First in the nation, first in the hearts of people with very sweet sweet-teeth. That's the Tacoma Krispy Kreme store.

The Kool Kreme Krispy Kreme outlet outside Tacoma Mall has developed a trio of new treats. They’ve been on sale for a week now, and just today the Issaquah Krispy Kreme offered them for sale. A rollout to other Northwest outlets is also in the works, and according to a spokesman the things could well be on sale across the KKD (that's the Krispy stock ticker, and the stock is up nearly 80 percent so far this year) empire.

Just in time for summer, if it ever arrives, the delicacies are:

• Kool Dog: A maple bar or chocolate bar split horizontally, filled with soft-serve ice cream and slathered with chocolate sauce.

• Doughnut Sundae: Bits of bite-sized Krispy Kreme donuts mixed with Kool Kreme (the brand of soft-serve popularized at the Tacoma store) and topped with toppings that could include sugary sprinkles, fresh fruit or such.

• Apple Fritter Sundae: Bits of bite-sized pieces of Krispy Kreme’s apple or banana fritters topped by Kool Kreme and other toppings.

The Port of Tacoma commission at its meeting today agreed with a recommendation from Tim Farrell, executive director, not to renew an interlocal agreement with the Port of Olympia.

The agreement, which will expire within weeks, was aimed at developing property near Maytown, in Thurston County.

Farrell said this afternoon that the property, which the Port of Tacoma owns, will be put up for sale. He said he will entertain all offers, and will soon begin discussions with environmental interests.

The decision to nix the Maytown initiative, he said, was primarily due to economic factors – given a slowdown in traffic and a recommitment to development of the Port of Tacoma at its Tideflats home.

Another well-known department store chain has snagged a celebrity endorsement. And something the others don't have, at least yet: An MTV-produced movie.

According to an Associated Press story, Sears will begin selling clothes and accessories designed by hip-hop artist LL Cool J. And look for a film in August shot at Sears with actors wearing Sears clothing.

Here's an excerpt of the AP story, which I spotted at the Houston Chronicle:

After spending years trying to get shoppers to embrace its softer side, the ailing retailer is still known more for its hardware than handbags. So its latest strategy to stem slumping sales is trying to tap yet another new market: the young, hip and urban.

"While mom may decide what the acceptable place is to shop, the kids are deciding what clothes they want and what places have it," said Richard Gerstein, Sears' chief marketing officer. "If we come out of our season with much more relevance with this group, and improving our sales and profitability with this group, we think it's a big win."

Whether the initiatives can help Sears shed its stale image is up in the air. But what's certain, experts say, is that the chain led by financier Edward Lampert desperately needs to reinvent itself if it's going to survive.

If Boeing fails to prevail again in its third try to win a $35 billion Air Force aerial tanker deal, Washington State could lose the opportunity to see 9,000 new jobs the tanker deal would create.

But even if Boeing rival Northrop Grumman/EADS wins again with the KC-45 tanker, this state will gain jobs, Northrop Grumman/EADS contends.

Boeing apparently won another chance at winning the tanker contract Wednesday when the Government Accountability Office found flaws in the Air Force procedure that picked Northrop Grumman/EADS to build the tanker.The GAO report will likely force the Air Force to redo the competition.

The KC-45 will create 2,729 direct and indirect jobs in Washington, Boeing's rival contends.

Five Washington companies, ELDEC in Lynwood, Honeywell in Redmond, Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane, Accra Manufacturing in Bothell and Exotic Metals in Kent, will supply parts or services for the KC-45.

The company claims 678 jobs will be created in Oregon by the Northrop Grumman/EADS tanker. The KC-45 is a militarized version of the Airbus A330 jetliner. Final assembly of that plane is to happen in a new plant in Mobile, Ala.

Boeing's final assembly for its tanker, a version of the 767 commercial jet, would be in Everett.

Thirty-five percent of the air traffic controllers at Seattle's Boeing Field are trainees, one of the highest ratios of any commercial field in the country, a new Government Accountability Office study shows.

The GAO study ranked Boeing Field 45th on the list of 50 domestic airports in the proportion of fully certified air traffic controllers.

Houston's William P. Hobby Airport had the highest proportion of trainees with 44 percent. New York's LaGuardia Airport was next with 39 percent trainees, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was next with 38 percent trainee controllers.

The best ratio in the country was at St. Louis where only six percent of air traffic controllers are still in training.

Sea-Tac Airport ranked 15th on the list with 19 percent of its controllers being trainees.

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American Airlines may speed up deliveries of Boeing 737-800s from Boeing to replace its fuel-guzzling MD-80s, American's chief executive said Wednesday.

Gerard Arpey told analysts at a Merrill Lynch & Co. conference in New York that it may ask Boeing to deliver it more of the Renton-built 737s than the 70 it is already scheduled to receive in 2009 and 2010.

American 737-800

The 737-800 is 25 percent more fuel efficient than the MD-80s that form the backbone of American's domestic fleet. American is grounding dozens of those planes this year to save fuel.

Delta Air Lines says it's trimming even more flights from its schedule to cut costs and enhance revenues.

The Atlanta-based airline, which had said in March that it would cut out 10 percent of its flying, said this week that will increase that percentage to 13 percent.

The flight reductions are designed to eliminate poor performing flights from the airline's schedule as it struggles to cope with high fuel costs.

Most network carriers including United, Continental, Northwest and US Air have announced reductions in their schedules.

Delta didn't mention any cuts in its service to Sea-Tac. Delta serves Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Atlanta and New York from Sea-Tac