In what has become a predictable event come Friday, regulators closed a pair of banks today – one each in Nevada and Illinois.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced this afternoon that Security Savings Bank of Henderson, Nev. and Heritage Community Bank, of Glenwood, Ill. were shuttered by local regulators and the federal agency.

In Nevada, the FDIC has entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Bank of Nevada in Las Vegas to assume all deposits of Security Savings.

The two offices of Security Savings Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Bank of Nevada, the FDIC said. As of December 31, Security Savings had total assets of approximately $238.3 million and total deposits of $175.2 million. Bank of Nevada did not pay a premium to acquire the deposits.

The FDIC has been appointed receiver at Heritage Community in Illinois. The agency entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with MB Financial Bank, N.A., of Chicago to assume Heritage Community’s deposits. The four offices of Heritage will reopen as branches of MB Financial Bank on Saturday.

As of December 5, Heritage had total assets of $232.9 million and total deposits of $218.6 million. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, including those from brokers, MB Financial Bank agreed to purchase approximately $230.5 million in assets at a discount of $14.5 million. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition, according to the announcement.

The business slowdown has finally touched traffic at Sea-Tac Airport.

The airport this week reported its January passenger traffic was down 5.86 percent in January compared with the same month in 2008. Some 2.15 million passengers passed through the airport last month.

The traffic decline comes after Sea-Tac set a new record of passenger traffic last year, more than 32 million passengers.

International passenger traffic was down considerably more than domestic with international traffic dropping 10.88 percent. Domestic traffic fell 5.27 percent.

Still, Sea-Tac traffic reductions are less than some U.S. airports. Traffic at Las Vegas' McCarran Airport declined 15.7 percent in January.

Tacoma's J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. will launch a new tugboat from its construction ways on the Thea Foss Waterway early Saturday morning.

The 98-foot-long tug, built for Vancouver, B.C.'s Seaspan International Ltd., is powered by two 3,000-horsepower diesel engines driving two swiveling thrusters.

The tug, the M/V Seaspan Resolution, will carry 45,000 gallons of fuel and nearly 3,600 gallons of water.

The launch is scheduled at 6 a.m. to take advantage of favorable tide conditions. Martinac's shipyard is located on the east side of the Foss Waterway, just north of South 15th Street.

The launching should be visible from the public esplanade on the west side of the waterway.

Hometown carrier Alaska Airlines will be the principal sponsor of the Seafair Torchlight Parade this summer, replacing rival Southwest Airlines, which had held the title spot for several years.

The 2-mile parade, now called "Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade at Seafair," will be held July 25 in downtown Seattle.

The parade, the largest nighttime event in the Northwest, is expected to draw about 300,000 spectators.

Alaska and its partner airline, Horizon Air, are headquartered in the city of SeaTac, just south of Sea-Tac Airport.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Europe's biggest discount airline, Ryanair, says the carrier is considering charging passengers for restroom access while flying.

But a company spokesman discounted the possibility saying O'Leary, a plain-speaking, fun-loving manager, sometimes just makes things up.

The airline has no firm plans to put coin slots in airliner restroom doors, said the spokesman.

Ryanair derives much of its income from sales of extra services. The airline, for instance, sells transportation from its sometimes distant airports to city centers. It charges extra from desirable seats, and on-board refreshment.

The company sells advertising on its tray tables and sells the exterior of some of its aircraft as flying billboards.

A French-owned high-technology plastics company will soon move its Washington plant and its 115 jobs from Seattle's Rainier Valley to Puyallup.

Roy Teter, facilities manager for Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, said the phased move will begin in about three weeks and conclude in June or July.

Saint-Gobain produces high performance plastics and composite parts mostly for the aerospace industry.

The company had been searching for a new home for about 18 months, said Teter, when the former idX Corporation woodworking plant at 507 Levee Road became available.

The plastics firm had been working with the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County along with other cites in King and Pierce counties to find a suitable new location.

Saint-Gobain's lease on its present plant expires at the end of August.

The new 109,000-square-foot plant is better laid out than the company's Rainier Valley plant, said Teter, allowing the company to streamline its production system and cut energy consumption.

IdX, which makes fixtures for retailers, moved to a larger plant nearby.

Puyallup City Manager Gary McLean said the city expedited the company's demolition and construction permits to allow it to meet its move-in schedule.

"They brought us the request for permits on Thursday, and we had them ready for them by Monday," he said.

The French company is installing new energy-efficient lighting in the building and doubling the power available to run plant machinery, said Teter.

Saint-Gobain is also adding laboratory and final inspection facilities in the plant.

A demographic study the company conducted showed that many of its workers already live in South King County and Pierce County. Among them is Teter, a Puyallup South Hill resident.

The company first plans to bring its final assembly business here from Seattle and then gradually bring its parts production to Puyallup.

"Our plan is to continue production uninterrupted," said the plastic plant manager.

The new site, unlike the old one, allows the company to expand, he said. The old plant was purchased by a developer who plans to demolish it and build apartments on the site.

The plastic company is part of Saint-Gobain, a company that ranks 110th on Fortune Magazine's Global 500 list of the world's largest businesses.

Puyallup City Manager McLean said the city is particularly pleased to see new jobs come to the community. A statewide survey showed that residents of the state's 25th Legislative District, which includes Puyallup, have the longest commute distance of any district in the state.

One of the Puyallup City Council's objectives is to attract more businesses to Puyallup to bring the jobs closer to home, McLean said.

Alaska Airlines has begun testing a new airborne Internet system on one of its 737-700 aircraft on flights between Seattle and San Jose, Calif.

The tests will occur on one daily afternoon flight between the two cities, the SeaTac-based airline said.

