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Starting next year, seniors in Unalaska will be eligible for a bigger sales tax refund from the city: $400, up from $200.
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Jim Hunt said he applied for the Unalaska job because of the potential for exciting projects and problem-solving. He said he considers it the “best opportunity in Alaska,” highlighting the island’s status as a top port for fisheries and calling it an “economic engine to the world.”
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The City Council expressed unanimous support last month for raising the senior refund from $200 to $400. “The cost of living going up, the cost of airfare — just everything has put a real burden on our senior citizens,” said Councilor Daneen Looby. “And I feel like they don’t have a means to increase their income, like the younger generation does.”
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Interim City Manager Hladick ends his tenure Friday, 10 months after stepping in as Unalaska’s chief administrator. Assistant City Manager Bil Homka will serve as acting city manager while the City Council continues looking for a permanent hire.
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State legislators are discussing increasing student funding, leaving a lot up in the air for school districts around Alaska as they prepare their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.In Unalaska, district officials are playing it safe — anticipating small increases to state funding and planning for some cuts to staff.At a recent board meeting, Superintendent Jim Wilson presented a first reading of the district’s FY24 budget and applauded the committee for making significant reductions this year.
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The City of Unalaska is arranging to interview a new candidate for the position of city manager — the third in the city’s search for a permanent hire.
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The company aiming to bring geothermal energy to Unalaska plans to pay more than $90 million to an engineering and construction firm to build the volcano-powered project, under a contract announced Jan. 18.Ounalashka Corporation/Chena Power, LLC, the company behind the project, is a joint venture between Unalaska’s Native corporation and Fairbanks-based Chena Power. And while OCCP Project Manager Dave Matthews said they plan to start construction of the plant this coming summer, the company still hasn’t announced that it’s secured any funding.
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Iliuliuk Family and Health Services has extended its weekday closing hours to 9 p.m. For years, the island’s largest healthcare provider has closed at 6 p.m., which limited service options for community members. Clinic staff say new hours will give community members greater access to services.
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A typical December on the island brings about six inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service, but Unalaska has already received more than 10 inches this month. If the Aleutian community didn’t receive another drop of rain for the rest of the month, this would still be the ninth rainiest December on record.
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The City of Unalaska is once again considering wind power as a potential energy source, something the council has taken up in meetings as far back as 1999. V3 Energy, a renewable energy planning firm from Anchorage, analyzed the data from wind-measuring towers on Unalaska, Amaknak and Hog Islands taken between 2018 and 2021, and presented their findings to the Unalaska City Council in November.