring equipment on Cleveland, but distant seismic stations picked up the blast.
Despite significant improvements since the early 90s, fishing is still the most deadly profession in Alaska, according to a new report from the state’s Department of Labor.
Sara Verrelli is a research analyst in charge of the state’s occupational fatality census. She says fishing has made up 30 percent of all workplace deaths in Alaska since 1992, when the census began. That’s a much higher rate than any other industry.
Southwest Alaska’s unemployment rate declined sharply in January as the major fishing seasons kicked into gear.
In December, the Aleutians East Borough had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 26.5 percent. In January, that rate was halved, down to 11.8 percent. Other parts of the region had even lower unemployment rates in January, with the Aleutians West Census Area, including Unalaska, reaching 7.7 percent - lower than the statewide average.
The fight over redistricting is nearing an end. The Alaska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the issue Tuesday and a ruling is expected to follow shortly.
At the heart of the issue is whether the Redistricting Board’s newly drawn voting districts violate the State Constitution. Earlier this year a lower court judge ruled that in the case of the Aleutians, they did. Now it’s up to the Supreme Court to decide the merits of that ruling.
The crewmember who fell off the fishing vessel Glacier Spirit on Friday afternoon is 19-year-old Joe Haller of Greenville, Pennsylvania, according to Greenville television station WYTV.
WYTV says the 47-foot vessel was fishing crab when Haller went overboard. The Coast Guard launched a Dolphin helicopter and a C-130 aircraft, but called off the search Friday evening after six hours with no sign of Haller.
The state House of Representatives has opened consideration of a bill to revive Alaska’s coastal management program.
On Friday, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell certified a citizen’s initiative allowing local input on projects like offshore oil drilling. But sponsors of a bill with a similar objective are hoping to reinstate the program through the legislative process instead.
Rep. Bob Herron of Bethel is a supporter of the coastal management program, and believes that passage of the bill would prevent an expensive fight over the ballot measure. * He says the initiative may have popular support in coastal areas, but opponents of the program have more financial resources at their disposal.