During the test period, access to the Internet will be free. passengers with Wi-fi connections on their laptop computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants and other devices will be able to connection with the airborne system.

Alaska is using a satellite-based system developed by California's Row 44. A small antenna mounted on the plane feeds signals to and from a satellite. That satellite beams the signals back to a ground station where it connects with the Internet.

The airline will test the system for about 60 days. If the test is successful, the airline will begin installing the system on more of its aircraft. No pricing structure has been announced for the broader service.

Several domestic airlines have begun providing Internet service to their passengers for a fee. Several of those use a system that connects via cell phone towers sprinkled around the country. Alaska chose a satellite system because of its ability to communicate with aircraft flying over remote regions and the ocean.

Alaska in the last year and a half has begun extensive service to Hawaii. It also connects remote cities in Alaska to Anchorage and the lower 48 states.

Boeing has dropped plans to collaborate with an Italian aerospace firm to build a military transport aircraft at a new plant in Jacksonville, Fla.

Boeing, who's been an on-again, off-again partner with Italy's Finmeccanica in plans to build the C-27J transport plane for the U.S. military, said it has abandoned efforts to reach a production agreement with the Italian plane maker.

"For us, it wasn't about the airplane. It wasn't about the team," William Barksdale, a Boeing spokesman, told Reuters. "It's purely the economic climate."

The Army and the Air Force together have ordered 145 of the twin-engine turbo-prop aircraft. That order is worth $5 billion.

The first two examples of the plane have been produced in a plant in Turin, Italy. Finmeccanica said it will continue building the new plant without Boeing.

According to advice this week from the Small Business Administration, as banks and lenders have slowed lending, reduced credit lines and tightened lending standards, many small business owners have felt the effects of a cash crunch.

A poll this month by the National Federation of Independent Business says 58 percent of businesses surveyed see profits declining, while 28 percent have lowered prices, and price declines put pressure on cash flow for small businesses.

As part of its “Accelerate Your Success” Campaign, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is offering an online toolkit to help entrepreneurs with information on how to survive the recession.

This month features information about access to cash, and is available at www.score.org/accelerate.

According to an SBA release, the group also offers Five Secrets to Beating the Cash Crunch:

• Collect payment at the sale. In a tight economy, you can sell more by adding a service contract. Bundle products into a package with a slight discount. The client pays less and you get a bigger sale while still keeping solid profits.

• Collect more upfront and set up progress payments. Every SCORE mentor will say collect the funds you are owed and do it quickly. Whenever possible, collect an immediate deposit. In contract arrangements, set up the project for progress payments as key milestones.

• Save more by cutting expenses and holding on to your cash. Look at cutting expenses 10 percent. Spend what you need to market and operate your business. Don’t stock unnecessary items, print large quantities of branding materials, or commit to long-term contracts. Keep your cash in your business as fuel through the recession.

• Borrow funds for bridge capital until customer payment is received. A line of credit is a good way to fund bridge capital. If your credit score is not particularly strong, explore an SBA-guaranteed loan. Community banks and the bank you do business with day-to-day are good places to start.

• Slow your payments to vendors. Another way to free up extra cash is to slow or reduce your payments. Contact your vendors, lenders and credit card companies to renegotiate your rates, fees and repayment schedule. The key is to do so before you begin to have payment issues. You should be able to leverage your good repayment history to get more advantageous terms.

SCORE operates three local chapters as well as multiple counseling locations in the Puget Sound Area. The group provides experts who offer free and confidential advice to small business owners. Mentors have experience in finance, accounting, management, marketing, sales, technology and strategic planning. Reach the Tacoma office at 253-680-7770.

In a preview of just how deeply Boeing plans to cut its aircraft production next year, a major supplier says it will cut its production of parts for the twin engine jet by nearly 32 percent.

Curtiss-Wright said it it plans to deliver only 21.5 sets of 737 assemblies a month to Boeing beginning in the second half of the year.

The company is shipping about 31 sets of assemblies to Boeing now. That matches the company's existing 737 production rate. The reduction in production rate for parts won't be reflected immediately in Boeing's own production line because Curtiss-Wright continued to produce parts of the 737 during a 60-day Machinists Union strike at Boeing last fall, thus building up its inventory of parts.

The union strike halted all Boeing airline production for two months. The ramp up to full production also took about a month as Boeing gradually upped production to full rate.

Boeing's commercial airplanes division has said it will cut employment by 4,500 workers this year because of order cancellations and delays.

There are some interesting numbers out from the U.S. Census Bureau this week – from “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008,” the latest in a series of surveys conducted annually since 1948.

• With declining fertility rates and the aging of baby boomers, the percentage of families with their own child living at home decreased to 46 percent in 2008, from 52 percent in 1950.
• In 1968, 29 percent of married men were age 55 and over, as were 22 percent of married women. In 2008, 38 percent of married men were 55 and over, as were 33 percent of married women.
• The percentage of women age 40 to 44 who were childless increased from 10 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2006.
• The median age for men at first marriage was 27.4 years. For women, the median age at first marriage was 25.6.
• The percentage of family households with children under 18 in 2008 that had three or more of their own children present was 21 percent in both 1998 and 2008.
• The percentage of adults ages 45 to 49 who were married varied by race and ethnicity. For example, among women 45 to 49, 79 percent of Asians, 69 percent of white non-Hispanics, 62 percent of Hispanics and 43 percent of blacks were married.
• In 2008, 66.9 million opposite-sex couples lived together - 60.1 million were married, and 6.8 million were not.
• The United States had an estimated 5.5 million “stay-at-home” parents: 5.3 million mothers and 140,000 fathers.
• About 9 percent of all children (6.6 million) lived in a household that included a grandparent. Twenty-three percent of children living with a grandparent had no parent present.

