More people stayed in Pierce County hotels and motels in April than they did a year before – and they paid more for their rooms.

In April, 66.8 percent of rooms in Tacoma and Pierce County were taken, up 0.9 percent from April of 2007, said Bellevue hospitality consultant Wolfgang Rood in his monthly report.

Statewide, a 71.2 percent occupancy rate was unchanged.

Those who rented rooms in Pierce County paid an average of $84.22, up 17.9 percent – the highest increase in the state – from the $71.44 charged a year before. Statewide, rooms rented for an average of $127.18, up 0.8 percent from 2007.

Among all regions of the state, only Seattle saw a dip in the rate for a room, down 6.1 percent to $160.66.

If you sometimes buy clothes without looking at the price tag, are willing to splurge on shoes and jeans and are around 29 years old, you could be what a new study has identified as the recession-proof shopper.

These tidbits come courtesy of trade journal Brandweek, which drew the information from an online survey conducted by Elle magazine.

Here's a sampling:

Researchers identified a "recession-proof shopper," who is at the median age of 29. She is affluent, with a median household income of $62,000: 65% were in the workforce, and only 52% worked full-time. Elle states they are passionate shoppers with 57% spending over $2,000 or more per year on clothes and 40% spending $750 or more per year on accessories and footwear.

The majority will be willing to splurge on shoes (75%), handbags (70%), beauty (68%), evening/special occasion products (63%), jeans (63%), jewelry watches (57%) and weekend clothes (52%), but not outwear/coats (41%) and workout clothes (18%).

Seemingly, there is negligence when it comes to the price of trendy products. Eighty percent are willing to pay more for the latest fashions and 81% agree that "price is not the most important factor—it's getting just what I want." Also, 79% agree "there are times that I buy clothing without even looking at the price."

What do you splurge on? And are there really people out there who make a purchase without even checking to see how much it costs?

Find the whole story here.

During a recent inteview with new Wilcox Farms CEO Linda Thomas, we talked at length about chickens and eggs.

Having sold off its dairy operation, Wilcox has literally put all of its eggs in one basket: organic commercial egg production.

Being raised in the city, I had little knowledge of egg production, so what I learned was fascinating.

The bulk of my interview appeared in Monday's News Tribune, but some of the more interesting facts got excised by the editor's delete key so the interview would fit in the space allotted.

Here are some of those tidbits that didn't make the story.

* Hens must be 19 weeks old before they begin laying eggs.

* As they start producing eggs, their first ones are small and then gradually increase in size.

* After their production diminishes, Wilcox reduces the light in their hen houses for a few weeks to fool the hens that its wintertime. When the lights go on for longer periods, their egg-laying cycle begins again.

* A typical hen's productive life ranges from 90 to 120 weeks before they're slaughtered.

* Since Wilcox's chickens are organically raised, the company is looking for an organic pet food maker to whom they'll sell the meat.

* Wilcox is considering raising its own crops organically on its 1,500 acres near McKenna because trucking in organically-raised food is becoming more expensive because of fuel prices.

* Wilcox could raise corn organically on its farm, but climatic conditions here are marginal for corn. A more likely crop: peas.

SeaTac-based Horizon Air has announced new service linking Los Angeles with Prescott, Ariz.

The once-daily, non-stop service will begin Sept. 8.

Prescott, a city in west central Arizona, is now without air service following the May 30 shutdown of Mesa Airlines' Air Midwest subsidiary. Air Midwest had provided service from Prescott to Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The new Horizon service will be coupled with new existing service from Flagstaff, Ariz. and Los Angeles.

Horizon will provide two daily non-stop flights from Flagstaff to LAX beginning June 23. Beginning in September, the morning flight from Flagstaff will stop in Prescott, and the evening return flight will also land briefly in Prescott.

Horizon will use its 74-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft on the route.

A scaled-down proposal by the Port of Tacoma for a rail yard in South Thurston County received criticism and questioning from the public and Olympia port officials, The Olympian reports today.

The Tacoma port has ditched its proposal for a full scale logistics center on property it owns in Maytown and is instead focusing on a smaller rail operation.

But, according to The Olympian story, there's still a lot more questions than answers on this project.

Here's their report:

A scaled-down proposal for a rail yard on Port of Tacoma-owned property in south Thurston County was criticized Monday by residents, and faced pointed questions from Port of Olympia commissioners.

f the agreement is not approved later this month, the Port of Tacoma would sell the property, according to information presented at the Port of Olympia meeting.

In order to evaluate rail-yard plans for the Maytown property, the Port of Tacoma seeks to extend an agreement it has with the Port of Olympia.

No action was taken on the agreement Monday, but Olympia commissioners will vote June 23 on whether to extend it.

=> Read more!

The Boeing Co. announced today that the delivery of six military surveillance planes to Australia will be delayed from 2009 to 2010.

The six "Wedgetail" aircraft are modified Boeing 737s stuffed full of electronic surveillance equipment and radars and equipped for aerial refueling.

The delay in the $1 billion program was pegged to problems integrating the electronic systems in the aircraft.

Turkey and South Korea have also ordered variations of the electronic surveillance plane.

The basic airframe for the plane is built in Boeing's Renton plant and modified at Boeing Field.

Boeing's 15-month delay of its 787 Dreamliner program has also tarnished the company's reputation and its stock price.

The government of Qatar may soon order two Boeing C-17 transport aircraft, reports aviation publication Flight International.

The order and options to purchase two more of the aircraft could be critical to Boeing's plan to keep the C-17 production line in Long Beach, Calif. open until it receives a new U.S. Air Force order.

Boeing has built 174 of 190 C-17s that the Air Force has on order and will soon deliver a sixth aircraft to Britain's Royal Air Force.

The company has also produced four C-17s each for Australia and Canada.

Boeing is hoping that Congress will authorize the purchase of 30 more C-17s, the long-distance transport workhorse of the American military. The C-17 is the main military aircraft based at Pierce County's McChord Air Force Base. NATO is also reportedly negotiating for three C-17s.

Boeing wants to avoid shutting down its assembly line because the shutdown and start-up costs could add considerable expense to the Air Force order, so landing gap-filling orders from foreign customers is essential.

Qatar, a Middle East country, will take delivery of its aircraft in August 2009.

Boeing's Long Beach assembly line is the last large aircraft production line in California, a state that once was dotted with aircraft factories.