Here are the top local news stories that ran in The Bellingham Herald last week.
LYNDEN-BASED DEVELOPER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
Homestead Northwest, a company known for its role in a project that turned Lynden into a Dutch-themed village, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, Jan. 18.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing could mean significant losses for hundreds of local residents who invested with the company. Remaining assets will be distributed among creditors. But unsecured creditors - those who do not hold pledges of real estate to secure the money they are owed - will likely receive little or none of those assets.
The company had struggled financially for years and was hit especially hard by the recession. Many details about the company's finances were unavailable as of the weekend.
ALASKA TO OFFER DIRECT FLIGHTS TO PORTLAND
Daily flights from Bellingham to Portland will be available this summer, starting in early June, Alaska Airlines announced Thursday, Jan. 19.
One-way introductory fares on select 75-seat flights can be purchased for $89 until Jan. 25.
In 2011, Bellingham International Airport had more than 500,000 passengers on commercial flights for the first time in the span of a year. The new route could provide another boost for the airport.
SNOW GIVES STUDENTS A WEEK OFF
Most public school students in Whatcom County had the entire week off, after ice and several inches of snow made for some dangerous driving conditions.
The Blaine School District had a two-hour delay Tuesday, Jan. 17, but otherwise it was a week-long break around the county for K-12 students.
College students didn't get the same chance to sleep in. Other than a two-hour delay on Tuesday, Western Washington University was on regular schedule last week. Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College were on delays most days.
All public schools observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.
