Ben Newsome, right, shows Mateus Lopez how to model a soundwave with a Slinky. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Kids in the Unalaska Public Library’s summer reading program got an earful last Friday -- when they linked up with a teacher in Australia to learn about the science of sound. 

Ben Newsome, director of Fizzics Education, came to Unalaska by videoconference to give the library kids a crash course in soundwaves and vibrations.

Courtesy of National Marine Mammal Laboratory

While salmon is still the main species that pollock fishermen are trying to avoid taking as bycatch this summer, there’s another creature that’s been causing problems in the Bering Sea.

Along with their pollock, fishermen have pulled up about 1,100 metric tons of slimy, pink squid this summer.

That’s more than four times their catch limit, according to Krista Milani. She’s a biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"The squid TAC or quota is supposed to last us for the whole year," Milani says. "So it’s quite a bit to be taken already."

The Islands of the Four Mountains as seen from the International Space Station in 2013. Cleveland Volcano is at center. /Courtesy: NASA

A group of researchers left Unalaska this past weekend for a remote part of the central Aleutians: the Islands of the Four Mountains.

The 16 scientists are beginning a three-year mission in territory that’s unpredictable -- and largely unexplored.

Weather was clear and sunny in Dutch Harbor on Saturday while the research team loaded up their charter vessel with food and supplies.

Saltchuk Alaska has given $150,000 in scholarship funds to Alaska Pacific University. The award is aimed in part at introducing students to industry jobs at Saltchuk companies.

Students in communities where Saltchuk runs its fuel and transportation businesses get priority for the scholarship. Recipients will be mentored and do job-shadowing at one of those businesses, too.

Alaska Pacific will give out the scholarships this fall and next spring. Students have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and can be enrolled in any field of study to qualify.

For almost a year, Unalaska’s been missing out on an important educational resource: a marine advisory program agent.

Tight budgets meant the University of Alaska Fairbanks couldn’t afford to fill the MAP position -- until now. 

UAF’s Sea Grant program, which oversees MAP offices across the state, has found money to hire a new person for an abridged version of the old job.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is testing the waters on a possible new lease sale in the Alaskan Arctic.

Unalaska’s annual half-marathon and Camp Qungaayux are back on track, despite construction in Summer Bay.

Northern Alaska Contractors is building a new bridge over the salmon stream in Summer Bay. It’s closed to the public right now, but workers have put up a temporary footbridge.

The Bobby Johnson Summer Bay Classic is PCR’s half-marathon, and the racecourse is supposed to cross that spot. After weeks of uncertainty, PCR recreation manager Ben Bolock says they got permission Friday to run the race as planned.

Fire and harbor officers took the Tide Breaker to search for the missing man. /Credit: Robert Willis

A local fisherman is safe after he left his fish camp and prompted a search effort in Captain’s Bay late Wednesday night.

Deputy police chief Mike Holman says public safety got a call around 1:30 a.m. Thursday from a man at a fish camp on the far western shore of the bay. The man said a friend at the camp had been drinking, and had taken a skiff and gone out on the water.

"They’d tried to stop him, but he left," Holman says. "And a few minutes after he left, they heard yelling -- they believed, somebody yelling for help."

A sign near the beach parking area lets drivers know that Summer Bay Bridge is closed to traffic. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Construction on the new bridge in Summer Bay is having an unexpected impact on an Unalaska tradition.

The Bobby Johnson Summer Bay Classic is an annual half marathon. The race usually goes across the pass and over the Summer Bay bridge -- which is under construction.

Public works director Tom Cohenour says the footbridge that contractors have installed on-site will not be available for the race Aug. 23.

"They installed that temporary bridge for their use only," Cohenour says.