Unofficial city election results

Wednesday, October 08 2008

Unalaska, AK – The city of Unalaska released the preliminary election results last night for three city council seats, three school board seats, and the school bond. For city council, incumbent Zoya Johnson lost her bid for seat B to Dennis Robinson in a 335 to 265 vote. Incumbent Katherine McGlashan held on to city council seat E by defeating Michelle Cochran 329 to 278. And Skip Southworth will continue on the council and finish out the one year remaining for the seat F term. He beat Joanna Aldridge 382 to 213. All other city council seats are for three year terms


Cross Country team tries hard at regionals

Friday, October 03 2008

Unalaska, AK – Unalaska High School's cross country team competed at regionals in Bethel last weekend. Coach Alan Hanskins said the team represented the community well, though none will continue on to the state competition. On the girls' side, JB Magpantay was 11th out of 46 and Bethany Hladick was 26 out of 46. On the boys' side Joseph Henning was 12th out of 63, Kyle Haskins was 21st out of 63, Ryan Haskins was 23rd, and Evan Terada was 40 out of 63. Only the top ten in each group will go to state.


DOT installs railway gates near airport

Friday, October 03 2008

Unalaska, AK – The state's Department of Transportation is currently installing the new airport crossing guards, which are aimed to prevent airplane-vehicle collisions. The underground work should be finished by the weekend and project manager Shawn Combs said the railroad-style gates should be installed by mid-October and ready for use.

"They are triggered by an aircraft pilot. They come in and activate the lights. Essentially the warning lights go off for 15 seconds and then the entrance gates you have two gates at each location, one's an entrance the other's an exit so you're entrance gate comes down and shuts off any traffic that can come into the hazard zone."


New bridge officially opens

Friday, October 03 2008

Unalaska, AK – Community leaders with gold painted scissors stood in the wind to cut the yellow and blue ribbons and mark the official opening of the new south Channel Bridge. The bridge's new official name means "other side" in Unangam Tunuu. The Alaska Department of Transportation's regional director Gordon Keith presided over the event and spoke about the design of the bridge.

"The bridge is designed with a low profile to blend in with the surrounding area and to match up with the scenic beauty here."


Scallop fishery improves

Wednesday, October 01 2008

Unalaska, AK – The Aleutian and Bering Sea scallop fisheries are now closed for the season after two boats harvested the legal limits. The Ocean Hunter and the Arctic Hunter caught 50,000 pounds of shucked scallop meat in the Bering Sea, mostly in August and September. Alaska Department of Fish & Game area management biologist Forrest Bowers said that area of the fishery is remaining strong.


ADF&G releases crab TACs for 2008/2009

Monday, September 29 2008

Unalaska, AK – The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has released this season's Crab TACs for Bristol Bay red king and Bering Sea snow and tanner crabs. The seasons will open on October 15th.

The Bristol Bay Red King total allowable catch (TAC) allows for 20,364,000 pounds, a very similar number to last year.

The Bering Sea Snow Crab fishery total TAC is 58,500,000 pounds, 4.5 million pounds less than last year. ADF&G Biologist Forrest Bowers said some had expected the TAC to go up not down because of previous assessment models.


Blueberry Bash draws big crowd

Monday, September 29 2008

Unalaska, AK – For 20 years Unalaskans have celebrated the blueberry-filled countryside with the Blueberry Bash baking contest. Community members submit everything from cakes, jams, and desserts to fake blueberries and blueberry jewelry. KIAL's Anne Hillman joined the community as they feasted on this year's bumper crop.


Catch shares might save fisheries

Friday, September 26 2008

Unalaska, AK – A new study in Science shows that catch share systems, like those used to manage crab and halibut, can prevent the collapse of fisheries. University of California economist Christopher Costello and his colleagues compared fisheries around the world, only one percent of which use catch share management systems.

"The ones that use catch shares are dramatically less prone to collapse than the rest of the fisheries. And what's more, I guess the secondary finding is that the longer a fishery uses a catch share, the less likely a future collapse."


Okmok eruption remakes caldera

Friday, September 26 2008

Unalaska, AK – After erupting for over a month this summer, Okmok has calmed down enough for volcanologists to explore the changes within the 5-mile wide caldera. "What used to be a lush green terrace,: said volcanologist Tina Neal, "is now just a grey brown wasteland of ash and mud and sand. There isn't anything green inside the caldera."


Neal studied the new volcanic formations earlier this month to see how the eruptions changed the area. Some new features include a dozen or more smaller craters filled with water and one new large lake.



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