Economy

The Calista Coporation’s Board of Directors just approved this year’s Akilista dividend. It totals $2.4 million, up more than 7 percent from last year’s fall payment.

The average age of Calista Corporation's shareholders is going down, and the regional native corporation is working to meet its new, younger stockholders' desire to communicate via the internet.

Bethel is one small, bureaucratic step closer to getting a second liquor store. In their meeting last Thursday, the city’s Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit for ACC Liquor, provided that the store fixes a few parking issues at their proposed location on Bridge Street.

On Thursday, Bethel’s Planning Commission will hold a special meeting to discuss an application from the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC). The utility is ready to move forward on its wind power project, and hopes to start preliminary groundwork at their new turbine site.

At the end of the month, The Coastal Villages Region Fund will begin accepting applications from eligible villagers for subsidies for purchasing transportation equipment and other gear. This is the eighth round of what they call the "People Propel Program," which offers up to a 30 percent discount on equipment such as, “more efficient boats, motors, snow machines, ATVs, and other gear,” according to a press release. Coastal Villages said that over $975,000 in benefits is available this year.

Note: This article was updated on Wednesday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m. with further reporting.

About a year ago, Tununak opened a $19 million, state-of-the-art airport. But now, local airlines are refusing to fly there. The village’s shifting permafrost is buckling the runway, and both Ravn Alaska and Grant Aviation say that it’s too dangerous for pilots to land on it safely.

The 2018 budget passed unanimously, 48 to zero, on the first day of the Association of Village Council Presidents annual convention on Tuesday.