The crew of the Coast Guard Alex Haley tows the disabled sailboat Nkhovazi south of Unalaska Island, Alaska, July 23, 2012. The two crewmembers, both British nationals, were brought aboard the cutter while their vessel was towed to Dutch Harbor for repairs.U.S. Coast Guard photo by the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley Stephanie Joyce/KUCB Two sailors headed from Honolulu to …

Rear Adm. Thomas P. Ostebo gives recognition to the crew of a Coast Guard HH-3F Pelican helicopter, for a 1988 rescue from the fishing vessel Wayward Wind 115 miles southwest of Kodiak, during a ceremony at Air Station Kodiak Thursday, July 19, 2012, in Kodiak. Each of the aircrew members was awarded an Air Medal for their heroic actions that …

Capt. William C. Deal, left, retiring commanding officer of Air Station Kodiak, turns command over to Capt. Melissa L. Rivera at a ceremony held at Air Station Kodiak Friday, as Rear Adm. Thomas P. Ostebo looks on. Before coming to Kodiak, Rivera most recently served as executive officer for two years at Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico.U.S. Coast Guard photo …

Periodically this summer Deb Mignogno, the volunteer naturalist at Fort Abercrombie, brings us a closer look at the natural world around us. Today, what makes sea otters different from land otters.

The producers at the Spirit of Youth Project, which recognizes teenage Alaskans who make the state a better place to live, sometime turn their attention to Kodiak youth. In this piece, Shana Shehe talks with some teens from Kodiak Island who helped webcast the Native Youth Olympic Games this spring:

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard in Juneau is hosting the Buoy Tender Olympics this week, and the Kodiak-based SPAR (lower left) is there competing. The event is intended to highlight the skills needed to work aboard a buoy tender. It comes in the midst of the annual buoy tender roundup, which includes cutters based in Alaska, Washington …

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Charley Fowler, an Air Station Kodiak rescue swimmer, talks to a young Barrow resident about the equipment he and other rescue swimmers use to save lives. Approximately 200 Barrow residents attended an open house to meet with search and rescue personnel that will be working in Northern Alaska this summer. Below, members of Coast Guard …

Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB The Aleutian East Borough has hired a new administrator, and he’s someone Kodiak residents know well. Rick Gifford, who left his job as Kodiak Island Borough Manager after seven years, took over the job for Aleutians East last month. He will stay in Anchorage while administering the borough, which includes Akutan, False Pass, Cold Bay, Nelson Lagoon, King …

Maggie Wall/KMXT Kodiak residents had a chance to speak out on the August ballot measure that would create a replacement for the coastal management program that was dismantled after the Alaska legislature failed to reauthorize the program. KMXT’s Maggie Wall attended the Lieutenant governor’s meeting and has this report.

Maggie Wall/KMXT A proposed land swap between the city and the borough would accomplish several things. First the Kodiak Island Borough would get a good building site near the hospital on which to build the new long-term care facility. Second, the City of Kodiak would get much needed land at the east end of the cemetery, which would provide better …