J. Torres speaking in Unalaska on March 3. / Credit: Luc Sevilla

A lot of elements go into a simple comic book. There’s artwork, there’s editing -- and most importantly, for the Filipino and Canadian comic writer J. Torres, there’s the script.

The award-winning author visited Unalaska’s schools and gave a presentation at the library last week, as part of his tour of the state. KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal has more.

The Redeemer at salvager Dan Magone's dock in Unalaska. /Credit: Lauren Rosenthal

Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell said in a speech Friday that delaying approval of the Keystone Pipeline will mean more oil tankers and oil spills in Alaskan waters.

Treadwell spoke at the annual Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, or SWAMC, in Anchorage.

He said without a pipeline to the Lower 48, Canada will ship more of its oil west to Asia on the Great Circle Route.

Pipa Escalante/KUCB

Some Delta Western workers say the company cut off their access to some facilities after they went on strike in Feburary.

Dan Magone at KUCB's studios. /Credit: Lauren Rosenthal

With oil development in the Alaskan Arctic comes an influx of new vessels in the already high-traffic Bering Sea. As pipelines expand and new projects start up all around the Pacific Northwest and in Alaska, more huge tankers and other vessels are likely to generate more risk in Aleutian waters.

And that means more work for people like Dan Magone, the co-owner of Unalaska-based salvage company Resolve-Magone Marine Services. In this segment of The Exchange, he talks about how increasing vessel traffic is growing his business, and how Aleutian communities need to respond to the impacts of a burgeoning industry.

Unalaskans know the effects of climate change as well as anyone – take this year’s abnormally warm winter, for one. But we’re also witnesses to a different kind of impact: the lucrative business opportunities created by rising temperatures. As ice melts, companies have more access than ever to the multi-billion dollar potential of Arctic oil.

It's part a new book, “Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming,” by journalist McKenzie Funk. In this segment of The Exchange, he talks about how the world is reacting to climate change, and how changes in the Arctic could leave a major mark on Unalaska.

One of three bald eagles that were burned in December. / Credit: Susie Silook

It’s common practice to burn trash in the Aleutians, to keep landfills from overflowing.

But it’s not that simple in Adak, where flaming waste has killed or injured at least ten bald eagles in the last few months.

As KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, it’s now the subject of a federal investigation.

A mariner possibly suffering from appendicitis was medevacked from a vessel near Unalaska on Saturday.

The Coast Guard sent an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the cutter Alex Haley to hoist the 40-year-old man.

He was a crew member aboard the 559-foot bulk carrier Ken Ei, a Panama-flagged vessel. It was about 100 miles northwest of Unalaska at the time.

Alaska’s legislature has passed a bill that would tie the validity of driver’s licenses to immigration visas.

Usually, an Alaska driver’s license is good for five years after it’s issued. Legislation introduced by Republican representative Bob Lynn of Anchorage would make licenses expire on the same day as a foreign driver’s visa.

If the driver has an indeterminate immigration status, meaning they can stay in the country indefinitely, their license will only last for one year. Their renewal fees will be waived every year for up to five years.

The White House has nominated the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander to be its next commandant.

Vice Admiral Paul Zukunft was nominated Friday to replace outgoing Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp. Papp gave his final “State of the Coast Guard” address of his four-year term on Wednesday.

Zukunft has served as Pacific Area commander since 2012. Before that, his duties included serving as the federal on-scene coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.