Unalaska, AK – In the next month, Library Journal - a magazine for library professionals - will be running a lengthy article on America's best library facilities. Featured in its pages is Unalaska's own public library. It's been named a star library for the third year in a row, an honor bestowed by the American Library Association, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the publishing company and trade group R.R. Bowker. Two hundred fifty-six libraries are named star libraries; there are approximately 122,000 libraries in the nation.

Unalaska, AK – For twelve years, fishing vessels have avoided killing the short-tailed albatross. In the past month, two of the endangered birds have been taken as bycatch. Now, biologists and fishermen alike are trying to figure out why this happened and what this means both for the birds and for the longline fleet.

Because the short-tailed albatross is an endangered species, the federal government closely monitors incidental bycatch of the bird. It expects four individuals to be taken in a two-year period. While restrictions could ultimately be placed on longliners if bycatch got to be too high, Fitzgerald says that there isn't a quota in place. If two more albatrosses were caught in addition to the ones already taken, the first step would be an endangered species act section 7 consultation. This would involve an evaluation of the protective measures that already exist and - he says -- potentially the creation of new ones. KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez has more.

Unalaska, AK – This week, Unalaska's Church of Latter Day Saints closed to missionaries. With their neckties ties and collared shirts in place of sweatshirts and XTRATUFs, the young men who come here on religious missions stand out in a town with plenty of men with more economic concerns.

The two missionaries who were based here left Monday - one for Fairbanks and the other for Eagle River. The Mormon missionaries are always found in pairs, and they were each here for a few months. They filled a brief gap of no missionaries after having some present for two years uninterrupted. Don Clark is the branch president and he says that happens occasionally. While Unalaska's Church Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has had missionaries coming here for over a decade, and they haven't always come consecutively.

Unalaska, AK – Today, Church Hole is open for fishing after three months of being closed. But in the past couple of weeks, there has been an up-tick in illegal fishing there. That's because there are now plenty of coho salmon going upstream, says Officer Michael Holman.

"About this time of year, every year, we have an increase in illegal fishing activity on the creek, targeting the silvers coming back," he says.

Unalaska, AK – Yesterday, the tug boats Gyrfalcon and James Dunlap responded to a distress call from the Shell Oil motor vessel Nanuq. Don't worry, though - it was just a drill. The City of Unalaska, the Coast Guard, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation teamed up to test out the emergency towing system. The point of the ETS drill is to make sure responders are prepared for any emergencies that happen on the water, given that vessels can often find themselves in risky conditions here. KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez has more.

Unalaska, AK – Early Sunday morning, the fishing vessel Arctic Dawn caught fire while moored in Seattle. As of today, there are still no reports regarding the full extent of the damage.

The Arctic Dawn has fished crab out of Unalaska, and it was featured in early episodes of the Deadliest Catch. Ole Helgevold served as the vessel's captain.

The blaze took over 100 firefighters to put out, and reached three-alarm status. Though one person had been on the ship, no one was injured and while the fire spread some to the fishing vessel Kodiak, the fire caused no significant damage beyond the Arctic Dawn itself. The cause of the fire is still undetermined.

Unalaska, AK – Tonight, city council met to discuss utilities bills, construction projects, and taxes.

The meeting opened with a public hearing concerning the tax exemptions for out of town sales and the definition for resale and retail sales in Unalaska. The main resource the ordinance concerns is rock. The purpose of the ordinance is to make the tax code more consistent and potentially close existing loopholes. In previous sessions, questions and concerns about potential tax complications and double taxation were addressed and assuaged. The ordinance passed unanimously.

Unalaska, AK – This weekend, Mount Cleveland showed yet more signs of activity. The volcano, located in the central Aleutians, has been fairly active this summer and it released a seven-kilometer plume containing ash and steam on Sunday morning.

Steve McNutt is a research professor at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and a coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Here's what he can make out from the satellite imagery of the volcano.

Unalaska, AK – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released its assessment for Bristol Bay red king crab, and the report finds that the crab stock may be declining.

Over the past three years, recruitment rates have been "extremely low." Male crabs -- which are the only crabs that can be legally caught -- have become less abundant, and fewer young crabs are reaching maturity. Jie Zheng is a crab biometrician for ADFG, and he coauthored the report along with Shareef Siddeek. He says that the near future doesn't look great for red king crab.