Stephanie Joyce, APRN Contributor
An Alternative Take On The Christmas Tree
Cutting down a Christmas tree is a venerated tradition in many parts of the country, and decorating the tree is many people’s favorite holiday activity. But in Alaska, there are places where there simply aren’t trees to cut down.
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Lobbyists And Legislators Converge On Energy Council Meeting
Every March, the Alaska legislature shuts down so lawmakers can travel to Washington, DC to participate in the Energy Council. The Council is a non-profit whose stated mission is to facilitate discussion about energy and environmental issues. But the trips have frequently been criticized as taxpayer-funded junkets.
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Adak’s Phone Company Calls on Feds to Restore Subsidies
The federal government is cutting subsidies to the telephone company that serves Adak amid concerns about how the money is being spent.
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Arctic Shipping On the Rise
It’s shaping up to be a busy year for Arctic shipping. The Russian government has already granted 218 vessels permission to transit the Northern Sea Route this summer -- four times as many as made the trip last year.
Court Upholds Western Aleutian Fishing Restrictions
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld restrictions on fishing in the western Aleutians to protect an endangered stock of Steller Sea lions. The basic question the court addressed in their opinion was whether the National Marine Fisheries Service violated any statutes when it restricted fishing in the western Aleutians in 2011.
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Aleut Enterprise Charged With Criminal Negligence in Adak Fuel Spill
The State of Alaska has filed criminal charges against Aleut Enterprise, a subsidiary of the Aleut Corporation, over a fuel spill in Adak. The spill happened in January 2010, during a fuel transfer from the tanker Al Amerat to Adak Petroleum’s shore-based storage facility. A state investigation concluded that the fuel storage tank was overfilled, flooding a nearby stream.
M/V Tustumena Repairs Hit Additional Roadblock
The ferry Tustumena is delayed in shipyard yet again. The ship was scheduled to be back in the water on Monday, but a Coast Guard inspection revealed problems with some of the welding work on the ship’s hull.
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F/V Bangun Perkasa Finished Long Journey To Scrapyard
The “pirate ratship” is no more. The Coast Guard seized the F/V Bangun Perkasa almost two years ago while it was illegally driftnetting in the North Pacific, a practice that’s banned by United Nations moratorium because of its indiscriminate harvest. Now, the ship is on its way to the scrapyard.
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Aviator Visits Unalaska On Around-The-World Trip
Over the weekend, 21-year-old Jack Wiegand became the youngest person to ever fly solo around the world. Before making it back to California though, he stopped in Unalaska, where KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce caught up with him.
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Adak Seeks Processing Plant Operator
Last week, the City of Adak and the Adak Community Development Corporation bought $2 million worth of fish processing equipment at auction. Now, they’re looking for someone to operate it.
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AK: A Remote Cruise
It’s not often that cruise ships call in the far western Aleutian port of Adak, but earlier this month, one did just that. The 295-foot Caledonian Sky wound up in Adak after bad weather forced it to bypass its original destination.
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The Coast Guard hoisted a 43-year-old crewman with multiple injuries off the F/V Alaska Juris Friday afternoon. According to the Coast Guard, the crewman had been struck in the head with a box of frozen fish.
Pavlof Eruption Picks Up Again
The eruption at Pavlof Volcano, on the Alaska Peninsula, has picked up again. The volcano is spewing ash to 28,000-feet, the highest it’s reached since the unrest started in early May.
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On 70th Anniversary Of Battle, Memorial Placed On Attu
Seventy years ago, American forces recaptured the Aleutian Island of Attu from the Japanese, in the only ground battle fought on U.S. soil during the war. The fighting, which ended on May 30, 1943, took a heavy toll on both sides, but the battle is often forgotten by the history books. Earlier this month, in an effort to remember both the soldiers and the 44 Unangan villagers who lost their homes on the island, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service installed a memorial on Attu.
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Adak’s Seafood Processing Equipment Sold as Unit
The equipment from Adak’s fish processing plant was auctioned off in one piece Tuesday morning. The City of Adak and the Adak Community Development Corporation jointly submitted the winning bid of $1.8 million.
Adak Fish Processing Equipment Up For Auction
It’s been a rocky 12 years since Adak was incorporated as a city. The community has survived power crises, crushing debt, and twice, the closure of its biggest business – the fish processing plant. But now, Adak is facing a new, larger setback. Tuesday, the processing plant’s equipment is being auctioned off, and if it leaves the island, Adak will be left without its economic engine.
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Federal Regulators Crack Down on Fish Fraud
In the wake of several high-profile cases of alleged scale-tamperingby Bering Sea groundfish vessels, the National Marine Fisheries Service is revising its regulations for weighing fish at-sea. The new measures are aimed at making it more difficult for vessels to under-report their catch.
Pavlof Eruption Picks Up Again
After a week-long respite, Pavlof Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula has sent up another ash plume. Pilots flying past the volcano Tuesday morning were the first to spot the cloud, which they estimated at 19,000 feet.
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Alaska Airlines Bids to Continue Service to Adak
Around this time last year, it looked like Adak’s jet service was in jeopardy. Alaska Airlines wanted to stop flying there, and it was only after much back and forth that they conceded to continue serving the community, on a trial basis.
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Activity Increases at Pavlof Volcano
Pavlof Volcano put on a light show for residents of several communities on the Alaska Peninsula Tuesday night. Activity at the volcano has increased, and it’s spewing ash up to 20,000 feet.
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