Friday was the Spring Equinox, but the start of the season was nowhere in sight in Unalaska.

At its regular meeting Tuesday night, the Unalaska school board approved a proposed FY27 budget. It includes flat funding from the state, but a slightly larger ask of the city, which almost always grants the district its full request.

The deal between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Alaska Fairbanks took effect on March 1.

A volcano on Atka Island in the Aleutians has been showing increasing signs of unrest over the past two weeks, and scientists say the uptick in activity is significant enough to warrant a closer watch.

After a deadlocked jury resulted in a mistrial last spring and various failed attempts to go to trial, 25-year-old Dustin Ruckman is once again facing two counts of criminally negligent homicide.

Nelson Lagoon is about to run out of water. The Alaska Native village of 40 people on the Alaska Peninsula expects its supply to run dry by March 20, after a January storm destroyed the underground pipeline connecting the community to its only water source.

The City of Adak is seeking assistance from the Department of Defense [renamed the Department of War under the Trump administration] to help remove sunken vessels and rehabilitate infrastructure through its Innovation Readiness Training program.

The city announced Tuesday that Edward “Eddie” Athey will take the helm of Unalaska’s Fire Department on Mar. 25.

The western Aleutians have seen higher than average seismic activity since March 2, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The Aleutians East Borough is asking the state to investigate whether a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries acted ethically during a vote on restrictions to the Area M salmon fishery. Borough Mayor Alvin Osterback and representatives from several tribes in the region say they filed a complaint with the Alaska Department of Law on Feb. 23. They say a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries had a conflict of interest when he cast a tie-breaking vote last month in favor of restricting the Area M fishery.