Unalaska, AK – The windy fall weather is providing electricity to some community members. Two new vertical wind turbines were recently installed in Unalaska. The vertical helix-shaped blades are designed to catch wind in all directions. Unlike horizontal turbines, they don't require motors that can break or wear out to reorient them for rapidly changing wind directions.
Helix Wind CEO Ian Gardner explained that wind can even be angled up or down and the unit will still produce power. "Because the blades spin on a vertical axis, whatever direction the wind comes from, it catches the blade scoops. With a propeller style unit it has to come from the front of the blades. If it comes in from any other angle, the blades won't spin. That's why the helix unit, because it takes it from every direction, is more beneficial."
Unalaska, AK – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially designated 5,855 square miles as critical habitat for southwest Alaska sea otters on Wednesday. The areas span from the end of the Aleutians to the Alaska Peninsula and mostly include near-shore areas that are less than 20 meters deep and kelp beds. U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Bruce Woods said the designation only affects federal activities in the area.
Unalaska, AK – Five hundred forty-one voters cast ballots in yesterday's municipal election for two city council members and a school board member. In the race for city council seat F, Zac Schasteen received more than twice the number of votes than incumbent Skip Southworth. Schasteen had 70 percent of the total with 372 votes. Southworth received 158.
Schasteen said he looks forward to playing a larger role in the community and "more than anything I just appreciate everybody's support. And I look forward to hearing from people when issues come up and even when there aren't really any issues going on. Having public input is so important to me."
Unalaska, AK – Mount Cleveland erupted a small plume of ash that rose about 15,000 to 20.000 feet into the air around 11 pm on Friday. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said the small eruption only lasted a few minutes. The ash cloud drifted to the northeast and did not cause any problems. AVO geologist Michelle Coombs said this is normal behavior for Cleveland.
"The eruption on Friday was kind of what Cleveland does. It has lots of these little things and it could easily be having a few more little pops like this in the next month or two. We'll just be keeping our eyes open," she said.
Unalaska, AK – The effects of last week's tsunami, which hit Samoa and American Samoa, were felt all the way in Unalaska. The tsunami struck the islands after a 8.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the region. It killed more than 170 people and destroyed entire villages in Samoa and American Samoa.
Unalaska resident Tai Tolai was working at the school when she found out about the disaster. She has family in both areas, including a young daughter in Western Samoa.
Unalaska, AK – The City of Unalaska is trying to develop a new ten-year strategic plan. With the help of the firm HyettPalma the city is collecting the community's visions on what Unalaska should be like in 2020. The planning firm held meetings last week with different community groups, including industry players, nonprofits, and students, and hosted a town hall meeting.
During the town hall meeting, community members took the opportunity to share what they want to see in Unalaska. One priority is making more affordable housing. Other community members focused on improving educational opportunities, like vocational education. A lack of transportation infrastructure was also seen as an issue. People want paved roads, bike paths, more reliable plane and luggage service, and more ferry service. They also want a large, multipurpose community space for functions and sports and a clinic that can deliver babies. One person suggested a substance abuse rehab facility and a detox center. Many people thought Unalaska should focus on aesthetic improvements as well, like getting rid of junk cars. Other ideas were more fanciful, like building a mall with a movie theater.
Unalaska, AK – Sixty-eight year old David Cowper is on his sixth solo circumnavigation of the globe. He started in England, passed through the Northwest Passage and arrived in Unalaska last week. KUCB's Anne Hillman spoke with him about his voyages.
Unalaska, AK – Two write-in candidates are now officially running for city council seat CC-G. Sean Makarin and Jessica Culp filled out the necessary paperwork with the city clerk this week, including financial disclosure forms and an official candidacy declaration. Their names will not appear on the ballot nor will election works be able to tell you that they are running, but their votes could be counted.
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game released the crab TACs for the winter fisheries today and most of them will go down.
The Bering Sea snow crab fishery total allowable catch is set at 48 million pounds, 10.5 million pounds less than last year. The snow crab fishery was considered overfished in 1999 and was not rebuilt according to regulation in the required 10-year time period. A new 5-year rebuilding plan will be put in place to rebuild the stock by 2013. The National Marine Fisheries Service suggested that a TAC of 50.5 million pounds would be low enough to keep the total catch - including incidental bycatch in other fisheries - at a healthy level for the stock. However, ADF&G feels a more precautionary approach is necessary and set the level at 48 million pounds.
