Unalaska, AK – This year's heavy snowfall had a heavy impact on the river bank of Iliuliuk Creek. The consistent, sometimes very heavy snowfall meant that the roads crews had to frequently plow all of the roads in town and find some place to dump the snow. In Old Town, that meant putting large piles of snow that were laced with gravel and silt on the river banks. Science teacher and long-time resident Steven Gregory said that when the snow melted, the left over gravel and silt had a very negative impact on the riparian habitat and salmon spawning grounds.
Unalaska, AK – The Aleutian Arts Council hosts a classical music concert every spring. This year's featured artists are voice majors from the University of Alaska-Anchorage. KUCB's Anne Hillman has more.
Unalaska, AK – More drug-related charges were filed yesterday in conjunction with the months-long undercover drug investigation. Thirty-year-old Gerald Wilson, a new hire on the Discovery Channel-featured boat F/V Cornelia Marie, is charged with one felony for snorting cocaine in the undercover agent's hotel room along with "Deadliest Catch" producer Matthew Schneider. He's also charged with a misdemeanor for selling the agent marijuana at the Harbor View Bar. Wilson is reportedly on the fishing vessel and headed to Kodiak and knows about the recent drug busts. There is a warrant out for his arrest as well as Schneider's.
Unalaska, AK – Two more charges have been filed in last month's drug bust. These are against 22-year-old Matthew Schneider who was working in Unalaska as a production assistant for the "Deadliest Catch" with Original Productions. Schneider used cocaine in the undercover agent's hotel room multiple times and facilitated the sale of $300 worth of the drug through Cameron Hutchins, who was previously charged with eight felony counts. Schneider also discussed importing large amounts of cocaine to sell locally, and he indicated that his supervisor at Original Productions occasionally brought in large amounts of coke from California for Deadliest Catch parties.
Unalaska, AK – Representatives from the Alaska Department of Transportation hosted a public presentation and scoping meeting Thursday about improving the airport's runway. The project would add about 200 feet to each end of the runway. Alaska Department of Transportation project manager Wolfgang Junge said most of that area is for safety.
"Just like you would have a shoulder on a road that you would drive on and you have a certain amount of distance there so if your car wandered out of the normal way you would be safe still. The runway safety areas are the same at the airport, where if you have icy conditions or poor weather conditions, you have a bit of a buffer zone there so the pilots who are operating the aircraft can stay on a safe surface and not inadvertently end up in the water."
Unalaska, AK – The makers of Tylenol recently recalled many of their child and infant strength products. The voluntary recall by McNeil Consumer Healthcare includes children's and infant's Tylenol, Motrin, and Benedryl of various flavors and suspensions. The company says some of the products do not meet required quality standards but there have not been any adverse medical situations because of the drugs. According to the company's press release, some of the products have higher concentrations of the active ingredients than the labels say. Others have inactive ingredients that don't meet testing requirements or have tiny particles in them. The company recommends that you discontinue the use of these products.
Unalaska, AK – Unalaska hosted it's first ever St. Baldrick's Day event in the Burma Road Chapel this weekend. Thirty-four community members shaved their heads to raise awareness of cancer and raise money to fund childhood cancer research. Ten of them decided to sign up on the day of the event. Fourteen community members volunteered to run the festivities.
Together the participants raised $24,239.87, some donated directly from a little girl's piggy bank. Event coordinator Brian Rankin notes that almost all of the money was from community members. KUCB/Ch. 8 telecast the event live and KUCB's Anne Hillman found out what was going on behind the scenes.
Unalaska, AK – The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be bad news for Shell's plans to conduct exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer, though the Obama administration's position is not exactly clear. Shell has obtained most of its permits for the drilling, but those permits are still held up by court action, and it's not clear if the Obama administration is going to stand by its earlier decision to let the Chukchi and Beaufort exploration go ahead. Thursday, in response to reporters' questions, the White House said oil and gas activities already authorized would go ahead, but Friday on the national television show "Good Morning America," White House senior policy adviser David Axelrod said there will be no more drilling until they figure out what went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico. "No additional drilling has been authorized," he said, "and none will until we find out what happened here and whether there was something unique and preventable here." White House spokespersons have not clarified the issue.
Unalaska, AK – Ten years of anthropological research in King Cove and the nearby communities has resulted in a new book on the intertwining of Aleut identity and commercial fishing in the Eastern Aleutians and the Alaska Peninsula. KUCB's Anne Hillman spoke with the author, Katherine Reedy-Maschner.
