Shell Oil hasn’t given any indication how falling oil prices would affect its Arctic drilling program.

But the company is pulling the plug on another project that’s just as costly.

Bloomberg reports that the company will not build a $6.5 billion petrochemical plant in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar.

As oil prices continue to plummet, some corporations are scaling back on expensive exploration projects -- like drilling in Arctic waters.

But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, one company with a major stake in the region has yet to tip its hand.

Royal Dutch Shell has been quiet about whether it’s still planning to go back to Alaska this summer for the first time in three years.

City council is one step closer to loosening its rule for taxing the appliances and furniture that landlords provide for their tenants.

The business personal property tax applies to equipment used inside businesses, including rental units. Or, as clerk Cat Hazen put it at Tuesday's council meeting:

"If you can pick it up and remove it without either destroying the object or destroying the building that houses the object, then usually it's personal property," Hazen said.

The 984-foot Mina Oldendorff in port in Vancouver last month. (Credit: Andre Castonguay/marinetraffic.com)

Local paramedics made a trip out to Unalaska's Wide Bay on Monday to evacuate a sick crew member from a supersized bulk carrier.

The Mina Oldendorff is a Liberian-flagged vessel nearly a thousand feet long.

Police chief Jamie Sunderland says their crew called for help on Monday morning for "a person who was very sick, lethargic, and just not feeling well." 

The city of Unalaska could see its first big drop in revenue since 2010 next fiscal year, as prices fall for resources the city depends on.

Finance director Patricia Soule will present her revenue projections to city council tonight.

In a memo, Soule writes that the city can expect to collect less tax on fuel sales. Oil prices have plummeted across the country. And since Unalaska’s port is open year-round, regular fuel shipments are still coming in -- following national price trends.

Adak's processing plant opened in 1999 -- two years after the Navy closed down operations on the island.

The community of Adak depends on its fish processing plant for jobs and tax revenue. But they’ve struggled to keep the lights on over the years.

Now, the plant’s latest operator is looking for new partners to help shoulder the financial burden. KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal has more.

The Adak Cod Cooperative formed in 2013, when two businessmen with experience in salmon fisheries decided to branch out.

(Pipa Escalante/KUCB)

It’s official: Tom Enlow is the new president of UniSea, Unalaska’s biggest seafood processor. The company made the announcement on Friday.

Enlow’s been in line for the top job for two years as vice president of operations, but his promotion comes a little sooner than expected. Former UniSea president Terry Shaff died last November after 16 years in the role.

Now that winter’s here, basketball season is heating up in Southwest Alaska. 

Russian Orthodox congregation members spin stars at the Senior Center for Slaaviq. The white star at right is from the former Unangan village of Kashega. (Annie Ngo/KUCB)

It’s Christmas in January in the Aleutian Islands. Russian Orthodox congregations up and down the chain are celebrating Slaaviq, or Russian Christmas, this week.

They’re holding starring ceremonies, where a star decorated with bells, lights and tinsel spins as the church choir sings in Russian and English. 

Unalaska’s Slaaviq began Wednesday at the Senior Center. KUCB's Annie Ropeik was there and brought back this postcard.