COLD BAY

A controversial stretch of road connecting two Eastern Aleutian communities is heading toward construction.The Alaska Department of Transportation has applied for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to build the road and is taking public comments on the proposed work until Jan. 12.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is planning a new dock at Cold Bay, one of the most remote stops on the state ferry system’s route map.

Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a land exchange agreement Thursday with King Cove’s Native corporation, making way for the controversial construction of what many consider to be a lifesaving stretch of road.

At Izembek Lagoon, Pacific black brant are choosing to overwinter in the Bering Sea — drawn by warming waters and the eelgrass meadows beneath.

At least 36 servicemen were buried at the Fort Randall Post Cemetery on the Alaska Peninsula.

On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to undo most of his predecessor’s work on Alaska energy and environmental issues. The order entitled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” was among dozens Trump signed.

Monte LaVelle Chitty, age 62, was arrested on April 5 in a small town in Texas by state police and U.S. Marshals, after attempting to flee child-abuse related charges in the Florida Keys. He was arrested in March and charged with two felonies involving a 15-year-old girl from the Baptist church he was leading in Marathon, Florida. Those include sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation, and a misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.Chitty was also a former Alaska Village Public Safety Officer in the Aleutian region for several years and a pastor in Cold Bay for a short period. He moved to Alaska and began leading the Cold Bay Chapel in 2010.

The military team used explosives to dispose of the munition where it was found — in the middle of the 315,000 acre refuge, which contains one of the world’s largest eelgrass beds.

The U.S. government is sending $72 million to Alaska communities for maritime infrastructure projects — and more than half of that money is going to Cold Bay in the Eastern Aleutians.

A volcano on Unimak Island in the Eastern Aleutians is on watch for an eruption — Shishaldin is spewing lava at its summit, but the real threat is if it starts to emit ash.