Alaska Airlines  will launch daily nonstop service between Seattle and Philadelphia, starting Monday, June 11, and between Seattle and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beginning Monday, July 16.

“Philadelphia is one of the largest cities we don’t currently serve from Seattle while Fort Lauderdale is a popular departure point for cruise ship passengers,” said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing, in a news release.

With the introduction of Seattle-Fort Lauderdale service, Alaska Airlines will discontinue flights to Miami, a city the carrier has served from its Seattle hub since 2002.

“Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports are about 27 miles apart, so changing the airport we serve should have little effect on our customers,” Sprague said. “By redirecting our flight to the lower-cost Fort Lauderdale airport, we can serve the same geographic area and continue to offer our customers low fares.”

The number of Whatcom County residents filing for bankruptcy rose in the first month of 2012.

Last month 63 local residents filed for bankruptcy, up from 54 in December, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District in Seattle. It’s also up from a year earlier, when 55 filings took place.

In recent years, Whatcom County bankruptcy filings peak in the first quarter of the year. The five-year monthly peak was in February 2010, when 83 filings took place.

In the western district, which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver (Wash.), 1,592 bankruptcy filings took place last month, down 16.1 percent compared to the same period as last year. Skagit County had 37 filings last month, down from 43 a year earlier.

Local commercial real estate agent Neal Swanson has an interesting blog post on the Fairhaven Commercial website about a new lease signing for Chuckanut Bay Distillery. Here’s the (link).

The lease is for a building on Railroad Avenue, near Boundary Bay Brewery (in the Rumors building at 1115 Railroad). On its Facebook page, Chuckanut Bay Distillery said it plans to be open sometime this year and mentioned that it will be a wind-powered facility.

News release from the Pickford:

Pickford Film Center is pleased to announce they have received approval from the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) to allow for the consumption of beer and wine in one of their theaters located at 1318 Bay Street in downtown Bellingham.

In order to meet with WSLCB approval, PFC was required to designate one theater of their two-theater complex as a 21 and over only room at all times. PFC made the decision to move ahead with this change in their license due to wide public support for the option of audience members being allowed to have a glass of beer or wine along with other concession offerings while watching a film. Up until now, consumption of beer and wine was only permitted in the PFC lobby.

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Here’s a news release from the Associated General Contractors of America about construction employment in January:

The construction (industry) added 21,000 jobs in January, as a second consecutive month of unseasonably mild winter weather helped the industry raise employment to a two-year high, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the gains remain fragile amid declining public sector investments in construction and infrastructure.

“Although it’s great news that the industry has added 52,000 jobs in the past two months, the unemployment rate in construction is still double that of the overall economy, and construction employment remains at 1996 levels,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “It will take another month or two to see if the recent job growth reflects a sustained pickup or merely acceleration of homebuilding and highway projects that normally halt when the ground freezes in December and January.”

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Life’s a Party, a floral and event studio, is moving from its spot at 121 W. Magnolia St. to 1306 Cornwall Ave., near the Holly Street intersection.

The move will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 15 so that it wouldn’t interfere with Valentine’s Day orders, a holiday that’s the biggest day of the year for flower orders, said owner K.C. Kippenbrock in a news release. Kippenbrock bought bout the former Johnson’s Floral Shop on W. Magnolia Street in 2006 and changed the name last August.

Kippenbrock said the move provides more visibility for Life’s A Party and the open layout makes it easier to interact with customers about floral arrangements.

Life’s A Party is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Delivery service is available in Bellingham and other nearby communities. For more information, call 360-733-6600.

A few more things I found while putting together my Sunday Retail TipSheet column

– At Bellis Fair, Boss Wear, TeaQuent Shop, Coalson’s and Safari Mini Golf have closed. The owners of the TeaQuent Shop are directing customers to visit the company’s other store, Spice Hut, at 131 W. Kellogg Road, near Best Buy.

– Battery City, which sold a wide range of computer and phone batteries, has closed its Bellingham store, which was at 1031 N. State St.

– With the passage last fall of Initiative 1183 to allow private stores to sell hard liquor, the applications are rolling in to the state liquor control board for a spirits license. Among Whatcom County stores, recent applications submitted include the Bellingham Costco, Fred Meyer on Lakeway and Deals Only at 2331 James St.

Here’s a list of companies that have registered to do business in Bellingham Jan. 18-20. Most are new companies entering the market, but some are ones already here changing their address/ownership:

Unknown Board Shop, Jason W Turner, 105 Grand Ave., Bellingham

Tradewinds Capital Management, 12 Bellwether Way #201, Bellingham

Tower Electric, David M Vargas, 2212 Vining St., Bellingham

Brett Murphy Coats Knapp McCandlis & Brown, 1301 10th St #104, Bellingham

SeaBreeze Coffee House, 21 Bellwether Way #101, Bellingham

teagan & bailey, Amy M Berreth, 4017 Silver Beach Ave., Bellingham

Sound Vocational Services Inc., 1313 E Maple St., Bellingham

Menchie’s Lakeway Center, Penneycandy Inc., 1070 Lakeweay Drive, Bellingham

other bird, Lauren E Williams, 2633 Halverstick Rd #1, Lynden

Been a busy day working on a variety of things, but did have a few biz items to pass along…

– Torrid, a women’s clothing store that features products in a variety of sizes, announced it is coming to Bellis Fair mall, occupying a spot in the Macy’s wing. The company has several stores in Washington, including at the Northgate Mall in Seattle. I’ll try to track down an opening date. (tip of the hat to a twitter follower who alerted me to this).

– Urchins, a Bellingham children’s clothing store, has closed its Cornwall Avenue location. Owner Kathleen Emmerson said on her website (urchinsboutique.com) that she is still selling products online and is looking for a new spot to reopen her store.

– Battery City has closed its Bellingham store, which was at 1031 N. State St.

Work has begun on another office building at the Port of Bellingham’s Bellwether on the Bay development.

The private developer, Bellwether Gate LLC, is constructing its third building. The two-story, 10,000-square-foot office building will be between Anthony’s at Squalicum Harbor restaurant and the largest Bellwether Gate Building, which is home to CH2M Hill’s local offices.

The anchor tenant for this new building will be Wells Fargo, according to a news release from the Port of Bellingham.

Bellingham Gate LLC was formed by David Ebenal in 2006. About 30 construction and trades workers would be employed on this project.

Bellwether Gate LLC has a long-term land lease with the Port of Bellingham for four building sites. The company is scheduled to begin construction on the fourth building, the final building site on the peninsula, next year.

Ebenal has contracted with a dozen local subcontractors from the immediate area to perform the majority of work of Bellwether Building C. He anticipates that the building will be complete by the end of May.