Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Photo: Yifanova via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 4.0
Coast Guard orders a Dutch Harbor pollution response, and the record doesn't say why
The U.S. Coast Guard hired Resolve Marine Group on Nov. 6 for oil or hazardous chemical spill work in Dutch Harbor, but the federal record of the order doesn't say what the work is for.
The company, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is to provide labor, materials and equipment "to mitigate the harmful effects of an oil spill or hazardous chemicals incident" as directed by the federal on-scene coordinator, the Coast Guard official in charge of a spill response, according to the contract record.
The money comes through the Coast Guard's National Pollution Funds Center, which gives responders round-the-clock access to an emergency oil spill fund so they can act quickly. The center later tries to recover those costs from whoever is responsible.
The Coast Guard skipped competitive bidding, citing urgency, and committed $10,000. The company is paid by the hour plus materials, so the final cost could be higher. The order's work period began Nov. 5 and can run through Jan. 4.
The record lists a project number but names no vessel or facility. Neither NOAA's incident log, which tracks spills where the Coast Guard asks for its help, nor the state's spill response page listed anything in Dutch Harbor this fall as of Thursday.
The Coast Guard committed $447,000 to the same company in September after the vessel Rolfy discharged a mix of oils and diesel fuel into Seward's harbor and left a sheen, according to another federal record.
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Stories on what’s next
APIA Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program applications open for all households
Heating help is going up this winter for remote Aleut communities, after a proposed cut was reversed
Heating help is rising about 40 percent this winter for 10 Aleut communities, after their tribal organization won more state funding and reversed a cut.
Westward Seafoods Wastewater Permit Public Comment Period
State drafts renewal of Westward Seafoods' wastewater permit for Captains Bay plant
DEC drafted a permit that would let Westward Seafoods keep discharging screened wastewater into Captains Bay. The company reviews it first, then the public.
Latest
November 2026
Unalaska asks residents to clear cars and trailers from road shoulders before plowing
Unalaska wants cars, trailers and gear off road shoulders before plows roll this winter. Clutter blocks plow crews and emergency vehicles, and buried items can get damaged.
by Alaska News2d ago1 min read
Fastwyre asks the state to let it end cable TV in Galena and Unalaska after 41 years
Fastwyre wants to unplug cable TV in Galena and Unalaska on New Year's Eve, saying new gear isn't worth it for 70 accounts. Customers get to keep the box.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago3 min read
October 2026
State keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab closed, bars pot gear near the islands
Alaska keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab fisheries closed for 2026/27 and bars crab pots from waters around the islands, extending a blue king crab shutdown that started in 1999.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Japanese surimi executives visit Dutch Harbor on ASMI trade mission
Japanese surimi makers visited Dutch Harbor to push back against tariffs that treat Alaska pollock the same as Russian imports.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea Tanner crab limit nearly triples as snow crab falls 45 percent
Alaska tripled the Bering Sea Tanner crab limit to 32.1 million pounds for winter 2026, while cutting snow crab 45% to 5.1 million pounds, with all three major crab fisheries opening Oct. 15.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Wind advisory for Unalaska and Nikolski Sunday with gusts up to 50 mph
Gusts up to 50 mph are forecast for Unalaska and Nikolski on Sunday. Anything not tied down may relocate. Nikolski gets it first, Unalaska later.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
September 2026
State gets new federal grant to oversee monitoring at Amchitka nuclear test site
The state has a new federal grant to keep watch over Amchitka, where the U.S. set off its biggest underground nuclear test. So far, it's $41,000 for five years.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska creates its first Key to the City, carved from walrus ivory by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny
Unalaska now has an official Key to the City: a two-sided walrus ivory carving by Unangan artist Gertrude Svarny, with 50 numbered replicas to give out.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Unalaska
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to accept a Trident-hosted trip to a Navy commissioning
Unalaska's council cleared the mayor to take tickets, lodging and a ride from Trident Seafoods for a Navy commissioning. No undue influence, it found.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Unalaska accepts $3.8 million EPA grant to clear junk cars and scrap metal from its full landfill
Unalaska's landfill filled up with junk cars and scrap metal before the EPA's $3.8 million arrived. The city had already sent one full barge of it away.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska renewed the seafood waste line easement for another decade
If the seafood waste line under Unalaska's roads ever breaks, Westward Seafoods cleans it up. The city rents it the ground for $2,250 a year.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Kodiak crab quota lease would guarantee boats Unalaska-level prices
Kodiak's fisheries association would lease its crab processing quota to Royal Aleutian, on the condition that Kodiak boats get paid Unalaska prices.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Halibut scientists report whale losses and a shift in when females mature
Halibut scientists told their advisers this week they still cannot count what whales take, and that females are maturing younger than the models assumed.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Nine candidates are running for three Aleut Corporation board seats
Nine candidates are running for three Aleut Corporation board seats, and the early proxy deadline is 5 pm Wednesday. Final deadline is Oct. 14.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readFrom 
The state is still taking comments on a school rule it dropped last year
Alaska's education department is still taking comments on a rule its board killed 11 months ago. The follow-up the board asked for is harder to find.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Unalaska council appoints election judges for Oct. 6 vote
Unalaska City Council appointed election judges and clerks for the Oct. 6 municipal election, with nonemployee staff paid $20 an hour from the city budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
About Unalaska
Unalaska is a city on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands, in the Aleutians West Census Area, and its port is known as Dutch Harbor. The city is also known by the names Iluulux̂ and Oululuk. Its economy is built around one of the busiest commercial fishing ports in the nation, serving pollock, crab and cod fleets.
