News

Over two years after former Bethel hotel Tundra Suites’ Medicaid fraud was uncovered, the legal case has come to an end. Tundra Suites owner Chin S. Kim and his associate, Mi Ae Young, each pled guilty to one count of medical assistance fraud. They will pay $135,000 jointly as restitution. 

Bethel Police have identified one of the suspects in the ALASKAbuds marijuana store break-in and burglary. Acting Police Chief Amy Davis said that she received a tip from someone who knew the burglars.

For the first time ever, the ice road on the frozen Kuskokwim River has been plowed to Sleetmute, a village north of Bethel. According to Mark Leary, who helped lead the effort, the ice road now stretches about 355 miles from Tuntutuliak, located south of Bethel, to Sleetmute.

Bethel’s second marijuana store is almost open for business. On Feb. 13, the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office conducted its final inspection of Kusko Kush. Store co-owner Naim Shabani said that it “passed with flying colors,” and he plans on opening in early March.

One of the effects of enacting local option is that Bethel loses much of its alcohol sales tax, which is $500,000 that the city estimated it would receive last year. It still receives some alcohol sales tax from restaurant beer and wine sales. The decreased revenue means funding for Bethel’s Community Action Grant program is almost gone as well.