Today, Unalaskans hit the polls to vote in the local election.

There’s only one contested race this year. Incumbent Katherine McGlashan and former council member Zoya Johnson are competing for city council seat E. Meanwhile, Dennis Robinson is running for seat B with no opponent. School board members Daniel Masoni and Sonia Handforth-Kome also face no competition.

Amy Vanostenbridge stopped by city hall to vote this morning. She says that there are a few factors she was weighing while she cast her ballot.

Arne Fuglvog has been replaced. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced today that Stefanie Moreland will serve as her new fisheries advisor.

Most recently, Moreland has served as the federal fisheries coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. She has also worked for the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

In addition to advising the senator on fisheries issues, Moreland will also be handling Arctic policy. She is expected to start the job in early November.

For the past week, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been meeting in Unalaska. No action there has been more controversial than the announcement that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to put off the implementation of a new halibut catch share plan.

KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez caught up with some of the users who – for better or for worse – will be affected by the delay.

An Alaska State Trooper patrol vessel brought all 22 crewmembers of the Bangun Perkasa to shore around 5pm on October 3rd. They were escorted off the Stimson wearing face masks and hazmat suits.

The crewmembers speak five different Southeast Asian languages, but it is unclear what countries they are from and whether they have any official documentation. Agents from Customs and Border Protection have taken the crew into custody while their nationalities are being determined.

A stateless fishing vessel suspected of illegally drift-netting in high seas is being escorted into the Port of Dutch Harbor this weekend. The Coast Guard intercepted the Bangun Perkasa in mid-September, 2,600 miles southwest of Kodiak.

The crew initially tried to cut their nets and flee when spotted by a patrolling Coast Guard helicopter. Once boarded, they falsely claimed the vessel was registered in Indonesia. The boarding team discovered 10 miles of drift net, 30 tons of squid and 30 shark carcasses onboard the Perkasa. High seas drift-netting is banned by the United Nations.

A cargo vessel spilled a small amount of fuel oil into Dutch Harbor on Wednesday.

The Nelson Star was moored at the Unalaska City Dock when it released about 150 gallons the oil into the water.

“It looks like they intended to pump over what they thought was clean water -- something they do routinely. But there was a crack somewhere in the system, and as a result they pumped over some oil,” say Petty Officer Peter Whale with the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment.

While bycatch of halibut in the Gulf of Alaska and the rebuilding of the Pribilof Islands' king crab stock are the biggest issues at the meeting, the status of Steller sea lion management received some discussion this morning. KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez has more.

Infrastructure was the hot topic at last night’s city council meeting.

An ordinance that would fund the Fender System Repair Project at the City Dock and adjust the budget for the new city employee 8-plex housing unit passed four to one. Council Member Dennis Robinson opposed the measure on the principle that the city should not be involved in the housing business and that the cost of the project was too high. Council Member Katherine McGlashan disagreed with Robinson, arguing that there was value in attracting public sector workers like teachers to the town and pointing out that much of the project was covered by a state grant.

City Council will convene tonight for a monster meeting on road regulations and the development of a new wastewater treatment plant.

The meeting will both begin and end in executive session. Council will meet at 6pm to discuss pending environmental litigation behind closed doors. They will receive an hour-long update on the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency’s lawsuit over wastewater discharge. The second executive session is for City Manager Chris Hladick’s annual performance evaluation.