Seattle, WA – Two Coast Guard ship inspectors who surveyed the Alaska Ranger several months before it sank testified in a Marine Board of Investigation hearing Thursday that patches of steel near the stern of the ship were weakened, and had yet to be fixed when the ship set out on its final voyage. The affected areas weren't part of the hull itself, but investigators are asking whether the corrosion could have damaged more crucial parts of the ship. In Seattle, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.

Seattle, WA – Three former crew members of the fishing vessel Alaska Ranger leveled some of the most serious allegations yet in testimony before a Marine Board of Investigation Wednesday. In Seattle, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.

Seattle, WA – The third round of hearings in the marine board of investigation into the Easter morning sinking of the fishing vessel Alaska Ranger began in Seattle today. Coast Guard officers and National Transportation Safety Board officials spent the day interviewing the vessel owner's operations manager and a contractor who had done work on the ship. In Seattle, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.

Unalaska, AK – A mediation session between representatives of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 and the City of Unalaska is scheduled for April 21 in Anchorage, where both sides hope to break a ten-month impasse over a contract for the city's employees.

In a sign of how deeply relations have eroded between city and union representatives, City Manager Chris Hladick took the unusual step last week of sending a letter directly to the union's members in Unalaska, rather than addressing them only through their Anchorage-based representative, Carl Gamble. Hladick was out of town and couldn't be reached for comment today, and Gamble declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the negotiations, as did local union officers. But Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt called the letter the city's "last best offer."

Unalaska, AK – Federal authorities are investigating what led a Pen Air plane to crash on its landing on the Unalaska Airport runway yesterday afternoon.

The Grumman Goose was returning on a charter flight from Akutan at about 4:30 p.m. when it clipped a tractor trailer on Ballyhoo Road, then crashed on the runway. The pilot and the eight passengers onboard the amphibious plane at the time have not yet been identified, but emergency room staff at the Iliuliuk Health Clinic said that all nine of them were treated for only minor injuries and released. The driver of the truck had either minor injuries or none at all, according to Public Safety Department Sgt. Jennifer Shockley.

Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska City Council is looking at buying a third generator for the city's anticipated new powerhouse, in addition to the two new units currently in storage in Finland. The idea surfaced in discussions of the city's 2009 financial plans at Tuesday night's meeting. It prompted surprise and criticism from some council members, especially Dick Peck.

"This is the first time that I have heard that we are in fact purchasing the third generator," Peck said Wednesday. "There [has been] no notification from staff about the purchase, or the justification for it."

Unalaska, AK – A Pen Air plane crashed while landing on the Unalaska Airport runway late this afternoon.

The Grumman Goose hit a tractor trailer on Ballyhoo Road as it approached the runway at about 4:30 p.m., on a return flight from Akutan, according to the Unalaska Department of Public Safety. The pilot and the eight passengers onboard the plane at the time have not yet been identified, but emergency room staff at the Iliuliuk Health Clinic in Unalaska said that all nine of them were treated for only minor injuries, and were in stable condition an hour and a half after the accident. The driver of the truck had either minor injuries or none at all, according to Public Safety Department Sgt. Jennifer Shockley.

Unalaska, AK – With shorter pollock seasons bringing in less money, looming public employee retirement costs and a federal funding picture that's less certain than it was in recent years, Unalaska's city administration and council are looking to limit the growth of the city's overall budget in the coming fiscal year.

That was the main thrust of a City Council work session Monday night at City Hall, where city department heads presented their strategies for keeping the budget from increasing by more than 3 percent in 2009. For two city departments, that could mean changes to upper-level staffing positions that are currently vacant.

Unalaska, AK – Two men were arrested on Friday for allegedly stockpiling supplies for making methamphetamine in a UniSea bunkhouse.

Jeffrey Treannie, 26, and Reeschard Stam, 45, have both been charged with 2nd degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, a Class A felony.

Public Safety Director Jamie Sunderland said the arrest stemmed from an anonymous tip that Treannie had placed an order on the Internet for red phosphorus and other compounds used to make methamphetamine. Public safety officers interviewed Treannie and later searched his room in UniSea's Attu bunkhouse, where Sunderland said they discovered more materials and equipment.