Politics

Alcohol protests once again top the Bethel City Council meeting agenda. On Tuesday, the Council will consider protesting two liquor store applications: one for the Tundra Liquor Cache submitted by Steve Chung to turn his auto shop on Hoffman Road into a liquor store, and the other from the Alaska Commercial Company to add a liquor store by Brown’s Slough on Bridge Avenue. 

Fili’s Pizza has dropped its application to turn its restaurant into a liquor store.

Zero state funds would go towards public broadcasting under the budget proposed by the state senate.

KYUK General Manager Shane Iverson says that such a cut would eliminate all the programs and services that residents of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta have relied on for decades.

"So things like ARCS television, that would be eliminated. As far as radio, Talk of Alaska, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Morning News, 360 North... I mean, these are some trademarks of what public broadcasting is in Alaska. This proposed budget would eliminate them."

After more than a day talking about the impact Bethel alcohol sales were having on their villages, tribal members decided to write a letter to the City of Bethel, asking Bethel City Council members to pass a municipal law requiring Bethel liquor stores to only sell alcohol to customers with Bethel IDs.

The Alaska Legal Services Corporation turns 50 this year, and is celebrating by offering three free legal clinics in Bethel next week.

Unity and social justice lie at the heart of this year's planning for the 2017 Alaska Federation of Natives' annual conference in October.