Aleutian Chain

The Alaska Department of Transportation expects to issue a new request for proposals from American shipyards next month to replace the Tustumena.

GCI is starting to install fiber internet infrastructure in King Cove and Sand Point this week.

Unalaska is officially connected to high speed fiber internet, but not everyone on the island has access to the new service.GCI connected its first customers in December, and now, Rural Affairs Director Jenifer Nelson said around 200 homes in the community of about 4,500 year-round residents are turned on and either actively using the fiber broadband or ready to start service.

GCI connected its first Unalaska residential customers to its fastest 2 gig internet speeds this week. And while some Unalaskans now have access to that fiber connection, most community members will have to wait until the new year before logging on.That timeframe is a little later than the telecommunications company had hoped — GCI had been planning for a launch by the end of the year. But for the majority of the island, that service is still weeks away. The company announced Thursday that its island-wide launch of high-speed internet will be rolled out in a “phased approach” and won’t likely happen until mid-January.

The three Aleutian volcanoes that have been erupting simultaneously in recent months could be joined by a fourth. Davidof Volcano in the Western Aleutians has remained inactive for thousands of years. But a series of earthquakes measured around the dormant volcano has some researchers wondering if Davidof is waking up.

Representatives from the City of Unalaska are traveling to Washington, D.C. next week. The federal lobbying trip is a chance for city leaders to meet with Washington delegation members, and make a case for the island’s top legislative and financial needs. Council member Dennis Robinson serves as the Vice Mayor of Unalaska, and he’ll be on that trip. He sat down with KUCB’s Theo Greenly to talk about what he hopes to accomplish in Washington.

House Speaker Louise Stutes has appointed a former Unalaska mayor to a new ferry oversight board.Shirley Marquardt will be joining the nine-member Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board, which was established through the passage of House Bill 63 — introduced by Speaker Stutes last session.

The M/V Tustumena is now scheduled to arrive in Unalaska at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, and to depart in the late afternoon. It is the last ferry scheduled to visit the island this year.

Unalaskans could see a significant boost in internet service by late 2022, if GCI completes work to lay fiber cable as planned. The telecommunications…

Ports along the Aleutian Chain between Homer and Unalaska will see only five visits of the ferry Tustumena this summer, down from the twice-monthly…