University of Puget Sound graduate Todd Benjamin is coming home to share his views and to hear the views of students and guests on topics close to the pocketbook.

According to a release from the school today, the erstwhile CNN financial editor and a faculty panel will exchange questions and views with the audience on topics including the economy, world leaders, perceptions of the media and defining moments in Benjamin’s own career.

UPS President Ron Thomas will host the interactive evening, beginning at 7 p.m. next Monday, March 2, in the Kilworth Memorial Chapel.

The public and the media are welcome to attend the free event.

Benjamin, a 1973 graduate, has interviewed world figures including Alan Greenspan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jack Welch, and Carlos Ghosn, according to the release.

For 26 years he worked as an anchor and correspondent for CNN, and ultimately as London-based financial editor for CNN International. He now combines appearing on CNN as an independent analyst and blogging on the news program’s Web site. He also acts as a consultant for businesses including Gazprom and Deutsche Bank, and is a visiting lecturer in leadership at London Business School.

During his visit to the Puget Sound campus, the one-time English major will visit classrooms for conversations with current students and catch up with some of his former professors. The visit is sponsored by the Catherine Gould Chism Fund in the Humanities and Arts.

For more information or directions, visit www.ups.edu.

A new report reveals that fewer people in the state are buying cars, undoubtedly because of the current recession and the pinch it's putting on people's pocketbooks.

The state issued a total of 16,802 new vehicle titles in January, down 35 percent from the same month last year, according to Cross-Sell, a company that provides of market analysis report for automotive dealers.

Used vehicle sales fared much better.

In January, 53,022 used vehicles received new titles, down 7 percent from last January.

The top selling new vehicles for the month were compact SUVs, mid-sized cars and full-sized pick-up trucks. The same were also the top selling used vehicles.

Like the outdoors? Hate fire? Are you physically fit?

If so, the state has a job for you - from among more than 350 summer firefighting jobs announced today by the state Department of Natural Resources.

The department has begun accepting applications for forest firefighter and natural resource worker positions for the 2009 fire season, which begins April 15.

The department is also recruiting for summer positions in the Washington Conservation Corps, according to a DNR release this morning.

The deadline for seasonal job applications varies by region of the state – most are due by 5 p.m. on March 31, 2008. For complete job listings and more information, click here or go to www.DNR.wa.gov and select the “Jobs” link.

“This is an opportunity for students who want to earn college tuition and educational loan repayment vouchers while working outdoors in Washington’s wildland – and get paid for the experience,” the department said.

Positions available include Forest Firefighter, an entry-level position that does not require previous experience in natural resources work. DNR also is hiring seasonal Natural Resource Workers with natural resource-related experience to help lead work crews.

All Firefighter positions require a valid driver’s license and two years of driving experience, an acceptable driving record free of serious violations, a high school diploma or G.E.D., and the successful completion of a physical fitness/work capacity test.

The department will provide training to entry-level forest firefighters. Some positions will be eligible for a $1,250 AmeriCorps Educational Award.

Positions are also available in the Washington Conservation Corps, whose missing it is “to conserve and enhance the natural resources of Washington and to help young adults enrich themselves by providing a meaningful work and service experience. The WCC provides the opportunity for corpsmembers to learn valuable job skills and receive training while working on environmental stewardship projects.”

=> Read more!

Here’s an $8,000 bonus ($4,000 if married and filing separately) from the Internal Revenue Service.

If you’re a first-time homebuyer and you buy your home before Dec. 1, you have the option to claim your tax credit either on your 2008 tax returns due April 15, or on your 2009 tax returns next year.

According to a release today from the IRS, “For first-time homebuyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit. This important change gives qualifying homebuyers cash they do not have to pay back.”

To view a revised version of Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit, click here or visit www.irs.gov. The revised form incorporates provisions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The instructions to the revised Form 5405 provide additional information on who can and cannot claim the credit, income limitations and repayment of the credit.

Qualifying taxpayers do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their principle residence for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.

The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

=> Read more!

Unlicensed, unregistered, unconcerned about the law, there are buisnesses out there that will take your money without providing the services they promised.

Until now, it may have been a bit cumbersome to protect yourself.

The Department of Revenue and other state agencies today launched a Web site that compiles the answers to your concerns.

Along with Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proclamation of March 1-7 as Washington State Consumer Protection Week, the state has opened www.suspectfraud.com, which offers consumers a single point of access to assistance and reporting.

Is that roofer, that plumber, that electrician licensed? Does that charity actually give money to non-profit purposes? Is the mortgage broker overseen by state scrutiny? Has that business paid its taxes?

If you’ve got a question about professional services, or if you’d like to report suspected fraud, click here.

There’s also a link to a site where you can fess up and pay your own back businesses taxes.

Save-A-Lot grocery stores in Tacoma and Port Orchard plan on giving away a dinner's worth of food to customers Saturday.

“At its core, Save-A-Lot Food Stores is committed to helping families, and today that includes surviving this economic crisis,” said Mark Colbo, regional director of Save-A-Lot Food Stores.

The company is calling the event Fuel Your Family for Free. The stores will provide the necessary ingredients for a spaghetti dinner: one box of noodles, one jar of pasta sauce, two cans of vegetables and a package of bread sticks all in a reusable bag.

Save-A-Lot has enough meals for 4,000 families at each of its locations. The company is encouraging people to print out vouchers for the meals from its Web site and bring them to the store Saturday.

The event runs from 8 a.m. until noon.

People will be served on a first-come, first serve basis, according to a news release from the company. Customers will need to visit various stations inside the stores to pick up the ingredients for the meal.

The company plans on making a matching donation to local food banks through Food Life Line, Washington's largest hunger relief agency.

