While the occupancy rate of hotels in all regions of the state either fell or were unchanged in October, the rate for Pierce County hotels rose 11.1 percent compared to the same month last year.

In October, 74.8 percent of Pierce County rooms were taken, compared to 67.3 percent a year ago, according to Bellevue hospitality consultant Wolfgang Rood.

Statewide, the occupancy rate fell 5.7 percent. Everett and Snohomish County saw the greatest decline, at 13.9 percent, while the rate in downtown Seattle was unchanged.

The cost of a room in Pierce County likewise rose in October, up 10.2 percent to $86.28. This marked the state’s highest rate of increase, with rates statewide falling 0.7 percent to $135.31. Other than in Pierce County, only Southwest Washington and the Tri-Cities saw increases, at 2.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Downtown Seattle continued to mark the state’s highest average rate, at $178.58. The rate in Southwest Washington was the lowest, at $81.76, Rood said.

The Seattle Times reports that Quadrant Homes has stopped building and selling at The Ridge in Gig Harbor.

The 120-lot development off Borgen Boulevard was to hold 1,500-3,100 square-foot homes for $259,000-$342,900, according to the story.

Peter Orser, Quadrant Homes president, told the paper that the decision was "a suspension, not an abandonment" and that the stoppage would be temporary. But he acknowledged that the move was significant and attributed it to the contracting economy.

Have you bought a home in The Ridge? Or had you started the process of buying there? We want to hear from you. E-mail kathleen.cooper@thenewstribune.com with your name and a daytime phone number.

UPDATE: Orser said Friday afternoon that The Ridge has 14 homes that are in the process or are completed. Five of those are models, so nine customers "have determined that they want to occupy the home," Orser said.

"They feel pretty good about the value they're getting," he said.

When Quadrant decided to suspend operations at The Ridge, Orser said the company contacted everyone who was under contract to buy there and offered them the chance to change their mind.

"This is a difficult situation (so we told people that) it's your choice and we'll honor that," he said.

Orser said the issue is trying to figure out how to build homes in today's environment, which is affected by "multiple and complex" issues. He said no one thing was driving the suspension.

As for when The Ridge will get rolling again, Orser said there was no timeline given the economic conditions.

"This is a national and international event, so we're reviewing every project, every day, literally," he said. "I don't foresee (suspensions) in any of our other projects, since the circumstances here were different." He declined to elaborate on the circumstances.

Sometimes well-intended efforts can have unintended consequences.

Take the federal government's new report of notable airline ground delays that debuted this month.

Because the system for collecting that data isn't yet perfected, SeaTac's Alaska Airlines got unfairly slammed in a government report.

The government's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that Alaska's Oct. 23 Flight 75 from Seattle to Juneau, Alaska, had the second longest ground delay of October, some four and a half hours.

A ground delay is when a plane is either unable to take off or unable to reach the gate to complete its flight and passengers suffer from hours of involuntary confinement.

Such notable incidents as JetBlue's Valentine's Day debacle at JFK where hundreds of passengers spent multiple hours on the ground in aircraft awaiting clearance to take off come to mind. Food and water was exhausted in some cases and toilets were reaching capacity.

Alaska spokeswoman Caroline Boren said that's not what happened with Flight 75. The flight left Seattle on time, flew to Juneau but was unable to land because of the weather. The flight then returned to Seattle.

To the government's computer's, however, it looked as if the plane left the gate and then returned to the gate four and a half hours later. Computer thinks ground delay.

"This is something we're going to be talking to the government about," said Boren. "It's a glitch in the system."