Hope McKenney, KUCB - Unalaska

Hope McKenney, KUCB - Unalaska
6 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
a ship

EPA fines largest at-sea Alaska pollock processor nearly $1M for Clean Water Act violations

American Seafoods was fined for waste discharges in Oregon and Washington. EPA officials didn't say whether its Alaska operations are under scrutiny.
orcas

Activists urge reforms after Bering Sea trawlers hauled up 9 dead orcas this year

According to NOAA Fisheries, a tenth whale was released alive, but the nine other orcas incidentally caught in trawl nets weren’t so lucky.
a boat docked

Crew member on Alaska factory trawler dies after possible ammonia exposure

Crew on the Northern Eagle reported a likely ammonia leak that led to the death of David Kumah, from West Africa.
a Navy warship

Sighting of Chinese and Russian warships near Aleutians prompts Navy response

A U.S. Northern Command spokesperson said the foreign patrol ships remained in international waters and were not considered a threat.
a woman stands near the water, holding whit containers that say "harmful species"

Unalaska readies to deploy traps for invasive European green crabs

The crabs could cause a big problem. They destroy habitat and outcompete native species.
a woman

Unalaska sees large turnout for annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration

Gray skies and drizzle didn’t deter dozens of community members from showing up to Unalaska's Pride event Friday.
Workers on top of a giant spool of cable

Millions of pounds of fiber cable are en route to Unalaska to bring high speed internet to the region

Nearly 2,000 tons of subsea fiber has begun its journey from Europe to Alaska.
A dirt road under cloudy sky

St. Paul hunkers down following largest spike in COVID cases since start of the pandemic

Roughly half of all coronavirus cases recorded on St. Paul Island have happened in the last two weeks.
A family snapshot of four people sitting on a bed

After tribal court ruling, toddler killed in St. Paul will be buried next to his mother

The boy’s paternal aunt had power of attorney. That side of the family pushed for him to be buried in Anchorage, where he died.
An ice shelf seen from the deck of a ship

A Coast Guard cutter has reached the planet’s southernmost navigable waters, setting a new record

Melting of the Ross Ice Shelf meant the Polar Star could sail into newly navigable waters.
The blocky heads of two right whales poking out of the water on the open seas

Fisherman’s photos could be first visual evidence of North Pacific right whales in the Bering Sea in winter

Right whales are among the rarest of all marine mammal species and have never been documented in the Bering Sea in winter months.
A person standing on sea ice in front of an icebreaker

Nation’s sole heavy icebreaker returns to Antarctica to resupply American scientists

Each year, the crew maneuvers the nearly 400-foot, 13,000-ton icebreaker to cut a channel to McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistics hub.
A bald eagle perched on one of the cranes that lowers a zodiac raft from the side of a ship

Coast Guard cutter returns to California after a nearly 80-day patrol in the Bering Sea

During the Waesche’s most recent patrol, it enforced fishing regulations among Bering Sea fleets and monitored the U.S.-Russian Maritime Boundary Line.
A small todler smiles to the camera near some toys

Family of toddler killed in St. Paul at odds over where to bury him

Family of a St. Paul Island toddler who authorities say died at the hands of his foster parents last month are at odds over where the boy should be buried.
A community at sunset

Unalaska and Kodiak set winter warm weather records

Temperatures in Unalaska soared to 56 degrees on Saturday. And in Kodiak on Sunday, temperatures hit 67 degrees.
A dirt road under cloudy sky

St. Paul couple accused of killing toddler who was in their care

Troopers say after a thorough investigation, they determined the child’s guardians, 31-year-old Steven Melovidov and 28-year-old Sophie Myers-Melovidov, had killed him in their home and attempted to mislead investigators over the course of the investigation.
A plane on the runway.

Fuel shortage and blizzard leave St. George residents rationing heat and water

“Whatever led up to the situation where all the sudden we don't have any fuel in the dead of winter, and with all these storms coming through, is beyond me,” said St. George resident Victor Malavansky. “I would like to say this is totally unacceptable.”
A man stands in the dark on top of a hill with a sign that says 321.

Meet Sean Peters, an Unalaska resident who climbed Bunker Hill more than 300 times this year

Unalaska resident Sean Peters broke his personal record this year by making the one-mile hike up Bunker Hill 321 times. That averages out to more than once a day for every day he’s been on island in 2021.
A dirt road under cloudy sky

St. Paul gets new police chief after its entire department quit over COVID vaccine mandate

The new police chief, Michael Castro, is moving to the remote Alaska island from Utah with his two sons this week.
A man poses for a photograph outside, with a folder in hand.

Unalaska doctor nationally recognized for bringing emergency training to rural Alaska

Dr. Murray Buttner, a family medicine doctor in Unalaska, Buttner, a family medicine doctor and co-medical director of the island’s Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic, was named a 2021 Community Star by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. The award went to one health care provider in each U.S. state.