Save-A-Lot bills itself as an extreme value grocery chain. The company operates two stores in Tacoma - one at 1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way and another at 9820 Pacific Ave. There's also a Save-A-Lot store in Port Orchard at 1730 SE Mile Hill Road.

The free meal deal is happening at its nine Northwest locations, which includes four stores in Washington and five in Oregon. Save-A-Lot operates 1,150 stores in 39 states.

Free food give-a-aways have attracted a lot of attention recently. Millions of people showed up at Denny's locations around the country last month for a free Grand Slam breakfast.

We'll find out. Historic Tacoma filed an application this month with the City of Tacoma's Landmarks Preservation Commission to put the former University-Union Club on the Tacoma register of historic places.

The 1890 colonial revival building, 539 Broadway, clearly deserves historic status. But the owners, the family of David Smith, don't want the historic designation while it has the property up for sale.

Tonight the city commission will set a date in March for a public hearing on the extensive application by Historic Tacoma, a non-profit group formed in 2007 amidst a civic debate of Multicare Health System's purchase and eventual demolition of a historic First United Methodist Church.

The University-Union Club went on the market in 2007.

"Realizing that the building lacked demolition protection, community members feared that the property might be purchased by someonje who valued the land more than the history," said Brent Santhuff, a local architect and Historic Tacoma vice president.

"Historic Tacoma thought a nomination overdue but also an appropriate means to both safeguard the building and attract a buyer interested in its preservation," Santhuff said.

By being on the historic register, a potential developer could qualify for tax relief and grants to help with a restoration.

The nomination marks Historic Tacoma's first attempt to unilaterally preserve a historic treasure.

There's little good news from the state and local employment report for January.

An estimated 303,570 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work last month - the largest number ever in the state, the state's Employment Security Department reported today.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, up seven-tenths of a percentage point from December. That ties for the second largest month over month increase since 1976.

The jobles rate hasn't been this high since February 1987 and it's also the first time in three years that the the state surpassed the national jobless, which was 7.6 percent.

Washington highest ever recorded unemployment rate was 12.2 percent in November 1982.

The state unemployment rate is usually provided by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS data was delayed this month due to a computer project, so Employment Security calculated the rate itself.

The state continued to shed jobs, 7,000 over the month and 56,000 since January 2008. Most industries suffered job losses, though the largest declines came from manufacturing, information services, and construction.

Pierce County contributed its fair share to the bleak state situation.

The Tacoma-area reported an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent, an increase of two percentage points from the previous month.

Paul Turek, Employment Security regional economist for Tacoma, expected an increase but was skeptical that the county jobless rate actually grew that much over the month.

He said that different computer model the state used this month combined with the fact that the county rates aren't seasonally adjusted may have inflated the rate a bit beyond reality.

Unlike the state rate, the county rate isn't seasonally adjusted to smooth out expected rises and dips in hiring. That makes unadjusted jobless rates more volatile.

"It's not trivial ... but it's sometimes exaggerated," Turek said of the jobless rate increase. "I don't see a good correlation between the information I have and the bounce."

Turek said that as the recession continues, Pierce County could see 9 percent unemployment rates -- but it may not be until later this year.

The county lost 6,900 jobs over the month. That's comparable to the previous January -- near the start of the national recession -- when the county lost 7,300 jobs over the month.

Most industries in Pierce County have been affected, though those providing services account for a bulk of the job losses last month. That includes retail trade positions, professional and business jobs and education and health service jobs.

Chris Green, an economic development specialist with the Economic Development Board of Tacoma Pierce County, said many of the companies the EDB visits are reducing their employee numbers -- even if just by five or ten people.

Mary Ayala, Employment Security's chief economist,said that stabilizing the nation's financial sector is key to stemming the job bleed. If nothing is done there, she added, state unemployment could reach past 12 percent.

Ayala said it's difficult to forecast when a state or national economic recovery might begin. She's looking for a few signs including job growth in the durable goods sector, financial services and construction.

The federal stimulus package will help by providing jobs and granting extended unemployment benefits, she said.

"We will recover, it's just a matter of time," Ayala said.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday lowered Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority's corporate rating, probability of default rating and senior notes rating to Caa1 from B3.

According to a Reuters report, Moody’s said “the outlook is negative. The rating action is based on our expectation of a weak ramp-up for Snoqualmie Casino, which opened in November 2008, due to bad weather conditions that negatively impacted two months of operations and deteriorating economic conditions in the first half of 2009.”

Along with the weather, Moody’s mentioned the local economy by saying business at the casino “could be negatively affected by the aggravating economic pressures in the Seattle metropolitan area. The housing correction, which started locally in the second half of 2008, could be a significant weight through 2009.”

The weather, the economy and Boeing/Microsoft factor: “The dominant commercial aircraft and software sectors in the region have recently experienced significant layoffs. As a result of these challenges, we believe that (income before deductions) could be significantly lower than expected at the time of the rating assignment.”

Moody’s said the ratings have been lowered to Caa1 from B3 on $330 million in senior notes.

The casino last November.

I’ve left messages seeking comment both from the casino and the tribe, but have not heard back. When I do, I’ll update this report.

Joel G. Edwards has resigned as chief financial officer and treasurer of Tacoma-based Rainier Pacific Financial Group.

The news came today in a required filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Edwards also resigned as CFO, treasurer and secretary of the company subsidiary Rainier Pacific Bank. The resignations will be effective on February 27.

John Hall, president and CEO of the holding group and the bank, will fill the vacancies created by Edwards’ departure, according to today’s filing.

No reason was given, and Hall has been unavailable for comment.

Tacoma-based Rainier Pacific Financial Group reported Friday afternoon that it is conducting “on-going monitoring and evaluation” of holdings in 15 pooled trust preferred securities. The evaluation has led to an accounting adjustment for earnings in the fourth quarter and for the full year 2008.

