Aleutians

A pending request from the White House to essentially eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is headed to the House floor and could spell disaster for some local media stations across the nation, including Unalaska’s KUCB.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s efforts to strengthen Alaska’s military system and reopen the naval base on a remote Aleutian Island are gaining traction at the federal level. Sullivan joined President Donald Trump in the White House on May 20 when the administration announced its Golden Dome missile defense system, which is aimed at protecting Americans from intensifying Chinese and Russian threats and growing arsenals.

Officials with the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told state and federal officials last month that they would be interested in expanding military access on Adak Island. The announcement was made during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Feb. 13, after Sen. Dan Sullivan pressed federal officials to strengthen military presence in Alaska.

In this episode of “Island Interviews,” Education and Outreach Manager Thomas McLenigan talks about the museum’s Lunch and Learn program in general and discusses Alaska’s whaling history, including subsistence practices in the Aleutians.

While many families unwrapped presents in the warmth of their homes on Christmas Day, a small group of surfers in Unalaska paddled into 40 degree waters in hopes of catching a few waves on the Bering Sea.

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for the Eastern Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula. According to the organization, small amounts of ashfall are possible in Unalaska, Nikolski, Sand Point and Cold Bay through Monday afternoon.

Two women who capsized their small skiff Monday in Volcano Bay are in stable condition.According to U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, the women had symptoms of hypothermia when the Coast Guard crew reached them Tuesday morning.

The U.S. Coast Guard encountered four People’s Republic of China military warships in the Bering Sea over the weekend.The foreign vessels were following international law, and told Coast Guard personnel they were practicing “freedom of navigation operations.”

Alaska Airlines has suspended its mileage-sharing agreement with Ravn after what an Alaska Airlines representative called the result of Ravn’s recent “transition in leadership.”

A strong parade of storms has been making its way through the North Central Pacific Ocean, and the location of the jet stream has produced colder storms for Unalaska and the Aleutian region this year. That’s according to Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the International Arctic Research Center with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.