Terra MODIS satellite image of May 4 eruption plume from Cleveland/Credit: NASA
Cleveland Volcano is erupting, but so far it hasn’t impacted air travel.
Alaska Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge John Power says Cleveland’s activity this week is different from its rumblings in 2011 and 2012.
“We’ve had a number of little explosions at Cleveland, beginning about 5 am on Saturday morning, and the most recent one we’ve been able to verify was [Monday] morning at about 8 o’clock.”
The highest of those explosions reached only about 15,000 feet, too low to interfere with air traffic transiting the region. But in addition to the explosions, Power says Cleveland has also been experiencing a continuous, low-level eruption.
State Troopers are investigating a death in the Aleutian community of Akutan.
Simon Gatpan, 31, of Santa Clara, California, was found unresponsive on a beach near the Trident Seafoods plant Saturday morning, and was transported to the Akutan clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen says he was an employee of Trident Seafoods, but she couldn't provide any details about the circumstances of his death.
Jeffery Watson Instructing Students at Unalaska Elementary School /Credit: Stephanie Joyce
Getting a group of elementary school students to sit through a lesson on classical music is no simple task, but on Friday, visiting pianist Jeffery Watson managed to do just that. Watson is a professor of music at George Washington University, and is in town to perform at the Aleutian Arts Council’s “Just Desserts” event.
KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce sat in on one of the lessons, and talked to Watson about teaching, and playing, music.
A fisherman who died after ending up in the water on Friday has been identified by the State Troopers as 46-year-old Marvin Love Jr, of King Cove. Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen says Love was first reported missing around 6 am Friday.
“We got a report saying that there’s actually two people on this fishing vessel, Taurus, and the one crew member woke up and couldn’t find his skipper, and reported him missing.”
A crew member from the 42-foot F/V Taurus died after falling overboard near King Cove Friday morning. A Good Samaritan vessel found the deceased, but the Coast Guard isn’t releasing the crew member’s name or any details about the incident until next of kin have been notified.
Petty Officer Jonathan Klingenberg says four vessels from King Cove participated in the search, along with two Coast Guard aircraft.
City council did some budget housekeeping during a special meeting Thursday afternoon. In a multi-part budget amendment ordinance, they tackled funding for the new wastewater treatment plant, the fourth engine for the powerhouse, and repairs to the city’s water storage tank.
The wastewater treatment plant component was two-pronged. An error had inflated the apparent amount of money available for construction of the plant, and the amendment corrected that. The second part of the amendment authorized a loan of up $8.6 million from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to pay for the construction of the plant.
Council will meet at 12:15 today to consider a budget amendment that sets the stage for several upgrades to the city's utilities.
The biggest piece of the package is a state loan to help pay for construction of the new wastewater treatment plant. The Department of Environmental Conservation is willing to lend Unalaska up to $8.6 million for the project. Today, council will review construction bids, and decide how much money the city should borrow.
A PenAir employee is facing a felony charge for allegedly stealing packages flown in from Anchorage.
Nasser Gamueda, 23, is a ramp agent for PenAir in Unalaska. He's accused of intercepting a laptop computer that was being shipped to town on a mail or cargo flight.
The person who bought that computer online called public safety when tracking data showed that their package vanished after leaving Anchorage. Director Jamie Sunderland says the computer manufacturer helped investigate.