According to the announcement, the adjustments will result in additional pre-tax impairment charges of approximately $18.9 million which increase the company's net loss for the year to $14.6 million, or a loss of $2.44 per diluted share; compared to a net loss of $2.5 million, or a loss of $0.42 per diluted share, as previously reported.

For the fourth quarter, Rainier Pacific expects the adjustments to increase its previously reported net loss to $14.1 million, or a loss of $2.36 per share from a net loss of $2.0 million, or a loss of $0.34 per diluted share.

“This is an ongoing evaluation,” said John Hall, president and CEO.

The securities were purchased between 2003 and 2005, he said. The announcement does not signal default, he said, as the pooled securities are, in most cases, being repaid on schedule. These “collateralized debt obligations,” issued by other banks and insurance companies, may eventually retain their intended value.

Rainier Pacific also announced it has agreed to sell its VISA credit card portfolio balances to U.S. Bank National Association ND, dba Elan Financial Services. The sale will increase Rainier Pacific’s liquidity, and will not affect customer accounts.

A 32-year-old Coast Guard icebreaker, moored in Seattle for more than two years because of needed maintenance and upgrades, will be overhauled and returned to service.

The Coast Guard Friday awarded a $29 million contract to Seattle's Todd Shipyards for the retrofit of the icebreaker Polar Star built at Seattle's Lockheed Shipbuilding Corp. yard in 1976.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who helped obtain an appropriation to reactivate the ship, said the contract will support 250 jobs at the shipyard.

The Polar Star and its sister ship, the Polar Sea, are among three heavy icebreakers stationed in Seattle. The third is the more modern Healy.

The Polar Star was sidelined in 2006 because of maintenance needs. A crew of 34 has kept the ship in a caretaker status.

"This news couldn't have come at a better time," said Steve Welch, Todd chief executive. "There are a lot of folks struggling in this economy and ship repair work has an immediate impact on the economy – putting suppliers to work, as well as our own people."

The Coast Guard in recent years has campaigned for more icebreaking capability, but its requests were sidelined because of more urgent needs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With global warming opening polar sea lanes to more traffic and oil exploration, the Coast Guard has said it needs more capability to operate in the icy sea lanes.

Building a new icebreaker would likely cost in excess of $1 billion and require four or five years of planning and construction.

The cost of groceries rose 1.5 percent in January from the cost in December. The cost of gasoline rose 10.8 percent – but is down 34.2 percent from the level recorded in January, 2008.

So said the Bureau of Labor Statistics today in its monthly Consumer Price Index report for the Tacoma-Bremerton-Seattle area.

The bureau said the increase in gasoline prices was the primary reason for a 4.8 percent rise in the special aggregate index for energy in January. The 12-month drop in gasoline prices strongly influenced the 20.8 percent fall in overall energy prices.

The household energy index decreased 0.7 percent from December to January, but was 2.3 percent higher than one year ago. Within the household energy index, electricity prices edged down 0.1 percent for the month and declined 0.2 percent for the year. The utility (piped) gas service index was unchanged from December to January, yet was 15.5 percent higher than in January a year ago, the bureau reported.

Shelter prices increased 0.7 percent in the area in January and were 5.0 percent higher over the year.

Compared to January 2008, grocery prices were 6.9 percent higher. The grocery index now stands at 236.85, which means that grocery shoppers in the Tacoma area spent $236.85 in January 2009 for a basket of food items that cost $100.00 in 1982-84.

There is good news out there. Really.

today, the governor’s office reported that the state’s exports set a record in 2008, rising to $66.8 billion, a $400 million increase over 2007.

The state also maintained its rank as the 4th largest exporter in the U.S. by total value, the office reported in a release. Agricultural exports were especially strong, led by a 90 percent increase in cereal exports over 2007. Give thanks in part to a weak U.S. dollar

Exports of aerospace products fell nearly 20 percent in 2008, what with a strike at Boeing, but growth in most other sectors, including industrial machinery, forest products, and high-tech equipment, made up for the shortfall.

The numbers were released today by the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and were compiled by the World Institute for Strategic and Economic Research.

“Washington’s strong export numbers illustrate how the diversity of our economy can help offset some of the impact of the current recession” said Gov. Gregoire. “Washington offers to our companies some of the best global trade connections and infrastructure in the world. That makes our economy stronger and more competitive.”

China, Japan and Canada remained the top export destinations, the release said, and exports to Asia made up more than half the state total. Exports to India and much of Europe, including the UK, France and Ireland, all declined from 2007 levels.

With the global economic downturn, the slump in U.S. exports that began in late 2008 is expected to continue into 2009. “Although we expect 2009 exports to be below the last two years as a result of a stronger U.S. dollar and the global recession, it’s important for companies to continue to consider exports a large part of their business strategy,” said Larry Williams, CTED Interim Director.

To see the complete WISER report on 2008 exports, visit www.cted.wa.gov/site/122/default.aspx.

Sea-Tac Airport Director Mark Reis will testify before Congress Tuesday about the airport's advanced efforts to protect planes from bird damage.

Reis, appearing before the House Subcommittee on Aviation, will speak about the airport's experimental avian radar, its wildlife management and bird relocation programs. Reis will represent Airports Council - North America.

The hearing is designed to give Congress a better insight into how aircraft can be better protected from bird damage.

Appearing at that same hearing will be the crew of US Airways Flight 1549, which ditched into the Hudson River after it struck a flock of birds on takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport. Those birds disabled both of the aircraft's engines.

All 155 passengers and crew of Flight 1549 survived.

In a move to augment traffic through its Salt Lake City hub, Delta Air Lines will added two daily flights from Seattle to the Utah capital.

