Unalaska, AK – For the third year in a row, an Unalaska student is a statewide finalist for the Library of Congress Center for the Book's annual Letters About Literature competition.
Sixth-grader Jennifer Ruiz won a $100 cash prize and a gift card from Target, which co-sponsors the competition, in which students write letters to their favorite authors. Ruiz wrote to Jennifer L. Holm, the author of Our Only May Amelia, a historical novel about a 12-year-old girl living in Washington State at the end of the 19th Century.
Unalaska, AK – Peninsula Airways has settled on the aircraft it will use to fly to Unalaska once it phases out the current fleet, a decision that will have an impact on the future design of the Unalaska Airport.
According to a letter that PenAir President Danny Seybert sent to the Alaska Department of Transportation last month, the company plans to replace its current aircraft, the Saab 340b, with the Bombardier Q400 by 2016. The Q400s offer twice the seating capacity of the current Saabs, almost two and a half times more cargo capacity, and a faster cruising speed, which would mean a shorter flight between Anchorage and Unalaska.
Unalaska, AK – Water damage stemming from a burst pipe in the gym at the Parks, Culture and Recreation Department earlier this month probably will close the facility for at least a month this summer.
Director Jeff Hawley says the PCR probably won't have a good idea of how much damage the floor sustained until early this summer, but that at a minimum it will need to be sanded and refinished, a process he hopes will begin in mid to late July.
Unalaska, AK – Unalaska's plans to build a small boat harbor on Amaknak Island have suffered a major setback.
City officials were informed yesterday that breakwaters for the proposed Carl E. Moses Small Boat Harbor didn't make the list of Army Corps of Engineers projects that would be funded by Congress in fiscal year 2007. The city was expecting $14 million from Congress for the construction of breakwaters for the harbor, a necessary first step in the project and one that the Corps was slated to build.
Unalaska, AK – Earlier this month, Unalaska narrowly avoided what could've been a catastrophic oil spill when a 443-foot seafood tramper came within fifteen minutes of a shipwreck in Unalaska Bay. The incident was a wake-up call for city officials, who have seen one serious oil spill and several close calls near Unalaska Island in the last several years, and now say they can't wait for a fix from the federal or state governments. In Unalaska, KIAL's Charles Homans has the story.
Unalaska, AK – City officials from Unalaska teleconferenced this afternoon with representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, state Department of Environmental Conservation and local tug boat operators and marine pilots to discuss what can be done to protect Unalaska in the wake of the near-disaster involving a drifting tramper ten days ago.
The Salica Frigo, a 443-foot Spanish-flagged ship, came within 3/10 of a mile of hitting Hog Island after it lost power in rough seas on March 9. The ship regained its engines about 15 minutes before it would've hit the north side of the island, which could have caused an oil spill in Unalaska Bay on the order of the Selendang Ayu wreck in December 2004.
Unalaska, AK – The four crew members of a fishing vessel that sank near Adak Sunday morning are alive and well thanks to a rescue from other fishermen in the area.
The 87-foot Exodus Explorer hit a rock about 200 yards from the port of Adak at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Two other fishing boats, the Majesty and the Homeward Bound, responded to the ship's distress call and pulled the crew from the water.
Unalaska, AK – Unalaska students will take the stage tomorrow in their seventh annual performance with the Missoula Children's Theatre. This year the kids are performing a musical version of Robin Hood, which they've been rehearsing since Monday.
Seventh grader Aaron Adams plays Robin Hood in the musical, which is a slapstick take on the classic story. Adams has been in all seven musicals the Montana-based theater organization has done with the Unalaska kids, and said that this one is his favorite so far.
Unalaska, AK – This afternoon Governor Sarah Palin nominated six candidates for two open seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Palin's choices are Duncan Fields, Jeff Stephan, Gale Vick, Beth Stewart, Nancy Munro and Sam Cotten.
Duncan Fields is a longtime commercial fisherman. Jeff Stephan served on the council in the '80s and is currently the chairman of the council's IFQ Implementation and Cost Recovery Committee. Gale Vick is the executive director of the Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition. Beth Stewart is a former council advisory panel member who works for the Aleutians East Borough. Nancy Munro heads Saltwater Inc., one of the major fisheries observer companies. Sam Cotten is a former state legislator and House speaker who is currently a resource analyst with the Aleutians East Borough.
