As recently as 2004, Boeing commercial airplane orders for the whole year totaled just 272 aircraft.

Now, just four months into 2007, Boeing reports orders of 315 aircraft. The company added 51 new aircraft orders this past week through Thursday. All were for 737s, two Boeing Business Jets (corporate versions of the 737) and 49 737 airliners.

The airlines, leasing companies or individuals who ordered those planes weren't identified. Boeing identifed Panama's Copa Airlines as the carrier that earlier had ordered four 737s.

Airbus hasn't announced orders for April yet, but through the end of March, the European manufacturer had 2007 orders for 134 planes.

Here's the rundown through May 1 of Boeing orders by aircraft type:

737 - 106
747 - 5
767 - 36
777 - 49
787 - 119

Costco is voluntarily recalling its Kirkland Signature Lamb and Rice canned dog food because it could be contaminated with melamine, a chemical that could be harmful to animals if eaten.

The company sent letters last week to customers who purchased the dog food. The cans that are subject to the recall have a code on them that reads “Best if used by Aug 21 08” through “Best if used by Apr 15 09.”

The letter urges customers to stop using the food and notes that customers may get a full refund if they purchased any of the dog food within those codes.

Not everything we know about a subject always fits in the paper. That's true of the former Elks Temple about which we wrote in Thursday's News Tribune.

So here's more for those of you have a hunger for more details:

This photo shows the fourth floor grand ballroom's northwest corner. A memorial to World War II Elks members on the right is defaced with graffiti. The door leads to a stairwell to a mezzanine that overlooked the ballroom. The mezzanine, thoroughly soaked from repeated rains, is equipped with a single row of theater seats where perhaps five rows once sat on risers.

This picture shows the second floor auditorium with its salmon-colored paint flaking off. The graffiti artists have added a new scenic backdrop behind the proscenium on the stage.

The former kitchen area on the Broadway level of former Elks Temple is an appliance graveyard. One row of old freezers and refrigerators is covered with spray painted slogans including one that beckons, "Come on in." I suspect the parking regulations on the sign are not being enforced at the Elks.

An additional note: Expect the jungle on the lot north the Elks to be cleared in the next few weeks. The building's managers expect that tangle of vines and small trees is a hiding place for drug paraphernalia.

Sea-Tac Airport's owner, the Port of Seattle, and the state Department of Transportation are working on a land swap that could ultimately lead to better airport access for South Sound residents.

Under that proposed land swap, the airport would give the DOT part of the land it needs to extend the Washington 509 freeway from its present end southwest of the airport to Interstate 5 between South 211th and South 216th streets.

In return, the DOT would give the airport land it needs to expand airport-area warehouses and support facilities. The land swap, the airport says, will cut about $25 million from the road's ultimate cost.

The land the port is trading is south of its existing runways. The port acquired that land years ago as part of its noise mitigation program.

Washington 509 is the Puget Sound area's least used and perhaps least known freeway. It connects with I-5 now via South 188th Street at the airport's south end. The freeway skirts the airport's west side as it heads northward toward Seattle. The road descends into the Duwamish River Valley before it ends at the First Avenue South drawbridge across the river. Northbound motorists can connect there with First Avenue South or with Marginal Way, which ties in with the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The funding for the 509 extension is part of a package of projects set for the ballot next fall. The port will build a spur off the extended 509 as a new south approach to Sea-Tac.

Alaska Airlines saw its passenger traffic grow two percent in April, but the percentage of seats filled fell because its capacity grew more quickly than its traffic, the airline said today.

Average occupancy of its planes dropped from 78.6 percent in April 2006 to 76.9 percent in April this year.

At Alaska's regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, traffic grew by 2.8 percent, but capacity rose by 8.3 percent. Occupancy was thus down from 75.2 percent to 71.4 percent compared in April over the same month last year.

April's numbers follow a trend that began early this year. Alaska recently announced a new airfare sale. Object: fill more seats.

Costco Wholesale Corp., the warehouse club known for bargains on designer and luxury goods along with basic meals like rotisserie chicken, will start selling a line of Martha Stewart-brand food, Bloomberg News reported.

The company will introduce fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods, probably sometime next year, Susan Lyne, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.’s chief executive officer, said during the company’s earnings call today. The goods will have both Costco’s Kirkland Signature and a Martha Stewart label.

Costco customers are “going to respond to a higher-end, well-made product,” Patricia Edwards, a Seattle-based money manager at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich, said. Costco does a “phenomenal” business in fresh foods, Edwards said. The firm holds $9.6 billion in assets including Costco shares.

Chile's LAN Airlines joined the parade to add blended winglets to its Boeing 767 fleet today.

Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing announced that Santiago's LAN had ordered eight blended winglet systems for its 767-300F freighters and seven winglet systems for its 767-300ER passenger jets.

LAN joins American Airlines in becoming a launch customer for the 11-foot high vertical additions to its 767 wingtips.

The blended winglets are designed to cut fuel consumption five percent, increase range by about 415 miles, improve takeoff performance and bolster payload by some 12,000 pounds.

LAN will install the winglets at its maintenance base in Santiago.

LAN is a strong customer of the 767 having been one of the latest airlines to order the airplane though it will soon be replaced by Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in the mid-sized, twin-aisle aircraft category.

Blended winglets have become almost a standard option on Boeing 737s leaving Boeing's Renton assembly line because of their fuel-saving ability. In addition many airlines such as Southwest and Alaska are adding winglets to their existing fleet of 737s. Aviation Partners also offers winglets as a retrofit to existing Boeing 757s.