Unalaska, AK – Former state senator Ben Stevens appears to have resurfaced in Dutch Harbor, at least for a couple of weeks.
According to a report in the Anchorage Daily News today, the former lawmaker is working onboard one of the support ships for the Shell Oil drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean. Those vessels are currently docked in Dutch Harbor, awaiting the settlement of legal proceedings surrounding the drilling. Stevens is working on the combination tug boat/landing craft Arctic Seal.
Unalaska, AK – The tenth annual Camp Qungaayux kicked off this morning at Humpy Cove on Unalaska Island. The week-long event is open to kids from fourth grade and up, and aims to bridge the gap between Western and Unangan knowledge of the natural world in the Aleutians. In Unalaska, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.
Unalaska, AK – It's safe to say that the past week hasn't been that great for Senator Ted Stevens, whose Girdwood home was raided by federal agents on Monday. But it has been a good one for Rocky Caldero, the only Democrat who has officially declared his intentions to run against Stevens next year. In Unalaska, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.
Unalaska, AK – A California man who was charged with murder following a fatal van accident in Unalaska in September has been found guilty and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in jail.
Forty-seven-year-old Victorio Cabrera, who was working for UniSea at the time of the incident, was found guilty of second degree murder, first degree assault and DUI last month, according to court documents received by the Unalaska courthouse last week. Two lesser charges were dropped.
Unalaska, AK – A 26-year-old man has been charged with first degree vehicle theft and two lesser charges after he allegedly commandeered the UniSea bus and hit a parked van with it while drunk.
Andrew Mordovskoi allegedly tried to take off in the bus after leaving the UniSea galley late Monday night and trying unsuccessfully to get into two locked company vans. He didn't get far in it--after backing into another van with the bus, he reparked it. He was apprehended by UniSea security, who later told police that Mordovskoi was not a company employee.
Unalaska, AK – In March, the near-wreck of a freighter in Unalaska Bay prompted city officials there to seek a short-term means of preventing the shipwrecks and narrowly avoided close calls that have become a fact of life in the Aleutians. Earlier this week, Coast Guard officers, state officials and congressional staffers were in Dutch Harbor to watch a trial run of a new emergency towing system recently bought by the City of Unalaska to make the port safer. In Unalaska, KIAL's Charles Homans reports.
Unalaska, AK – There are more pollock in the Bering Sea now than there were this time last year. But Alaska's most lucrative fishery is still in the thrall of the ecosystem changes that started sending fishermen far north in search of pollock several years ago. Those are the early findings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Oscar Dyson, which wrapped up its summer survey of pollock stocks in the Bering Sea this week. During its stopover in Unalaska, the ship's lead scientist spoke with KIAL's Charles Homans.
Unalaska, AK – Archaeologists working on a dig site in Unalaska have found a three-thousand year old Unangan whalebone mask, which they believe to be the oldest of its kind yet discovered in Alaska. KIAL's Charles Homans reports.
Making good use of the perfect weather, the city Parks Culture & Recreation Department hosted the annual Ballyhoo Race on Saturday. Here are the winners:
WOMEN
1st Place - Holly Holman (44:56) 2nd Place - Elizabeth Allen (48:20) 3rd Place - Johanna Tellman (50:44)
MEN
1st Place - Mike Tranel (32:35) 2nd Place - Scott Darsney (33:44) 3rd Place - Dawson Williams (35:59)
