Unalaska, AK – Representatives of Alaska's Early Intervention/Infant Learning Program are holding their second annual summit in Unalaska this coming Monday and Tuesday.

The program is supported by the state Department of Health and Human Services and the Southeast Regional Resource Center (SERRC), and provides resources for parents of children under the age of three who are concerned about their child's development. The summit, which is open to the public, is a discussion forum with local health and social service organizations, which partner with the program to provide services here in Unalaska.

Unalaska, AK – In an unusual move, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will be paying Mayor Shirley Marquardt's way to a shipping safety conference in Anchorage later this month.

In a surprise decision earlier this month, the council had voted 4-2 to deny Marquardt's request to represent the city at the Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment framework meeting on October 30 and 31st. In the past year, Marquardt has made shipping safety improvements one of her signature issues. Pete Garay of Alaska Marine Pilots spoke on Marquardt's behalf at last night's council meeting, at which the council voted unanimously to accept the state's offer.

Unalaska, AK – Stalled contract negotiations between public safety employees and the city government spilled over into the Unalaska City Council chambers for the second time in the past three months at last night's council meeting.

The occasion was the council's consideration of a new contract for City Manager Chris Hladick. During a public comment period at the meeting, public safety employee Brandon Hunter read a statement criticizing the contract, particularly the fact that it allowed for pay increases for Hladick while such increases for other city employees are currently frozen.

Unalaska, AK – A seafood industry publication reports today that Bering Sea pollock quotas will be set lower than previously expected next year. That's based on early data from this year's pollock surveys presented at a European seafood industry conference last week, numbers which suggest the pollock stocks are lower than previously thought.

The article published by Seafood.com News suggests that the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) for pollock may be set as low as 1 million tons. That's 287,000 tons less than what had been previously projected for next year. To the fishing industry, the difference amounts to about $60 million worth of fish.

Unalaska, AK – It's been ten days since city investigators announced their findings from an inquiry into this month's city elections, which means that the city's deadline for challenging the results of that investigation expires today. But the controversy over the investigation is far from over.

City Council candidate Randall Baker, who filed the challenge to the October 2 results, said he and his lawyer are still investigating his initial allegation that many voters who participated in the October 2 election weren't Unalaska residents. They're currently waiting to receive a list of people who voted in the election, which they requested from the State Division of Elections.

Unalaska, AK – The text of the e-mail cited here

Unalaska, AK – After a few days of Bristol Bay red king crab price negotiations, the Bering Sea crab fleet has been given the green light to go fishing as of this afternoon.

Harvesting co-op negotiators reached price agreements with the last of the major processors earlier today. Only negotiations with one small processor, SnoPak, are still unsettled.

Not all the prices have been disclosed yet, but in most cases the fishermen will be receiving $4.20 a pound for A shares and $4.34 to $4.50 for B and C shares.

Unalaska, AK – The Bristol Bay red king crab season opened today, but like last year, the majority of the fleet is still tied up in Dutch Harbor, waiting for their proxies in Seattle to agree on a fair price.

"At the moment, we don't have an offer on the table we think is acceptable," said Greg White, a negotiator for the Inter-Cooperative Exchange, which represents about 70 percent of the Bering Sea crab fleet in negotiations with seafood companies. "That could change, and we're working toward trying to get this resolved."

Unalaska, AK – The results of this month's mayoral election are unchanged after a recount by local elections officials this morning.

The second tally of the ballots cast on October 2 turned up the same results as the first, with incumbent Shirley Marquardt edging out challenger Shannon Morrison 283 to 278, and Katherine McGlashan running third with 138 votes.

The recount was announced yesterday, and City Clerk Debra Mack said it was done preemptively.