The flights will be in place by June, the Atlanta-based carrier said.

The schedule additions are part of Delta's effort to funnel more traffic through Salt Lake City.

Delta is adding non-stop flights from eight additional cities to Salt Lake this year. Those cities are: Bismark, N.D.; Des Moines, Iowa; El Paso, Tex.; Fargo, N.D.; Indianapolis; Nashville, and Sioux Falls, S.D.

The airline is also adding additional frequencies to Salt Lake from Spokane and Portland.

Boeing rival Airbus says it will reduce its production rate of commercial aircraft this year as airlines cancel and postpone deliveries.

Airbus, once slatted to increase production this year, said it will slow its production of A320 twin jets to 34 a month from 36.

The company also will cancel its plans to increase production of its A330 and A340 jets. The European planemaker now is producing 8.5 of those wide-bodies aircraft a month.

"We reached record production rates in late 2008, but now we see a drop in air traffic in most regions," said Airbus chief executive Tom Enders.

"Many airlines are taking capacity out of the market. I do not exclude further production cuts if the need arises," he said.

Seven hundred Boeing Co. workers in the Puget Sound area will receive 60-day layoff notices today.

The notices tell them their jobs will end April 24. The layoffs are part of a Boeing plan to trim its workforce by 10,000 employees in 2009.

Company-wide, 400 more workers in other Boeing locations also are receiving layoff notices today.

The company plans to issue 60-day warning notices once monthly until it reaches its 10,000-terminations goal.

The company says a soft airline market is partly to blame for the reductions. As passenger traffic drops and profits disappear, airlines worldwide are cutting back on scheduled deliveries of new airliners.

Boeing expects to produce about 480 jetliners here in the Puget Sound area this year, but is likely to throttle back its production next year.

The company's cuts are likely to be deepest in its Shared Services Group, based here, that provides services for Boeing's main production divisions.

The site of the former Asarco copper smelter's towering smoke stack gains a new landmark Sunday with the opening a 3,000-square-foot luxury model home on the site.

The stack, long ago imploded, carried the fumes from the smelter below along Commencement Bay into the atmosphere.

The model home is the second from developer Mike Cohen who is buying the former industrial site and transforming it into Point Ruston. Stack Hill will be the site of 36 single family homes.

The old smelter site below is planned for condominiums, offices, a hotel and retail stores.

The grand opening event will be held at 5229 North 49th Street in Ruston, from noon to 3 p.m.

Of the 36 homesites on Stack Hill, 19 have been reserved by potential homeowners.

The 3,002 square foot model features 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a library, entertainment suite, with several deck and patio areas offering views of Commencement Bay.

Preview pictures of the home are available here.

Moses Lake, without air service for two years, will gain new airline connections in June.

United Airlines' affiliate SkyWest Airlines, will begin daily flights to Seattle then using a 30-seat Embraer Brasilia turboprop aircraft.

The community lured SkyWest to the Grant County International Airport with $517,500 in pledges from local businesses for airline trips.

Specific schedules are expected to be announced later this month.

Las Vegas' Allegiant Air has announced new flights from a dozen small cities including Bellingham and Medford, Ore., to Los Angeles.

Those new flights will provide additional competition to Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.

Alaska Airlines provides service to Los Angeles from Sea-Tac with a connection to Bellingham by Horizon Air. Horizon offers once-daily non-stop service from Medford to LAX.

Allegiant's service begins May 1 from Medford and May 2 from Bellingham. Allegiant operates MD-80 jets and often flies only a few days a week to its destination instead of daily.

The airline will operate only two weekly trips from Medford to Los Angeles on Mondays and Fridays. Bellingham flights to LA will operate Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Mokulele Airlines, the growing Hawaiian air carrier headed by former Tacoman Bill Boyer, is finding living in the big leagues a financial strain.

Mokulele Wednesday staved off seizure by Republic Airways by making a last-minute $300,000 payment on a loan Republic had extended the airline.

Boyer, a former baggage handler with Alaska Airlines who struck it rich by devising a portable video player caled the DigEplayer for use by airline passengers, said he is seeking new investors to help make upcoming payments due Republic.

Mokulele employees helped finance the loan payment by deferring their pay.

Mokule recently began service using two-engine Embraer jets operated by Republic but branded as Mokulele. Mokulele's fleet previously consisted only of single-engine Cessna turboprops.

The downturn in tourism in the 50th state has affected the airline and hotel business dramatically.

Boyer told a Hawaiian television station that the percentage of seats filled on the company's new jet flights has increased substantially.

Republic loaned Mokulele $8 million to help start up the new service.

The union representing 700 Boeing engineers in Wichita will resume negotiations with the company Monday in hopes of reaching agreement on a new contract.

Those engineers, members of Tukwila-based Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, earlier this month rejected Boeing's "best and final offer" for a new contract.

That offer fell short of the contract Boeing gave SPEEA-represented engineers and technical workers in the Puget Sound area in December.

The union said member surveys point out four or five areas where members believe Boeing's offer must be improved. Those areas include compensation increases, job security and provisions for treatment of union workers if Boeing sells its Wichita operation.

Boeing sold the commercial side of its Wichita business to Spirit AeroSystems in 2005 but kept the military side because of concerns about outsourcing sensitive weapons system business to a foreign company. Spirit is owned by Toronto's Onex Corp.

Recent news stories have raised the spectre of Boeing selling the military operation there also.

Can't any aerospace company deliver its promised new planes on time?

In recent years, the answer has almost always been "no."

Airbus didn't help the aerospace industry's reputation for timeliness recently in press reports that disclosed that the company's first A400M military airlifter won't be delivered until 2013.

That puts the plane more than four years behind schedule and opens up possibilities for Boeing and Lockheed-Martin to fill the gap with sales of their transport planes.

