A camera used for electronic monitoring in place of a live observer. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The tanner crab fishery opened last year for the first time in the Kodiak Management Area since 2013, and some tanner crab fishermen are pushing for more thorough observer coverage in the trawl sector. This weekend at a North Pacific …

Mark Begich, Kodiak High School in background. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Former Alaska state senator and Anchorage mayor, Democrat Mark Begich, is running for governor. He told KMXT he’s been thinking about running for months, but made the final decision with family and friends last week. “We literally sat and talked  about it and felt that …

One of the KEA wind turbines on Pillar Mountain. (Photo by LaniElderts/Flickr) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The state is soliciting feedback on its draft climate change policy. It’s a work in progress by a coalition of Alaskans which Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott chairs. “The Climate Action Leadership Team, which is comprised of citizen representatives across the state, has had two face-to-face meetings, …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough lost jobs over the last couple of years. That’s according to this month’s issue of Economic Trends from the Alaska Department of Labor. The area saw a roughly 5 percent job loss from 2015 to 2017. That’s not as big as the almost 22 percent loss in the North Slope Borough or the 14 …

At Mill Bay Beach (left to right), camera operator Richard Ranken, director Ian Leese, and actor Martin Clunes. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT An English actor spent the past week in Kodiak filming a documentary TV series about islands in America. Fans of British television  may be familiar with a program about a socially awkward surgeon whose …

Panel at convention center. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Easing entry into the fishing industry is one strand of conversation that’s been continuing after hours while the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is in town. Members of the council spoke with the public at a community outreach and listening session yesterday to discuss the halibut and sablefish …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The body of a man was discovered yesterday in the water downtown. According to the Kodiak Police Department, dispatch received a call a little after 4 p.m. reporting that a body had been spotted under a dock at St. Paul Harbor. Chief Jim Mullican with the Kodiak Fire Department said his crew and the Kodiak Police Department responded …

Marysia Szymkowiak leads a workshop for fishing families at the convention center. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Fishermen talked about the current state of the fishing industry and the outlook for the next generation at a workshop last night. The event was part of research to look at how evolving regulations and environmental factors among others things …

Merissa Koller-Williams. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT An active member of Kodiak’s nonprofit community moved back to the Lower 48 last week. Merissa Koller-Williams was the coordinator of the community wellness nonprofit, Healthy Tomorrows, which closed last year after its funding from Providence Health & Services ran out. Koller-Williams and Healthy Tomorrows helped form what is now …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough is using a scoring system to solicit nonprofit applications for fiscal year 2019. The borough assembly went over criteria at its work session last week. According to the meeting packet, organizations can fall into the categories of health and social services for a total budgeted amount of $144,000 or under education, culture, and recreation …