Alexandra Gutierrez, APRN - Juneau
agutierrez (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.209.1799 | About Alexandra
Shell Authorized For Two Beaufort Sea Boreholes
Shell may have abandoned its hopes of hitting oil in the Arctic this year, but the company is now cleared to do preparatory work in the Beaufort Sea. The U.S Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement gave Shell the go-ahead today to drill a pair of 1,500-foot boreholes in Alaska’s northern waters. Shell is already doing similar work in the Chukchi Sea.
America’s Top Port Sees Streak Tweaked
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just issued its fisheries report card for 2011, and Alaska is on the honor roll. Last year, 2.3 billion pounds of seafood worth $1.3 billion crossed the state’s docks.
Unalaska Man Charged With Sexual Assault
An Unalaska man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Albert Fredericks, 46, was charged with sexual assault in the second degree on Saturday, after a woman reported that he attacked her in her own home Thursday morning. Fredericks maintains the act was consensual. According to court documents, a medical examination found injuries consistent with the woman’s statement.
AK: Ghost Town
Until the late Nineties, Adak was a bustling military base. It had a bowling alley, a movie theatre, and housing for thousands. Now, with the Navy gone, the Aleutian town sits mostly empty. There’s a chance Arctic drilling could turn it into a boom town, but right now, the place feels like a collection of modern ruins. KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez traveled Adak to find out what it’s like to live among them.
Adak Makes Push Toward Hydropower
Even in a region known for being wet, Adak stands out. With 263 days of precipitation a year, it’s the rainiest city in Alaska. Streams cut through every hill, and there are more lakes than there are people.
Two Medium Earthquakes Hit Aleutian Chain
A moderate-sized earthquake occurred near Unalaska early this morning. The 4.0-magnitude earthquake happened on the Pacific side of the island, nearly 40 miles from town. It struck at around 3am, and occurred at a depth of 21 miles below the earth’s surface.
Pollock Fleet Sees Drop in Bycatch
The Bering Sea pollock fleet is on track to have a record-low year with chum bycatch. As of August 28, the fleet had taken 8,600 chum salmon. That’s a welcome turnaround after last year, when nearly 200,000 chum were caught incidentally. The high bycatch rate in 2011 triggered voluntary fishing closures across the Bering Sea.
Western Aleutian Volcano Starts Rumbling
A remote volcano in the western Aleutians has started rumbling. An earthquake swarm at Little Sitkin started around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday and picked up Thursday morning, prompting the Alaska Volcano Observatory to put the volcano on watch. So far, no eruptive activity has been detected.
Election Logistics Highlight Unalaska’s Diversity
If you go to vote in today’s primaries, you’ll see signs that say “Bumoto Dito” plastered on the doors of city hall. That’s not the name of a candidate running for elected office. It means “Vote Here” in Tagalog.
American Seafoods Contesting Fine Over Fish-Weighing Infractions
Measuring fish aboard a factory trawler isn’t a simple task. "If you put a land scale out at sea, the motion of the vessel – or the motion in the ocean – would keep the scale from reading correctly, and you wouldn’t be able to settle on a weight," says Jennifer Waston, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Coast Guard Performs Consecutive Medevacs in Western Alaska
The Coast Guard performed back-to-back medevacs of two heart attack patients aboard separate cargo vessels in Western Alaska.
No Contest for Unalaska City Races
When Unalaskans go to vote in October’s municipal election, their options will be limited. None of the incumbents running for city council or school board face any competition.
Cleveland Sees 20th Explosion Since Christmas
Cleveland Volcano experienced yet another explosion on Friday morning – its twentieth since Christmas. Cleveland is one of the Aleutian Islands’ most active volcanoes. It’s been on watch for the better part of the past two years, and in June it blew ash 35,000 feet high.
AK: Independence
The Fourth of July in Alaska is all barbecues, parades, and – depending on how south you are — fireworks. But for one man in Unalaska, Independence Day came a week later. Koang Deng, a South Sudanese refugee, observed the first anniversary of his homeland’s independence by celebrating vicariously through relatives half a world away.
Area Fishing Industry Expresses Ambivalence Toward Greenpeace Mission
The last time Greenpeace was in Unalaska, they didn’t get a warm welcome. The local fishing industry shunned the group in part because of campaigns against trawling in the Bering Sea. But when the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza came into port this week to prepare for a campaign against Arctic drilling, opposition to the group wasn’t as fierce.
Greenpeace Makes Way Toward Unalaska
Greenpeace is making its way north as part of its campaign against Arctic drilling. Greenpeace had initially timed the trip so that the Esperanza would shadow Shell’s drill ships as they did exploratory work in the Arctic. But because of persistent sea ice, Shell is delaying their drilling schedule.
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Earthquake Felt At Shemya Air Station
A strong earthquake shook Shemya Island this morning, but caused no damage to Eareckson Air Station. The 6.0-magnitude earthquake occurred just before 8am in a mostly uninhabited part of the Western Aleutians. The epicenter was approximately 100 miles away from Shemya Island, and the dozen or so airmen stationed there noticed the ground shaking.
AK: The Goose
The Grumman Goose seaplane has served the Aleutian region for the better half of a century, shuttling residents from remote islands to Dutch Harbor. But once the new Akutan airport is complete later this summer, water landings in the Bering Sea will be a thing of the past.
A Marine Pilot Takes His Last Aleutian Voyage
Even though thousands of cargo ships pass through Alaska waters every year, most of that traffic passes through pretty quietly. That’s in part because Alaska requires marine pilots on board many of these vessels to help their captains navigate dangerous situations. The pilots operating out of the Port of Dutch Harbor have a particularly challenging job.
Five Boats Busted With Female Crab
It looks like commercial fishermen in the Bering Sea may take the snow crab quota after all. The fleet has been hampered for months, with record-setting ice closing off fishing grounds and damaging gear. But faster fishing brings a whole new set of problems. A good chunk of the fleet has been busted for poor fishing practices.