European governments have ordered 152 of the aircraft for their military operations.

Reports in the European press say the plane is nearly 12 tons overweight. It is plagued by engine problems and software glitches.

Airbus will likely ask European governments for additional aid to get the plane built.

The A400M was designed to fill the size gap between Lockheed-Martin's C-130J and Boeing's larger C-17 jet transport.

The U.S. Air Force recently ordered 15 more of the C-17s. That order will keep Boeing's assembly line in Long Beach, Calif., going through 2010.

Boeing has already sold four of the transports to Great Britain and additional planes to a group of NATO countries that will share the planes.

Being a person known to make the occasional wager, I’m pleased to read House Bill 1273 – which was recently introduced at the Legislature.

Sponsored by Reps. Gary Condotta and Mike Armstrong (R’s - Apple Country), the bill would allow counties, cities and towns to conduct raffles. These municipalities would thus join non-profit, charitable and other entities (including – who knew? – credit unions) in the ability to let people gamble for the benefit of a worthy cause.

The bill has been placed on the floor calendar for a second reading, so it actually has a chance of passing. In which case, well, I can just imagine the bountiful consequences.

Tall Ships? No problem getting the funding next time around. But a ticket and wait for the drawing and a chance to win a night of sailing on Commencement Bay. Tacoma’s city budget? No problem. Forget the B&O tax. Buy a ticket and if you win, Bill Baarsma washes your car. Pierce County needs more funds for additional executive salaries? Just imagine a first prize dinner cooked by Sheriff Paul Pastor and Councilmember Barbara Gelman.

I’m thinking maybe lutefisk bolognese.

Boeing will deliver its first 777 Freighter Thursday to launch customer Air France at Everett's Paine Field.

The new cargo version of the twin-engine wide-bodied jet is capable of flying 5500 miles nonstop with a full payload of 226,700 pounds.

The new aircraft has been in the test phase since last summer. The jet will be produced on the same production line as the 777 passenger jet at Boeing's Everett plant.

State regulators are trying to shut down a Kent-based moving company that has been operating illegally in Washington since last fall.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission today filed an enforcement petition against All My Sons Moving and Storage, according to a new release from the WUTC.

The petitions asks that the Thurston County Superior court enforce an order from November 2008 that cancelled the company's permit to operate an in-state moving business.

That order followed WUTC investigations that revealed that All My Sons repeatedly overcharged customers, inaccurately estimated the cost of moves and mishandled customers' damage claims,according to the news release.

The News Tribune called All My Sons for comment. The company has not responded.

The commission also found that All My Sons repeatedly violated state laws and rules governing moving companies. The company has received 60 customer complaints, more than any other permitted residential moving company in the state.

Though All My Sons permit was cancelled, the company did not stop its moving operations, according to the UTC court filing. In fact, a customer complaint included in today's court filing is for a move that the company conducted Nov. 19, 2008, which is after the company’s permit had been revoked.

The company's Web site continues to offer rate quotes for in-state residential moves. And a November 16 news release from All My Sons solicits customers to hire the carrier for residential moving services in the Seattle area.

The UTC is the state’s watchdog agency in charge of enforcing consumer protection and safety regulations for more than 200 residential moving companies operating within the state. Movers must charge proper rates, carry insurance and keep their vehicles safely maintained. The commission does not regulate interstate moving companies.

You may have noticed the ship carrying four massive container cranes floating in Commencement Bay last month. Two of the cranes -- some of the largest in the world -- were bound for a container terminal at the Port of Tacoma.

So how'd were the 273-foot monster machines moved from ship to shore? You can find out by watching a narrated slideshow posted this week on the Port of Tacoma Web site.

One of Europe's largest airlines, Air France/KLM, announced today it will delay delivery of five new planes from Boeing and Airbus to its fleet.

The airline said sour economic conditions required it to cut back expenses, thus the delivery delays.

The airline didn't say how many aircraft deliveries it would postpone from each manufacturer.

Air France said the postponements, however, will include Boeing 777 passenger jets and freighters and unspecified Airbus aircraft.

Aviation analysts are predicting the airline will cut back on deliveries of Airbus superjumbo A380 airliners.

Just when you thought you knew how to navigate the roads around Sea-Tac Airport, the airport is once again changing traffic patterns to accommodate construction.

Beginning Thursday, traffic exiting the airport parking garage will be routed directly from the toll plaza northbound onto the airport freeway. Traffic no longer will be able to exit from that freeway to access North 170th Street and to connect with International Boulevard southbound toward Tacoma.

Garage parkers wanting to head south should instead take the exit marked "Return to Terminal" and then exit the airport drive southbound on International Boulevard.

Construction on a new station for a light rail connection from the airport to downtown Seattle will block the former garage exit to the freeway. The light rail system is due to begin service late this year.

Now that the $789 billion stimulus bill is law, the White House has been quick to enumerate its estimates of just how many jobs will be created in next two years in each state and congressional district.

Here are the predictions:

Washington -- 75,000 new jobs

Sixth Congressional District, Rep. Norm Dicks - Olympic Peninsula, Gig Harbor, much of Tacoma -- 7,700 new jobs.

Seventh Congressional District, Rep. Jim McDermott -- Seattle, Vashon Island, Burien, Tukwilla, -- 8,500 new jobs

Eighth Congressional District, Rep. Dave Reichert -- eastern King and Pierce counties - 9,200 new jobs.

Ninth Congressional District, Rep. Adam Smith -- southern Pierce County, northern Thurston County, South King County -- 8,000 jobs

Those figures, of course, are based on population and job types and represent the most basic guesses about the effect of the stimulus.

The biggest winner in the stumulus job creation business is predicted to be California where 396,000 jobs are expected to be created by the infusion of new money.

