The Aleutian region isn’t exactly known for being a hotbed of architectural innovation. Getting materials out here is difficult and expensive. Then, there’s the wind and rain to deal with. All of that means that most of the buildings along the chain are more pragmatic than daring.

The International Living Future Institute is making Atka the site of its green building contest not in spite of these challenges, but because of them. They’re inviting teams to design an affordable, fuel-efficient home with a minimal environmental footprint that makes sense for the Aleutian Islands. So far, nearly 200 teams from across the globe have signed up to participate.

Governor Sean Parnell released his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, and Unalaska stands to gain $15 million in state and federal funding for local capital projects.

City officials were especially pleased to see $3.1 million directed from the state general fund toward the new wastewater treatment plant.

“It’s an early Christmas present,” says City Manager Chris Hladick.

For the past decade, the Alaskan and Russian pollock fisheries have acted kind of like a seesaw. When the quota for one has been up, the other has usually been down. This year was different though. Both the United States and Russia raised their caps, and the result is that more 6 billion pounds of the fish are expected to be harvested by the end of the year.

The total allowable catch for Russian pollock this year was set at 1.65 million metric tons, while the American quota was put around a million and a quarter metric tons. This supply increase has put a downward pressure on prices for Alaskan fish, which brought about 13 cents a pound this year. Russian pollock commands less value, since it hasn’t undergone the same sustainability certifications that the Alaskan fishery has. That’s in some way a double-edged sword, says Andy Wink. He’s a seafood analyst with the McDowell group who has been tracking the fishery.

A recent competition sponsored by the Ballyhoo Lions Club allowed local students to both express their creativity and think about the larger problems facing the world.

Unalaska City School Student Charity Haskins has this report for KUCB.

Alaska’s pollock fisheries have received another sustainability certification.

Global Trust, a committee of independent auditors, spent nine months reviewing the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska pollock fisheries to figure out whether they were being responsibly managed. They determined that the fisheries met United Nations standards, making pollock the fourth Alaskan fishery certified by the group. Halibut, salmon, and black cod all received Global Trust certification earlier this year.

A 30-year-old crewmember from the longliner F/V Beauty Bay was arraigned in Unalaska yesterday on charges of criminal impersonation, forgery, and working as an illegal immigrant.

Omar Ivan Villanueva is a Mexican national.  He was using the social security number and other identifying information of a Texas man to establish work eligibility in the United States.

When the Texan filed for unemployment benefits he was informed that he was ineligible because he was employed on a fishing vessel in Alaska.  The man contacted the Alaska State Troopers, who arrested Villanueva when the Beauty Bay pulled into port.

Who should profit from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fisheries? 

That was the big question at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting over the weekend.  Answering it generated more than six hours of public testimony and resulted in a vote that split the council.

At the heart of the debate is a practice called quota leasing.

Crab fishing used to be a race.  There was a set amount that could be taken, and vessels competed to get as many pounds as possible before it all ran out. Six years ago, fisheries managers switched over to a system that distributed shares of the harvest to vessel owners based on how much they had caught historically.

City council breezed through a full agenda last night.

The city’s annual liquor license review generated the most discussion.  Councilor Dave Gregory noted that Public Safety responds to calls at the Harbor View Bar almost eight times more often than any other establishment in town with a liquor license.  Public Safety Director Jamie Sunderland said he didn’t think it was a reflection on how the business is managed and recommended that council take no action.

A piece of legislation meant to help curb illegal fishing was introduced in the Senate yesterday. The Pirate Fishing Elimination Act would prohibit foreign vessels that could be carrying unreported and unregulated catch from entering American ports and offloading their fish.

The bill backs up a commitment the United States made in 2009 during the negotiations of an international accord to curb pirate fishing. That treaty still hasn’t been ratified, but this new legislation put in place a lot of the implementation measurements that it requires.