The Unalaska Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is focusing its attention in 2012 on increasing ferry and cruise ship traffic.

The ferry brought just over 800 people to Unalaska during last year’s summer season, which CVB Director Alyssa Sensky says is an increase from previous years.  Since 2010 the ferry has been making two runs a month out to Unalaska, which Sensky says helps generate traffic.  She’s hoping 2012 will be even busier.

Three and half years ago a massive volcanic eruption buried the Aleutian island of Kasatochi under thick layers of sediment and ash. That destroyed the nesting sites of millions of seabirds and completely reshaped the island’s topography. As UAF's Ned Rozell reported last week, new research shows that unusually fast erosion is revitalizing Kasatochi’s ecosystem and giving scientists a glimpse into how damaged environments heal themselves.

Gov. Sean Parnell announced his state board appointments today, and his list includes one Unalaska resident. Public Safety Director Jamie Sunderland has been selected to serve on the Alaska Police Standards Council.

That council sets the regulations governing conduct in the field of law enforcement. They also handle cases where police and corrections officers are accused of living up to those standards.  

A new lava dome is forming in the crater of Cleveland Volcano.  In response, scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory bumped the aviation alert level from yellow to orange on Tuesday.

It’s the fourth time since July that the Observatory has raised the alert.  Back in December, Cleveland had a minor eruption that sent up a 15,000 foot ash cloud and removed a lava dome that had been forming for months. 

About a dozen people are responsible for making sure that Unalaska’s roads are passable every morning, a task that isn’t easy given the amount of snowfall this year.

KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez went out with the roads crew one frosty morning to find out what exactly goes into that process.

Unalaska police say a Juneau man turned himself in over the weekend after being charged with drug possession.

44-year old Robert A- Biddinger was named in a 22-count indictment handed up by a Juneau grand jury on Friday. A 5-thousand dollar warrant was issued for his arrest.  He turned himself in to Unalaska police Saturday evening.

All 22-counts are for felony misconduct involving a controlled substance. Identical charges of 22-felony counts were also filed against 29-year old Donya Owens.

For the Unalaska City School basketball teams, the Donlin Gold Classic resulted in a series of heartbreaks.

Coming off their narrow loss against Bethel on Thursday, the boys team struggled in the two remaining matches of the tournament. The Raiders faced off against the Nome Nanooks on Friday, losing 31 to 47. On Saturday, the Raiders managed to rally some in their match versus the Galena Hawks. Unalaska led the game at halftime and managed to keep the game close through the third period. However, Galena gained control in the final minutes, ultimately beating Unalaska by nine points. The final score was 49 to 58.

Bering Sea ice came in quickly this year and is at its largest extent since the 1970s.

It has effectively shut down the snow crab fishery, causing problems for boats as far south as the Aleutians.  But some scientists say that while it’s a pain in the short term, the ice is good for the Bering Sea’s valuable fisheries in the long run.

When this winter started, the ice extent in the Bering Sea was looking pretty average, but in the past couple of weeks, that’s changed – the ice is now covering an area roughly the size of Texas.  Andy Mahoney, a sea ice researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says the thirty-year average is about a third less than that – covering an area more like California.  Part of the reason for the increase is a persistent low-pressure system in the Arctic.

Shell Oil was in the spotlight during a special Saturday City Council work session to discuss 2013 budget priorities.

 Although it remains an open question whether Shell will actually be staging in Unalaska this summer, discussion focused on preparing for potential development.

City Manager Chris Hladick said many of the issues are salient with or without oil, like improvements to the airport and a plan for housing development.