The Eddie Bauer store at NorthTown Mall closed earlier this month after the Bellevue, Wash.-based clothing company decided not to renew its lease.

The store “had a very good year this year,” and its Jan. 20 closure was tied more to lease negotiations, said Samantha Kam, store manager. Such stores typically employ 15 to 20 workers, and all have the option to transfer to other outlets, she said.

The closure came after Eddie Bauer’s annual review of its real estate leases based on factors such as placement of new stores, store sales and square-foot performance, according to a company news release.

A store at River Park Square in downtown Spokane and an outlet store in Spokane Valley remain open, she said.

A postcard sent to customers said the store would close Thursday, but Kam said the store had such a successful liquidation sale that it closed early.

– Parker Howell

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Petroleum sale prompts lawsuit

Conservation groups on Monday sued the federal agency responsible for the upcoming offshore petroleum lease sale in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast, claiming the federal government has not disclosed documents that could show harmful effects to polar bears and other marine mammals.

The groups said the documents could reveal that the Minerals Management Service’s plans for the outer continental shelf sale are ill-advised and possibly illegal.

Christine Huffaker, MMS-Alaska Freedom of Information Act officer, said Monday she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

The lease sale is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Anchorage.

– Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Slump skips Jackson Hole

Ski paradise Jackson Hole seems immune to the nation’s housing slump with a median home price that increased 27 percent in 2007.

The National Association of Realtors reported last week that the median home price nationwide fell 1.8 percent last year to $217,800. But a real estate and appraisal company reported that Jackson Hole’s median price soared from $906,000 to $1.15 million last year.

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