Allegiant Travel Company  announced the purchase of one A319 aircraft.

The aircraft was previously operated by easyJet and is a similar configuration to the nine planes that Allegiant had contracted for last summer.

“The market for used Airbus aircraft remains very attractive,” said Andrew C. Levy, Allegiant president, in a news release. “This aircraft is ideal in that it is an identical sister ship to the nine A319s we have committed to leasing, two of which are currently in service.”

The newly acquired A319 will be configured to 156 seats and is expected to begin service in the third quarter of 2013. The company did not announce which route the plane would fly.

Two different restaurants, Steakhouse 9 and Bistro 9, are scheduled to open later this month at Homestead Golf & Country Club in Lynden.

Both restaurants are above the course’s clubhouse at 115 E. Homestead Blvd. and owned by Rick Kildall, his fiancée Wendy Cimoch, and David and Tracy Frear of Lynden. When the previous operation closed at the end of 2012, the new ownership group signed a lease and began in January an extensive remodeling project.

“We’re all foodies,” Kildall said in a news release. “When this location became available, we wanted to fill a north-county void so local residents wouldn’t have to travel far for a great steakhouse.”

Steakhouse 9, under the direction of Executive Chef Joseph Merkling, will open on Wednesday, May 15. All of the filet mignon, rib-eye and New York steaks will be bone-in, USDA prime cuts seared by an 1,800-degree broiler. Merkling is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and has served as a chef at some of the area’s top restaurants, including the Bellwether Harborside Bistro and the Barkley Scotty Browns.

Steakhouse 9 also will offer prime rib, rack of lamb, pork chops, chicken, halibut, albacore tuna and seafood fettucinne alfredo. It will be open from 5-10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations are recommended and can be made online at Steakhouse9.com.
Continue reading →

Here’s a news release from the Port of Bellingham about the new baggage claim carousel, which began service on Monday, April 29:

The new baggage claim carousel began operations just in time for nearly 300 passengers arriving from Las Vegas on Allegiant Air and Alaska Air. The two flights, about a half hour apart, have caused congestion in the baggage claim area in the past, when all bags came down a single baggage slide.

“This might not seem revolutionary to some people, but our airport customers have been asking for a baggage carousel for years,” said Port Commission President Jim Jorgensen. “We couldn’t add it until we built the larger space in our expansion. I know customers will have a much better arrival experience now.”

Staff at the Bellingham International Airport said the new carousel and the much larger baggage claim area worked smoothly.

When the full airport expansion is complete in January 2014, there will be two baggage carousels with an open and welcoming baggage claim area that should address crowding and congestion issues.

In addition to opening the new baggage claim area yesterday, the Port also was pleased to open the final section of the expansion of the gate holding area. This section includes Gate A and an expanded area for Scotty Browns restaurant. The extra restaurant space includes more seating, office space and storage.

Continue reading →

According to AAA Washington’s Daily Fuel Gauge report, the average price for a gallon of gas in Bellingham is $3.70 today.

That’s down from $3.85 a gallon last month and down from $4.20 a year ago. Last year at this time prices were peaking across the West Coast because BP Cherry Point was doing repair work following a February 2012 fire.

Bellingham’s average gas price is still the highest among major Washington metro areas, with Bremerton next at $3.67. The least expensive gas is in Spokane, at $3.48 a gallon.

Diesel prices in Bellingham are also down. The average price for a gallon of diesel locally was $3.95, down from $4.56 a year ago. Bellingham’s average diesel price is the second-lowest among major Washington metro areas. Vancouver had the least expensive diesel, averaging $3.92 a gallon.

Ashley Hanson pumps gas at Yorky’s Market on Alabama Street in Bellingham Monday afternoon, March 26, 2012 (File photo by Philip A. Dwyer | the Bellingham Herald).

Here’s a few items I found looking through some permit applications:

– A tenant improvement permit was submitted to the City of Bellingham  to put in a household goods store at 117 W. Chestnut St., in the former Dream On Futon building. The new proposed business tenant is called Home to Home.

– Hallmark has received permit approval to put in a store at Bellis Fair mall.

– WinCo has applied for a Washington state liquor license for 300 E. Bellis Fair Pkwy, in the former Joe’s Sporting Goods place. The company has not announced an opening date for the Bellingham store.

– David Bernstein has applied for a restaurant liquor license at 8124 Birch Bay Dr. The proposed name for the restaurant is Eagles Roost.

The Ferndale Chamber of Commerce and Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa will present a Cross-Border Expo.

The event takes place 2-7 p.m. on Thursday, June 6. This event will showcase over 60 exhibitors and feature two educational sessions aimed at cross-border business and real estate investment. Vendor exhibits will be  in the new 10,000 square foot Event Center at Silver Reef, and the seminars will be conducted in the adjoining 150-seat theater.

“It is our hope to attract Canadian businesses looking to expand into our market, which would provide quality jobs to local residents and an economic boost to our local area,” said Guy Occhiogrosso, executive director at the chamber, in a news release.

For more information, contact the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce at 360-384-3042 or visit the event website CrossBorderExpo.com.

Here’s a (link) to an online article in the Herald of Everett about the leaders of Frontier Bank being sued for $46 million by the FDIC for allowing aggressive loan practices to take place.  Formerly based in Everett, Frontier Bank had 51 branches, including in Bellingham and Lynden, before it was shut down by government regulators in April 2010.

Fewer Whatcom County residents are late on their mortgage payments or in some stage of foreclosure,  according to a new report.

The percentage of Whatcom County loans that are more than 90 days delinquent was 4.01 in February, the lowest monthly percentage since October 2010, according to data from CoreLogic, a national provider of property information.

Whatcom’s delinquency remains lower than the Washington (6.08 percent) and the U.S. (6.19 percent) rates.

In February the percentage of Whatcom County loans in some stage of foreclosure was 1.46, the lowest monthly rate since May 2012.

Whatcom’s foreclosure rate in February was lower than Washington’s rate of 2.37 percent and the national rate of 2.85 percent.

The family of the Black Pearl restaurants recently opened their third Bellingham eatery, selecting the northern part of town.

The new restaurant is in the Bakerview Fred Meyer shopping center, near Subway. Nosh Yusufali, whose daughter, Laila, operates the restaurants, said the Bakerview restaurant will have a few new upscale Asian dishes to go along with the regular menu, adding that the restaurant will be known as Black Pearl Asian Fusion.

The decision was made to open the third restaurant to better serve customers who live on the north side of town. Laila Yusufali opened her first restaurant in the Barkley district in November 2007 and the second in the downtown district in December 2010. All three restaurants have Vietnamese dishes and also features bubble tea.

The Bakerview restaurant is open 11-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday. For further details about Black Pearl, visit blackpearlbellingham.com.

Whatcom County is well represented when it comes to the new Processed Raspberry Council.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appointed 23 representatives to serve on the council. The five members from Washington state are all from Whatcom County: Brad Rader, John Clark, Rolf Haugen, Adam Enfield and Ravinder Dhaliwal. Whatcom County also has three alternate members: Jonathan Maberry, Frank DeVries and Mark Van Mersbergen.

The national council is funded through industry member fees, with the goal to expand, maintain and develop markets in the U.S. and around the world. The Agricultural Marketing Service of the USDA will provide oversight of the council.