The nomination of one of Tacoma's humbler structures ever considered for listing on Tacoma's Register of Historic Places goes before the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission today.

If the commission approves and the nomination passes a July 23 public hearing unscathed, Frisko Freeze will join such monumental Tacoma buildings as the Temple Theater, Union Station, Stadium High School and Old City Hall on the Tacoma historic register.

The 1950-vintage drive-in hamburger place across Division Avenue from Multi-Care Medical Center, will be tied for second on the list as the youngest structure on the list. Buildings must be at least 50 years old to qualify.

Only the 1956 addition to the former Weyerhaeuser headquarters building would be younger on the list. Frisko Freeze would be tied with the Narrows Bridge for that second place honor.

"Frisko Freeze is a building that provides a snapshot into the automobile culture of the '50s," said Reuben McKnight, Tacoma's historic preservation officer.

The building's shed roof, its canted windows and its bright color scheme are emblematic of an era focused on futuristic ideas and innovation, said McKnight.

The fast food restaurant is particularly noteworthy because it has survived its 58 years without significant alterations. Its neon sign, its many coats of red and white enamel and even its tightly designed interior remains the way it has for decades. Even its menu considering its age, has little changed.

Designation as an historic place will give the building a particular cache and enhance its iconic status as well as afford it some limited protection from demolition and some tax advantages.

The commission meets at 5 p.m. in Room 16 of the Tacoma Municipal Building North.

Two dozen farmers have committed to selling their produce at the new Sixth Avenue Farmers' Market, scheduled to open July 15.

The lineup includes local farms Terry's Berries, L'Arche Farm and Garden, the Estrella Family Creamery and The Bee Lady as well as growers from east of the mountains.

The market is being organized by the Federation of Tacoma Farmers Markets, a partnership between Tacoma’s Broadway Farmers Market and Proctor Farmers Market.

The 6th Ave Business District Association and the City of Tacoma are supporting the effort, according to information from the Tacoma Farmers' Market president Richard Hines.

In addition to produce, vendors at the Sixth Avenue market will be selling seafood from Alaska, meat, poultry and fresh flowers.

"We are creating a high-quality, food-centered farmers market that reflects the vitality and energy of 6th Ave,” Hines said.

“Tacomans want more choices for local food, including meats and cheeses, and they want to buy from farmers who are committed to sustainable production. This is shaping up to be a great addition to the city’s farmers market system,” he said.

The market will run from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street in Tacoma.

It's not Whole Foods, Metropolitan Market or even Safeway, but downtown Tacoma, at least the Foss Waterway part, is getting a food market.

The owners of Dock Street Sandwich say they'll be opening a specialty food market in a Thea's Landing retail space on July 3.

The 1,300-square-foot store, formerly occupied by The Urban Dog, will be called Thea's Market.

The market will handle wines, specialty cheeses and meats and Northwest food products along with a basic selection of staples such as milk, eggs and bread, said store co-owner Jayna Marshall.

The Dock Street store will be on the south end of the Thea's Landing condominium building. Jayna and Jim Marshall's other retail business, Dock Street Sandwich, is on the building's north end.

"We've been looking at doing this for about a year and a half," said Jayna Marshall.

The two have lived on the waterway for four years themselves and know the business conditions there well.

The couple worked with the building owner to work out a lease deal that gives them some flexibility, she said.

The completion of the repaving project on Dock Street, the recent opening of the new D Street bridge over the BNSF tracks and the imminent occupation of the new Esplanade condo building has made the prospects of the new market brighter, she said.

The market will target three categories of shoppers, she said: downtown and Foss Waterway residents, daytrippers to the nearby attractions such as the Museum of Glass, Washington History Museum and the Tacoma Dome and boaters using the nearby marinas.

Marshall and her husband hope to get the doors open before the huge crowds expected for Tall Ships on the Independence Day weekend with at least a basic stock of goods.

Tacoma Goodwill will break ground at 1 p.m. Wednesday for a $20 million, 63,000-square-foot job training and work placement center near downtown Tacoma.

The new Work Opportunity Center will be located at 714 S. 27th St. where Goodwill's car detailing facility is now located.

The groundbreaking will feature a symbolic razing of the existing facilities on the site by participants in Goodwill's Youthbuild program, said Goodwill spokesman Matthew Erlich.

The new building will be a LEED certified "green" building.

Japan Airlines will close down its training base at Moses Lake's Grant County International Airport after more than 40 years next spring.

The cost of fuel has made training in such a remote location from Japan too expensive, the airline said.

The Japanese carrier was first attracted to Moses Lake because of its long runways, good weather and uncrowded skies.

Grant County is the former Larson Air Force Base. Its main runway is among the longest in the country at 13,500 feet. The airport includes some 4,700 acres of land.

Japan Airlines trained its Boeing 747 crews at Moses Lake. The airline will be phasing out its 747s in favor of more fuel-efficient two-engine aircraft.

The Japan Airlines presence over the years spawned a number of unusual adaptations for an Eastern Washington town including a Japanese restaurant at the airport's small terminal.

Retiring its fuel-guzzling MD-80 aircraft early will cost Alaska Air Group, Alaska Airlines' parent company $60 million in charges over the next two quarters, the company says.

The $30 million charges in two consecutive quarters will equal the remaining lease payments due on the seven McDonnell Douglas twin jets.

Alaska is replacing its MD-80 jets with more fuel-stingy Boeing 737-800 jets. Those jets use about 25 percent less fuel.

Once those MD-80s are retired by the end of August, Alaska will be flying an all-737 fleet.

Boeing Co. has declared a quarterly dividend of 40 cents a share, the company said today.

The dividend is payable Sept. 5 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 8.

The dividend is up five cents a share from the 35 cents declared in the second quarter last year.

Boeing has steadily raised its dividend in recent years as its profitability increased. In the second quarter of 2002, for instance, the Boeing dividend was just 17 cents a share.

A politician and an airport that can't stand much more degradation of their public popularity are being blamed for travel screw-up that affected nearly 40,000 people in England.

The fateful combination brought President George Bush and his entourage including two 747 and one 757 aircraft and four helicopters to London's crowd-impaired Heathrow Airport in mid-June.

Now it seems that the Bush visit caused the closing of one of the two Heathrow runways twice during the visit resulting in the cancellation of 69 flights.

By some accounts, nearly 40,000 passengers had their travel plans delayed or canceled because of the Bush presence.

Heathrow is already suffering from a bad reputation because of tens of thousands of bags lost there last year and because of the botched opening of British Airways' Terminal 5 this spring that resulted in dozens of cancelled flights while the luggage system was sorted out.

Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, has publicly criticized Heathrow operator BAA for allowing Bush to land there. A military airport would have been much less disruptive, said Walsh.