Seafood processors such as UniSea and Westward Seafoods operate plants in the city, and their wastewater and stormwater permits come before state and federal regulators. The city council oversees harbors, roads, public buildings and grants, and the cost of rebuilding harbor floats, repairing roofs and paving the port road is a recurring question for its budget.
Unalaska is tied to the management of Bering Sea fisheries, including catch limits for snow crab and the science behind halibut and pollock stocks. Trade questions over pollock and surimi markets also reach its docks, and the Aleut Corporation and the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association are regional organizations in the area.
More from Unalaska
Unalaska student wins national naval history award for Angoon bombardment project
Unalaska student River Zaochney won a national Naval History Award for a project on the 1882 Navy bombardment of Angoon, a Tlingit village the Navy formally apologized for in 2024.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The snow crab limit is going up. There aren't more crab.
The Bering Sea snow crab catch limit would rise 13% this winter — not because there are more crab, but because scientists cut the safety margin in half.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Unalaska awarded its harbor contract before the sea otter permit was final
Unalaska signed a $21.9 million harbor contract. The permit allowing the work to disturb sea otters is still a draft, and comment closed after the vote.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska votes Oct. 6, at the one polling place in town
Unalaska votes for city and school board seats Oct. 6 at City Hall, the town's only polling place, open 8 am to 8 pm. Six people will run it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in $10.6 million over, and the city is paying cash
Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in at nearly double the 2023 estimate. The city is paying the $10.6 million gap in cash and says it could not do it twice.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska raises nonprofit grant audit threshold to $300,000
Unalaska's small nonprofits no longer need a costly annual audit to keep their city grants — one group said audits ate about 13% of its award.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed, including the high school and water plant
Eight Unalaska roofs have failed or are failing, including the high school and the water plant. Fixing all 27 city roofs starts at $22 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska wants the state to look at a ferry from Cold Bay during pollock season
Unalaska wants the state to look at running a ferry from Cold Bay during pollock season. The ferry system is short on boats and the dock has pile damage.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska council awards $21.9 million contract to replace Storrs Harbor floats
Unalaska is spending $22 million on new harbor floats. The acting city manager says the harbor may have to close before long if it does not.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska will spend $200,000 deciding what to do about its pool
Unalaska's 40-year-old pool has failing systems and a leaking roof. The city is paying $200,000 to find out whether to fix it, rebuild it or move it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Resident accuses Kodiak Island Borough Assembly of illegal poll on remote-meeting rules
A Kodiak resident challenged the borough assembly's survey on remote-meeting rules as violating the Open Meetings Act, though the borough attorney cleared it as preparation for public discussion.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Unalaska wants $5 million to pave the road serving America's busiest fishing port
The country's largest fishing port by poundage is served by a gravel road. Paving it is now Unalaska's top request of Congress, at $5 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska makes its failing airport terminal a top funding priority
Unalaska made a failing airport terminal its top request for state money next year, moving it from last on the list to first.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska eases yearly audit requirement for its small nonprofit grantees
Unalaska's small nonprofits won't have to pay for a yearly audit to keep their city grants anymore — a cost that ate up about 13% of one group's award.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Unalaska raises the audit threshold for its nonprofit grant recipients
Unalaska has raised the audit threshold for nonprofit grantees to $40,000, after one grantee said audit costs ate roughly 13 percent of its city award.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Unalaska is paying $800,000 to keep its emergency room open around the clock
Unalaska City Council adopted new grant guidelines on Aug. 25, but the exact changes remain unclear because city records do not include the full resolution text.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
August 2026
Unalaska keeps awarding more grant money than its formula produces
Unalaska's grant program keeps awarding more than its funding formula produces. The council eased the audit rules and left the formula alone.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Unalaska approves airport gate power line, with the state covering the cost
Unalaska City Council approved a power line extension to supply new airport access gates, with work due by August 2027 at an estimated cost of $1 million to $2.5 million.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago1 min read
A $2.5 million geothermal training grant for Unalaska sits 3 percent spent
Unalaska abandoned its Makushin geothermal project in May 2025, but a $2.5 million federal training grant tied to it remains open and largely unspent with only $75,000 spent so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
A health center's request to Unalaska grew nearly six-fold in a year
A health center's grant request to Unalaska grew from $180,000 to more than $1 million in a year, pushing the city's grant program past its own guideline.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Unalaska paid for library internet for three years before the council approved it
Unalaska ran a library internet contract for three years without the council vote its code required. The council approved it this month, going back to 2023.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A little Unalaska park keeps its tax break one last time before the lease runs out
A small community park in Unalaska keeps its property tax exemption one last time before the city's lease runs out, joining the tax rolls in 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
New EU seafood paperwork lands Sept. 3, and it is not the only change
New EU seafood export certificates take effect Sept. 3. For Alaska's wild-caught fish and crab, the bigger change is a separate catch-documentation overhaul.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Unalaska council ratifies a library internet contract three years late
Unalaska's library ran internet for three years on a contract the council never approved. The council ratified it Tuesday, 5-0, without discussion.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read