Unalaska, AK – More residents are seeking to install their own residential wind turbines to reduce their power costs, but local wind power expert Dick Peck says his studies show that residents might want to think twice before investing in the technology.

"It's all about location and elevation. What I have found, at the higher elevations you have better wind velocities and at lower elevations it is much reduced and it may not even be economical," he said. "And so I really caution a lot of residents they may not have the quantities of wind to repay their investment."

Unalaska, AK – The search for the last two crew members of the Katmai was called off Sunday morning and the survivors and others began testifying Monday before the Coast Guard Board of Inquiry about what happened to the catcher-processor when it went down last Wednesday. Four of the 11-member crew were rescued from a life raft by a Coast Guard swimmer. They are Capt. Henry Blake III, of Massachusetts, Adam Foster of Shoreline, Washington, and Guy Schroder and Harold Appling, both of Anchorage.

Unalaska, AK – Searchers found four survivors and recovered five bodies from the catcher processor Katmai, which sank around 1 am on Wednesday in the Aleutian Islands about 100 miles from Adak. Two crew members remain missing. The names of the four survivors are Henry Blake III, Guy Schroder, Harold Appling, and Adam Foster. The Coast Guard search was assisted by two good Samaritan vessels, the F/V Courageous and the F/V Patricia Lee. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Levi Reed said the four survivors were found in a life raft about 15 hours after the ship went down. They were all in good condition and wanted to help with the search.

Unalaska, AK – The Coast Guard has found 4 survivors in a life raft and two bodies in the water from the 92-foot cod fishing and processing vessel that is missing in the Bering Sea. The whereabouts of the other 5 crew members is still unknown. The Katmai was in Amchitka pass just west of Adak in the Aleutian Islands when the Coast Guard responded to an EPIRB signal from the ship at about 1 a-m Alaska time. Coast Guard petty officer Wes Shinn said when the MH-60 Jayhawk and the C-130 arrived from Kodiak five hours later, they only found an empty survival suit and part of a life raft. After searching from air for 6 hours, they found the body of a crew member wearing a survival suit with the name of the vessel on the back. Around 4:30 pm, they found the four survivors. The survivors were taken to Adak for treatment. The good Samaritan fishing vessel Courageous is helping with the search and found the second body as well as buoys, fishing gear, a life raft, a life ring, and another empty survival suit. Another good Samaritan vessel will be in the area by 7 pm. There are no signs of oil spills or other environmental concerns in the area.

Unalaska, AK – The decline in Aleutian sea otter populations is affecting what bald eagles eat. A new study published in the journal Ecology this month compares the eagles' eating habits from before and after the sea otter decline. The US Geological Survey study's lead biologist, Dr. Bob Anthony, explained that the species are linked in two different ways. The first is directly eagles often eat sea otter pups when the adults dive into the water to gather food. The species are also linked through a long ecological chain.

Unalaska, AK – The Ocean Harvester, went aground on Unalaska Island in Mutton Cove near Chernofski ranch last night. The vessel dropped anchored but high winds pushed it on shore. The crew was able to get it off this morning and is waiting until weather improves to return to Unalaska where the Coast Guard will inspect the ship for any damages. The local Coast Guard reports that the boat is fully operational and not leaking any fluids.

Unalaska, AK – The first red king crab of the season arrived in Unalaska over the weekend. The F/V Bering Star delivered about 14,000 pounds to Unisea when they returned to pick up more pots. Crew member Chris Eicher stood on deck as workers unloaded the catch.

"We had 116 pots on board and we spread each pot a mile apart," Eicher said. "We figured out where the crab are and then we narrowed our strings a little closer together. And we've been getting 50 average [with shorter soaks], 50 king crab a pot."

Unalaska, AK – This summer the city contracted Zhen Cheng, a scrap metal recycling company, to remove junk vehicles in exchange for metals extracted from the city's landfill. The company removed about 20 containers of heavy steel but left behind all of the vehicles, the smaller, lighter metals, and a large mess, says Public Utilities Director Dan Winters. City Manager Chris Hladick told city council that since they left the island, the company has closed its doors in Anchorage.

Unalaska, AK – The city council revisited the community energy relief options at their meeting last night. City staff recommends giving all residential households a $60 per month electric bill rebate for 14 months. It would cost the city $280,000 but would not affect the money the city receives from the state's Power Cost Equalization (PCE) program. Initially, Public Utilities Director Dan Winters recommended supplementing the COPA to stabilize and lower electric bills, but doing so would have reduced the state's PCE contribution. Most city council members supported the idea of utility bill rebates.