At last week’s meeting, Council voted to give City Manager Chris Hladick a one-time, 5 percent bonus. 
He oversaw numerous major projects last year and by all accounts did a good job.  So, it would seem like a relatively uncontroversial move to reward him for his good work.

But it turns out that for at least one Councilor, it isn’t.    

Zac Schasteen was elected to City Council two years ago.  He isn’t known for taking a hard-line on any particular issue.  But during the last two meetings, he’s been outspoken about what he sees as Council violations of proper procedure.

Commercial fishing is risky business, and managing that risk doesn’t come cheap. The Coast Guard’s Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Advisory Committee is tasked with figuring out ways to make the industry as safe as possible without putting people out of business with burdensome costs. They meet twice a year, and they come up with recommendations for how the Coast Guard can improve its safety policy.

Last year, Unalaska students built a greenhouse for residents of the local senior center as part of a classroom project. That way, some seniors would be able to garden, and the rest would be able to enjoy their fresh vegetables in their daily meals. The students almost wrapped up the project this spring, but there were still a few things left to be done. That’s where the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman comes in. A group from the vessel spent part of there last trip here in Unalaska putting some finishing touches on the project.

The Unalaska Department of Public Safety is conducting an internal investigation after learning that drugs had gone missing from one of the city’s ambulances.

The discovery was made in October. According to Director Jamie Sunderland, multiple vials of controlled medications, including morphine, are believed to have been taken from a locked safe. The ambulance and the medication safe are kept at the fire hall, and only licensed responders have regular access to them.

The fishing industry isn’t getting any younger, and the so-called “graying of the fleet” has even got some state legislators concerned. But while fishermen are getting older on average, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a new generation eager to enter the industry.

KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez went out with some of these younger fishermen for a special pub crawl in Ballard and has this story.

A burglary at the Safeway complex may have a bigger price-tag than just the stolen goods.

Police are currently investigating a break-in that place sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning in the building next to the supermarket. According to Sgt. Bill Simms with the Unalaska Department of Public Safety, the robber flung a rock through the window of what used to be the old Alaska Ship Supply liquor store, entered the space, and took over $500 worth of tools. In the process, the perpetrator also caused about $4,000 worth of damage to the building.

Twenty-four of the Carl E Moses small boat harbor’s 56 slips are currently reserved, according to Ports Director Alvin Osterback.  But that number may increase after last night’s decision by City Council to let owners with multiple vessels reserve multiple permanent slips.

After a short discussion about how to manage a hypothetical waitlist, Councilors agreed to postpone that decision until after the harbor is full.  For the time being, vessel owners can lease more than one slip, but if they choose not to, their additional boats will be charged at the higher, transient rate.

Fees for the Carl E. Moses small boat harbor top the City Council agenda again tonight.

How to deal with multiple vessels under the same ownership is one of the last unresolved issues.  The current wording allows a single vessel owner to have only one reserved slip, unless there’s no waitlist.  As the ordinance stands, only one vessel can be registered to that slip, with the option to switch vessels once during the year.

When the Department of Justice announced earlier this year that Unalaska's wastewater treatment plant was not in compliance with the Clean Water Act, local officials may have wished for a trust fund to pay for upgrades.

Under legislation introduced last week by Rep. Don Young, they might have a shot at getting one.

The bill calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to create an environmental compliance trust using fines collected from the federal government and private companies.  Communities would be able to use the grant money toward projects that would help them comply with EPA regulations.