The Hollywood Video store in Gig Harbor’s Harbor Hill area is now officially recognizable as a “Mark’s Video.”

The “Hollywood Video” and “Game Crazy” signs on the store have been removed and new signs put up in their place saying “Mark’s Video” and “GameTag.”

The Harbor Hill store is one of 20 that Mark Wattles, the founder of Hollywood Entertainment, kept after Movie Gallery bought the company in 2005 for $1.2 billion.

Movie Gallery sued Wattles to get him to take the names off the 20 stores. Wattles was under a federal court injunction to do so after he missed an Aug. 31 deadline to change the signs.

Jessica Ryan, the Gig Harbor store’s assistant manager, said Monday that things have changed for the better with the name change.

Prices are lower, she said (five movies for five days: $5) and late charges have been reduced (50 cents to $1 a day instead of the previous $3.99 a day for new releases.)

Game Tag stocks a larger variety of games, Ryan said, and prices have dropped by 50 percent for five-day rentals.

Got an idea for a dream car?

If you’re a high school senior, here’s a chance to share your creative vision and maybe pick up some scholarship money at the same time.

For the second year, the Washington State Auto Dealers Association is offering $10,000 in scholarships to seniors with automotive vision.

The 2009 “Car of My Future” scholarship program asks applicants to describe and name their perfect vehicle, explain how it would support the career of their choice, lifestyle or hobby, and describe an advertising campaign for the vehicle.

Applicants have the option of sharing their vision through artwork or creative writing.
Up to four scholarships totaling $10,000 will be awarded.
The application deadline is March 6, 2009.

The Washington Auto Dealers Association serves 333 franchised new-car and truck dealers in 77 communities across the state.

More information is available at www.wsada.org/scholarship.

New talks between Boeing and its largest union ended this afternoon with no agreement and no commitment to return to the bargaining table.

Boeing said the company couldn't agree to union proposals that would have compromised its ability to respond to changes in the economic environment.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had been pressing Boeing for job security guarantees as part of a new contract.

Some 27,000 union members walked off the job Sept. 6 after 80 percent rejected a Boeing contract offer.

Boeing issued a statement regarding its stance:

"In light of the current business environment and global market challenges we face, we had hoped we could find a way to move forward. We worked very hard to find solutions, and we are extremely disappointed that the talks broke off," said Doug Kight, Boeing vice president of human resources. "We want to resolve this strike so employees can return to work, but we cannot sacrifice our ability to continuously improve productivity and our long-term competitiveness for an agreement. Given current economic conditions, it is now more important than ever that we retain the ability to respond to a dynamic, uncertain environment."

The Machinists Union wasn't immediately available for comment.

The two sides had negotiated Sunday and until late afternoon today before breaking off their talks.

Oatmeal, Starbucks' newest addition to its breakfast repertoire, has become a surprising success.

According to an article from Advertising Age, the old-fashioned morning standby has become the Seattle-based chain's biggest food launch success of all time.

The new item, just six weeks or so on the menu, has replaced reduced-calorie coffee cake as the chain's best selling food item.

That success comes in spite of warm September weather nationwide.

New figures show that the breakfast cereal is particularly popular with younger customers and women. Women are six percent more likely than men to order the cholesterol-reducing concoction.

The new product is particularly attractive to Starbucks, which has been suffering from lagging sales this year, because it enjoys a higher profit margin than its pastries.

With the economy looking so dark, where do you find a job or the resources to carry you and your familty through the crisis?

Here's one suggestion.

Go to the Job and Resource Fair at Sea-Tac Airport to learn about opportunities for full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs with airport employers and get assistance with finding housing, health care, child care, educational programs, transportation and more.

When: October 16, 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Sea-Tac Airport, Main Terminal at the south end of the Baggage Claim Level in the Gina Marie Lindsey International Arrivals Hall (map)
Park in the Airport Garage: Bring your parking ticket with you to the Job and Resource Fair and it will be validated

Want more information? Call the Job Fair Hotline at (206) 835-7504.

Learn more about airport jobs at www.airportjobs.org.

Gas prices are falling so fast that they're hard to track.

Who would have guessed in early July when statewide average regular unleaded prices hit $4.352 a gallon, that we would ever see gas prices again that began with the number two.

Now this morning comes word from Tacomagasprices.com that one Tacoma station, the Chevron at South 11th Street and Sprague Avenue, has broken the $3 barrier.

The Web site reports gas is for sale there at $2.99 a gallon.

That's a huge drop in just a few days.

In mid-week last week, regular gas prices had fallen to a then-stunning $3.29 a gallon at several Tacoma-area service stations.

By Saturday, some of those same stations were posting unleaded regular for $3.05 a gallon, a 24 cent drop.

Then came the $2.99 price.

That's more than 40 cents less per gallon than the state average of $3.404 a gallon reported today by AAA Washington.

That figure is down nearly 41 cents a gallon from the statewide average a month ago.

It almost matches the $2.966 a gallon we were paying statewide a year ago.

Tacoma gas prices are about 7 cents below the state average at $3.33 a gallon, AAA reports.

The national average today is $3.206. The nation's lowest prices statewide are in Oklahoma where the average price is $2.747. Alaska is the only state where average gas prices are still over $4. The average in that oil-producing state is now $4.088 a gallon.

After seeing airfares rise throughout the summer and spring, declining fuel prices and falling demand are again making their presence felt.

Sea-Tac's dominant carrier, Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, has announced a fall sale for flights between Oct. 24 and Dec. 17.

The flights must be purchased by Oct. 23.

Some example fares:

Seattle - San Francisco $62 each way
Seattle - Los Angeles $79 each way
Seattle - Wenatchee $54 each way
Seattle - Minneapolis $130 each way

Other airlines are posting similar sales fares.

New Alaska rival Virgin America, for instance, is advertising a $62 one-way fare to San Francisco. That amounts to $145 roundtrip including taxes.

Virgin this morning was slightly higher than Alaska to LAX, $189.50 including taxes. Alaska's fare with taxes was $179.50.

These are the lowest fares available. Certain flights and certain days will have higher fares.

The president of the Machinists union says negotiators are having a “tough time” trying to end a strike at the Boeing Co.

Even so, union President Tom Buffenbarger told The Associated Press by telephone today that the negotiations are cause for optimism.

Buffenbarger said the negotiations resumed Sunday, the 36th day of the walkout.

The union president said he’s getting regular briefings from the table and adds, “they’re still having a tough time.”

The two sides have imposed a media blackout on the meetings.

The strike, which has shut down Boeing assembly work in the Puget Sound area, is now in its 38th day.

Boeing and union executives met briefly last week to set up the framework for the new meetings. The two sides initially projected talks would resume after the weekend.

The meeting are being held with a federal mediator.

Some 80 percent of union members rejected the company's previous "best and final offer" in early September.

Union members say they are particularly concerned with health care "takeaways" and job security issues.