Despite gloom, doom and spreading proclamations of a recession, the Washington State Department of Revenue reported today that taxable retail sales were up last year across the state and across several business sectors.

In Pierce County, taxable retail sales were up 3.1 percent to $12.5 billion. Retail trade, which tracks retail sales only (and not construction trade), was up 2.1 percent to $6.1 billion.

In Tacoma, taxable retail sales were up 2.9 percent to $4.7 billion; retail trade was up 2 percent to $2.2 billion.

Statewide, taxable retail sales in 2007 increased 7 percent over 2006 to $118.2 billion. Taxable retail sales for construction were up 12.4 percent to $24.2 billion; motor vehicles and parts were up 2.3 percent to $12.7 billion; accommodations and food services were up 7.8 percent to $10.9 billion; general merchandise store sales were up 4.6 percent to $10 billion; and miscellaneous retail store sales rose 6.5 percent to $6.1 billion.

King County enjoyed an 8.6 percent increase in taxable retail sales, and Seattle saw an increase of 9.4 percent. Bellevue saw the state’s highest increase (among the cities with the highest sales) at 15.9 percent, while only Clark County (among the state’s five most populated counties) fell, with sales down 0.4 percent from the year before.

For a look at the full report, visit dor.wa.gov/Content/AboutUs/StatisticsAndReports/2007/qbrcal07/default.aspx.

South Korea has ordered 21 additional F-15Ks from Boeing worth some $2.3 billion including spare parts and other aircraft-related items.

The South Korean Air Force had previously ordered 40 of the twin-engine fighters from Boeing's defense division. The final 10 of those jets are to be delivered by year's end.

Boeing builds the F-15K, an advanced version of the U.S. Air Force's long-time stalwart, the F-15, at its St. Louis plant.

In other defense news, Boeing this week submitted a 7,000-page bid to India's Air Force for next generation fighter aircraft. Boeing is offering the Indians the F-18 Super Hornet. India expects to buy 126 of new fighters to equip its Air Force.

Boeing has ample competition for the contract from around the world. Sweden's Saab is proposing its JAS-39 Gripen, France's Dassault Aviation is offering its Rafale, Russian Aircraft Corp. is bidding its MIG-35, the U.S.'s Lockheed Martin is offering the F-16, and a consortium of European companies is offering the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The deal is worth an estimated $10 billion to Boeing.

Boeing added orders for eight airliners to its 2008 order book this week bringing the total year-to-date orders to 346.

Those orders were credited to Biman Bangledesh Airlines. That carrier ordered four 777s and four 787s.

Boeing also identified Aviation Capital Group as the buyer of 17 737s previously listed in the unidentified buyer column.

Alaska Airlines said this week it plans to announce changes in the next couple of months to its frequent flier plan to "better align it with the realities of $118-a-barrel oil."

The SeaTac-based airline didn't give any more specifics, and its chief spokesperson, Caroline Boren, couldn't provide any hints.

Alaska executives involved with the program Thursday afternoon ironically were all headed to Phoenix where they received InsideFlyer Magazine's Freddie Awards for Best Elite Program, Best Web Site and Program of the Year.

Alaska's mileage program has always been more generous than others, so there are a couple of areas where the airline could alter the program and match the industry.

The principal areas of difference: non-expiring miles and 20,000-mile domestic trips.

Most airlines have imposed limits on how long its frequent fliers have to use their miles or watch them go away. Those limits have swept millions of miles off those airlines' balance sheets.

The standard for a free domestic trip on most carriers is now 25,000 miles. Alaska's been a holdout at 20,000, though that's eroded recently when the airline raised the amount of miles needed to 25,000 when frequent fliers used a live agent to make their free trip reservations. Trips made on the Web remained at 20,000.

There are dozens of other ways, Alaska could alter its program: raising fees and so forth, so its anyone's guess what the changes will be. Those Freddie Awards could be in jeopardy next year if they make substantial negative changes.

If I had 20,000 miles in my account and knew when I was hoping to take a free trip, I'd make those reservations now while the rules are still as they are.

Considering how scarce free seats have become on all airlines, planning ahead is an even better idea these days even if Alaska doesn't up the mileage requirement.

Horizon Air's jets and its smaller Bombardier Q200 aircraft may not be the only victims of Horizon's move to standardize its fleet on 70-seat Q400 turboprops to cut costs.

In that process, Horizon will reduce its 65-plane fleet to somewhere between 48 and 50-some aircraft depending on market conditions.

That means two things: some smaller cities will have fewer flights because the airline has fewer aircraft, and Horizon will need fewer pilots, cabin crew members, mechanics and other personnel to operate its fleet.

Horizon spokesman Dan Russo says the airline hopes to make the transition as painless as possible. The change will take about two years.

During those two years, the company thinks natural attrition will reduce its workforce and other voluntary staff reduction programs, yet unspecified, could bring staff requirement into sync with staff size.

But if those don't, there's a possibility the company will have to resort to layoffs.

On the issue of service to smaller cities now served by the 37-seat Q200s, Horizon will juggle its schedules to provide the appropriate number of seats in the larger Q400s as in the smaller Q200s. That's likely to mean fewer daily flights. The airline has already converted from 200s to 400s in cities such as Bellingham with no adverse results.

But Bellingham generates enough daily traffic that the airline can maintain a decent number of flights even after reducing the daily schedules.

The problem will come in some small markets, say Pendleton, North Bend, Klamath Falls in Oregon and Walla Walla in Washington where passenger numbers are fewer.

If transitioning to all Q400s in those markets doesn't make sense, Alaska Airlines, Horizon's sister carrier, may contract with another carrier like it does with PenAir in Alaska, to provide service with smaller planes, company officials say.

"We're working to maintain air service to all of the communities we now serve," said Russo.

Grab a latte and your laptop. Starbucks Corp. began offering a wireless Internet service called AT&T Wi-Fi at its coffee shops in San Antonio.

By the end of this year, consumers in the South Sound should be able to connect, too.

The high-speed internet and Wi-Fi service from AT&T Inc. will be available at more than 7,000 U.S. Starbucks locations by the end of 2008, the companies said today.

Adios, Otis.

That’s Otis Huemmer, former culinary director magnifique for Aramark at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. His last day was Wednesday, having taken the position as executive chef at at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center. (It was always interesting to watch people eat the cheese bread. Is it cheese? Is it bread? It was Otis.)

But welcome Mr. Wambaa.

That’s Allan Wambaa, newly hired by Aramark (which holds the catering contract at GTCTC) to take the food and beverage reins. According to Brad Nelson, Aramark lead at the center, the final choice came down to Wambaa and Peter Weikel, former chef at the former Stadium bistro. In an Iron Chef-ish head-to-head cookoff, one contestant prepared a lamb Wellington, the other a tenderloin with red wine reduction. The tenderloin took the day, but both were outstanding, Nelson says.

Wambaa hails from Kenya, speaks seven languages and served, at the beginning of the decade, as chef de cuisine for the family of HRH Prince Fabad bin Kahlid al Saud in downtown Saudi Arabia. More recently he worked as executive chef for Washington Hospitality in Seattle, and before that as executive chef at Bell Harbor Conference Center & World Trade Center in Seattle.