Sadly, the April edition of The Bellingham Business Journal will be our last edition.

Significantly decreased advertising revenue, directly resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, has forced us to make the incredibly difficult decision to discontinue publishing The Bellingham Business Journal.

As Whatcom County has seemingly shut down overnight with the spreading coronavirus pandemic, our local business community has acutely felt the loss of its customers and its community.

It’s no secret that journalism faces the same economic pressures because we too, are a local business that relies on local retail revenue from thriving businesses on main street.

The Bellingham Business Journal has chronicled business in Whatcom County for almost 28 years. It was founded by Al Raines, owner of Raines Publishing, in November 1992. In the first issue, Raines states in his opening column that he started the paper because “local business professionals… need a publication that will keep them abreast of what’s going on in the business environment around them.” The newspaper changed hands two more times until Sound Publishing purchased it in 2007.

We’d like to thank the countless number of local businesses and readers that have supported us over the years. And, we wish the community all the best as they move forward through the ups and downs of business in the years ahead.

Josh O’Connor

President/Publisher

Sound Publishing, Inc.