Calvin Bratt
Tribune editor

Delft Square

LYNDEN -- Burned-out Delft Square has a new owner, but even Jeff Johnson isn't entirely sure what he will do with the building.
  The Lynden developer said he saw "an opportunity to get a local person involved" in the future of the 94-year-old structure and made an offer to former owner Sherman Bronsink. It was accepted, and the site at Fifth and Front streets officially belonged to Jeff and his wife Suzanne as of Nov. 12, he said.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  LYNDEN -- One year later, the Nooksack Tribe’s Northwood Casino north of Lynden is alive and well, according to casino officials.
  Business has been better than expected, said Sarah Abitia, the casino’s assistant marketing manager.
  The casino celebrated one year of business last Saturday with pre-arranged giveaways and events.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

Work is nearing completion on an addition at the Express Lube in Lynden's Bender Plaza. The business hopes to have the second bay open by the first week of December.

LYNDEN -- Lynden’s Express Lube plans to have its second bay open for service by Dec. 6.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

Peoples Bank's new Barkley Financial Center has opened.

BELLINGHAM -- Peoples Bank opened its new Barkley Financial Center last Wednesday and moved key pieces of its operation out of Lynden in the process.

  LYNDEN -- The Dutch Village Mall’s Sidewalk Cafe abruptly closed its doors to business on Monday, Oct. 20, after being open the day before.
  With no warning to customers, the lights were never turned on last week Monday and customers were left to find a new place for breakfast, lunch or coffee.
  Owner Anita Hudson, whose home phone number has been disconnected, took over the cafe in the first quarter of 2008.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  LYNDEN -- The fate of Delft Square could be determined in the next month or two, unless someone wants to buy it.
  Jim Bjerke, property manager for owner Sherman Bronsink, said that most clean-up and demolition work has been done, engineering reports have been returned, and it is now up to Bronsink to decide what he wants to do with the building.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  LYNDEN -- Blake Starkenburg bought the former J.C. Penney building on Front Street this month.
  Starkenburg, 33, closed on the historic building of roughly 6,000 square feet in early October and is excited about the prospect of working to “get it looking good.”
  Starkenburg, who may eventually house the offices of his business -- www.oldride.com -- in the upstairs of the building, said he is pleased to have two solid tenants, Homespun General Store and Blossoms, in place at the building on the north side of Front Street’s 500 block.

David Lewis
Tribune reporter

  WHATCOM -- Credit crises, home foreclosures, government bailouts, recessions and depressions -- these and other headlines have bombarded consumers into fear of bank runs and other instances of mass economic hysteria. But sifting through the analysis to discern speculative paranoia from matters of fact has proved an incredibly difficult task in recent months.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  BELLINGHAM -- After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, Brown & Cole Stores has a new moniker and a new CEO.
  In the first quarter of this year, Brown & Cole Stores, with the financial backing of Hancock Park Associates of California, changed its name to The Markets LLC, with the hope of eventually rebranding its multiple brand names into one.

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  LYNDEN -- Discussion at the Planning Commission wasn’t so much about whether Lynden should lift the retail building cap of 65,000 square feet, but rather if Lynden should even have a cap.
  In a surprisingly sparsely attended public hearing, commissioners took comment from just two community members before sharing their opinions on the retail cap.