The Sitka Chamber of Commerce luncheons are held on Wednesdays at Noon at the Westmark Sitka. They are always open to the public. For more information, call the Chamber office at 747-8604.

The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce is promoting a giant sidewalk sale on Saturday, August 4th. Lincoln Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from Katlian Street to the traffic light on Lake Street.

Merchants and restaurants from one end of the street to the other will be offering specials just for locals. There will be no cruise ships in town that day, so we have the street to ourselves. The Sitka Chamber of Commerce encourages everyone to come out and enjoy a day of shopping and visiting in downtown Sitka! 

When policymakers debate anything having to do with economic development - approving a new big-box store, say, or handing out tax breaks to large companies - most don't imagine that the decision will have any effect on such things as voter turnout or the prevalence of chronic disease.

But a growing body of research is finding that scale and ownership of business matter in ways that extend far beyond economic outcomes.

A study recently published in the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, for example, found that people who live in communities where small, locally owned businesses are the norm are healthier than those who live in places where large corporations predominate. "We find that counties with a vibrant small-business sector have lower rates of mortality and a lower prevalence of obesity and diabetes," conclude the study's authors, Troy Blanchard, Charles Tolbert, and Carson Mencken.

They surmise that a high degree of local ownership improves a community's "collective efficacy" - the capacity of its residents to act together for mutual benefit, to solve problems, and to further local goals. Previous research has identified a strong relationship between collective efficacy and population health, because high-functioning communities tend to build initiatives and infrastructure that foster healthier choices and prevent disease.

Another study, by Blanchard and Todd Matthews, found that counties dominated by a few big firms have lower levels of social capital and less engaged citizens than those in which economic activity is dispersed across many locally owned businesses. "We find that residents of communities with highly concentrated economies tend to vote less and are less likely to keep up with local affairs, participate in associations, engage in reform efforts or participate in protest activities at the same levels as their counterparts in economically dispersed environments," they conclude.