Technically, it’s part of the National Historic Landmark at Fort Mears. But as the World War II-era building sheds debris, it's also gotten a reputation as a public hazard.
Dennis Robinson’s four terms on city council span four decades. He’s seen a lot of transformation in that time – first, the growth of the fishing industry, and now, shipping and oil.
Through it all, Robinson says one concern has risen to the top:
"The housing issue will make or break our ability to capitalize to our fullest on these new developments," he says, "because without the housing, we won’t have the workers to handle the work required to support new opportunities."
Yudelka Leclere knows that community turnout tends to be low at city council meetings.
And that’s part of why she’s running for a council seat – she sees herself as a community member stepping up to be a bigger part of the process.
"I don’t see a whole lot of us community members attending, speaking yea or nay," Leclere says. "Maybe it’s time for me to take it up a little higher and be that advocate."
For Zoya Johnson, being part of city council comes down to a simple goal: "My first priority will always be the quality of life in this community," she says.
Since she’s running unopposed for her second full term, Johnson’s already looking ahead to the city’s to-do list for the next three years. And she says the biggest variable is Arctic oil and shipping development.
If new industries do arrive in Unalaska, Johnson says she wants to be prepared to make sure the community doesn’t suffer.
The Coast Guard and other agencies coordinate hypothetical clean-up efforts at the Grand Aleutian Hotel Wednesday. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)
Coast Guard crews and local stakeholders are playing out a major hypothetical disaster in Unalaska this week. It’s part of a federal oil spill response drill that’s taking place in the Aleutians for the first time.
The drill is based on a worst-case scenario: a 500,000-gallon oil spill in the waters around the island, after a hypothetical landslide above North Pacific Fuel’s tank farm near Mt. Ballyhoo.
When Fernando Barrera won his election last fall for an open seat on the Unalaska school board, he had a clear vision for the one-year term that lay ahead of him.
Barrera wanted to improve STEM education -- science, technology, engineering and math. But he says he had some misconceptions about how to get there from his position on the board.
"We can propose things, but you don’t decide as a person what to do," he says. "It’s a team."
This fall, Cathy Jordan is running unopposed to keep seat B on Unalaska's school board.
As a former resident of Michigan and Texas, a parent to two sons, and a frequent class volunteer, Jordan has spent time in classrooms across the country.
"Given where we are, we know there are restrictions on some things that we can do and some things we can offer," she says.
Jurors have delivered a verdict on the most serious charges against two men who were accused of murdering a co-worker at an Unalaska fish plant.
On Monday afternoon, the jury found Leonardo Bongolto, Jr. and Denison Soria not guilty of two counts of second-degree murder each, including one count for showing extreme disregard for human life.
The men were accused of beating Jonathan Adams to death outside the Bering Fisheries bunkhouse in 2012.
Parnell signs the resolution alongisde King Cove Mayor Henry Mack. (Courtesy: State of Alaska)
Governor Sean Parnell was in King Cove Friday to sign a resolution urging the federal government to allow an access road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
The road would connect King Cove to Cold Bay's all-weather airport for medevacs and other uses. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell nixed the plan last year, saying it would damage protected wilderness.
Now, Parnell and the state legislature are the latest to ask Jewell to reverse that decision.
