Unalaska, AK – The Port of Dutch Harbor is facing revenue shortfalls that could negatively impact the overall city budget. The city's port is loosing a significant amount of business to competing communities, like King Cove and Kodiak, and to the new DH Ports dock here in Unalaska.
"The port has lost a substantial amount of its market share to other competing facilities in the community. And we don't expect that to come back," said Northern Economics president Pat Burden who recently completed a study on the future of the ports for the city. "So it will be a difficult situation for the port enterprise fund to break even."
Unalaska, AK – The city council decided to send the proposed smoking ordinance out of work session and to a first reading Tuesday night. They also decided not to send it to a public vote and to enact it themselves. That means that the ordinance could go into effect as soon as early May and businesses would have 90 days after that to fully comply.
As it is currently written, smoking would be prohibited in all enclosed public spaces, including bars, restaurants, private businesses that are visited by customers, child care facilities, and government facilities. Smoking would also be prohibited within 15 feet of an entrance and in free, employee-provided bunkhouses. If an employee pays any rent for the housing, then the smoking ban does not apply. Fifty percent of hotel rooms must also be designated as non-smoking.
Unalaska, AK – When the NPFMC decided to put a hard cap on Chinook salmon bycatch in the pollock industry they included plans that help encourage the pollock industry to protect the other fish. KUCB's Anne Hillman has details.
Unalaska, AK – Walrus scat may provide a key to understanding the changing Arctic ecosystem. It turns out fecal matter is more than just waste - it's a wealth of information about a walrus's diet, it's sex, and even it's stress levels. KUCB's Anne Hillman found out more.
Unalaska, AK – Would reducing salmon bycatch in the pollock industry really impact salmon returns to Western Alaska? Well, it's complicated... KUCB's Anne Hillman found out more.
Unalaska, AK – The North Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously voted to approve a hard cap on Chinook salmon bycatch in the pollock industry on Monday night after listening to almost 200 people give public testimony. The council says the 60,000 fish limit with a 47,000 fish performance standard is a compromise between the desires of the pollock industry and Western Alaskan salmon fishermen. But others, including a representative from the State Department, disagree. KUCB's Anne Hillman was there.
Unalaska, AK – This story originally aired on April 1, 2009.
During last week's city council meeting, the council discussed the proposed smoking ban. Unlike previous meetings that attracted dozens of citizens, this time only a handful made comments. The proposed ordinance bans smoking in all public places and places that employ four or more people or provide childcare while the children are there. Some council members suggested banning smoking in homes that provide commercial childcare at all times.
Unalaska, AK – The city might have a solution to our local waste problem. Instead of filling up the landfill with tires, nets, household waste, and other trash, we can turn it all into energy. The public utilities department is looking into buying a waste-to-energy system. Public Utilities Director Dan Winters said it burns much hotter than an incinerator - 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
"When you grind up your garbage, dry your garbage, and insert it into the drum it instantly cracks it back to its elements and what comes out the bottom is ash," he explained. "Then we will take the methane off of that and a third of the methane will be used to keep the chemistry going in the drum itself and the rest will be used to run a generator."
Unalaska, AK – The Healy, a Coast Guard icebreaker filled with scientists, recently stopped in Unalaska. The team was traveling through the ice covered northern Bering Sea for three weeks trying to better understand the entire ecosystem. KUCB's Anne Hillman found out what they were up to.
