The Biz Buzz

The News Tribune Business Team will keep you updated on what's happening in the South Sound and beyond. Check here for news about economic development, aerospace, shopping and much more.

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Got something to say? Here's the place to say it. We welcome your comments on what's going on in business in the South Sound that we should be discussing, reporting or analyzing here on our blog or in the pages of The News Tribune.

Contributors

Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.

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Get the most up-to-date news, insights and analysis of Tacoma, Pierce County and South Puget Sound business.
Monday, May 12th, 2008
Posted by C.R. Roberts @ 02:55:48 pm

A penny saved is ... something you’ll probably be spending for postage.

Starting today, the postal rate for a first-class letter has gone up to 42 cents.

The only saving grace from the Postal Service are those “Forever” stamps, which, until today, cost 41 cents. Today, they cost 42 cents. A year ago, they cost 39 cents. And a year from now, they'll probably cost 43 cents, as the rate will likely increase in what is becoming a mid-May ritual.

The cost of mailing a postcard also went up today – to 27 cents.

Among other new rates in effect today, according to Associated Press: a large envelope is up 3 cents to $1; certified mail is up a nickel to $2.70; first-class mail to Canada and Mexico is up 3 cents to 72 cents, and first class to other countries up 4 cents to 94 cents; priority mail flat-rate envelope, up 20 cents to $4.80; and express mail flat-rate envelope, up a quarter to $16.50

But there’s good news also from the Post Office, especially for philatelists, or stamp collectors. This year’s selection of newly minted stamps will include several colorful new entries, including those commemorating the careers of Bette Davis and Frank Sinatra; Disney art; Alzheimer’s awareness; holiday Nutcrackers; tropical fruit; the Olympics; and a quintet of American journalists, including Martha Fellhorn, John Hersey, Ruben Salazar, George Polk and Eric Sevareid.

Categories: General