Texas is in second place with 269,000 new jobs followed by New York with 315,000 jobs, Florida with 206,000 jobs and Illinois with 148,000.

At the bottom of the list are the less populous states, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming with an estimated 8,000 new jobs each.

Tacoma-based Northern Lights Ventures has formed a strategic partnership with BNP Paribus Partners, the asset management division of one of Europe’s largest banks.

The partnership will “work closely to identify, invest in, and support the growth of institutional investment firms, primarily in the United States, but also in Asia and Europe,” according to a release today.

For BNP Paribus, the partnership will provide insight “into developing trends in the asset management industry” and help the company to find “exceptional investment managers with a strong potential for growth.”

Northern Lights – a private equity firm that scouts for and provides resources to money managers – was formed in 2006 by Paul Greenwood and Andy Turner, former executives at Russell Investments, and Tim Carver, formerly with Orca Bay Partners.

The partnership will offer the firm access to “one of the world’s preeminent banks, while at the same time allowing us to maintain our independence. Through BNP Paribus Investment Partners, we are able to further expand our reach globally, a major advantage for both our firm and our portfolio companies,” said Greenwood.

Details of the partnership were not disclosed, although the release did say Northern Lights management would retain “a large majority interest” in the firm.

The Census is a year away, but the local Census office is hiring now.

More than 4,000 local workers will be needed to help with the Census 2010, according to Gov. Chris Gregoire's office. The hiring is taking place this month through May.

Most of the open positions are for Census takers -- people to update the Census address lists and the bureau's maps. They are temporary, part time positions and they pay a "good" hourly wage, according to the Census Bureau's job hot line.

No experience is required.

“This is not only an opportunity for thousands of Washingtonians to gain much-needed employment, this census ensures Washington receives its fair share of federal funds,” Gregoire said. “Every Washingtonian who completes the census form means about $800 of federal funds each year coming to Washington for roads, community and senior centers, schools, hospitals and emergency preparedness.”

Those interested in applying for employment should contact the Regional Census Center Recruiting Department at 866-861-2010 or go to www.census.gov/rosea/www/emply.html.

If you’re in the market for a job (and you like to work with ice cream), you’ve still got an hour or so to apply for a position at the newly remodeled Dairy Queen at 2110 Mildred Street in University Place.

I spoke this morning with owner Bob Mandel, who is overseeing interviews in the restaurant at a nearby bowling alley. He explained that he has invested $750,000 in the Dairy Queen – “from floor to ceiling” – and that he expects to reopen by March 2.

Beginning with interviews yesterday, he has hired 22 people so far, he said. He’s looking for a dozen more, from cooks to counter help. If you miss the chance to apply today, Mandel said he will be training at the store next week, and he'll continue to take applications after the store opens.

At least 150 people have applied, including overqualified candidates – ”people who shouldn’t be here.”

“I anticipate running a better store, a faster store,” he said. “I’m hiring more people. I’m going to hire enough people to do it right.”

Several former employees, including his manager of 11 years and a few others, will return to the restaurant when it opens. Mandel has owned the Dairy Queen for 18 years, and it has been a fixture on Mildred for at least 30, he said.

Northwest Commercial Bank has received $2 million from the U.S. Treasury as part of the Capital Purchase Program stimulus package.

Kurt Graff, president and CEO of the Lakewood bank, said in a release Monday that the money would be used to provide funding for loans.

The bank “will make those funds – and more – available to individuals, businesses and builders in the local area at competitive rates,” Graff said in a release.

“We have continued making loans throughout this tough economic period and the additional funds will allow us to expand our loan efforts,” Graff said.

Soon you could be shopping for Microsoft products at a Microsoft store.

The software company announced this week that it plans to open stores despite the sagging economy.

The company hired David Porter, a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., as its corporate vice president of retail stores, according to The Associated Press. Porter was head of worldwide product distribution at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. since 2007.

Porter, who is set to start work on Tuesday, is charged with improving the PC-buying experience. The company said his first task will be to set the timing, locations and design of Microsoft-branded retail stores, which will sell computers installed with Microsoft software as well as other company products, the AP reports.

Valley Community Bancshares, parent of Valley Bank, this week reported earnings of $2.4 million, or $2.10 per share, for 2008. The earnings compare to $2.5 million for 2007.

At its January meeting, the company board approved a $1.05 per-share dividend, a 5 percent increase over the dividend paid in 2008.

At the end of December, Valley reported assets of $220 million, up from $208 million at the end of 2007.

According to a release, the bank has elected not to apply for funds from the Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program “due to the company’s current financial strength and long history of stability.”

Noting a drop of nearly 5 percent in earnings from 2007, President and CEO David Brown said 2008 earnings would have recorded a record 16 percent gain were it not for the sale, in 2007, of the bank’s South Hill branch.

Brown noted also that Valley continues to report no non-accrual loans.

A California company that's one of downtown Tacoma's major employers is reporting significantly improved earnings for last year's fourth quarter and for all of 2008.

Kidney dialysis provider DaVita Inc. this week reported fourth quarter 2008 earnings of $98.4 million compared with $85.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

For the full year, DaVita earnings were $374.2 million, or $3.52 a share compared with $340.3 million, or $3.17 a share for 2007.

DaVita is a major employer downtown with a billing office office housed in the former Schoenfeld's Furniture building at South 15th Street and Pacific Avenue.

The company's Web site shows DaVita continues hiring in Tacoma with 15 open positions listed for applications.

The company said its volume of treatments increased by nearly five percent in the fourth quarter to 52,484 per day.

The company last spring told local officials it is looking for room to expand its billing offices in the the Puget Sound area. The company has leased space in other buildings downtown in addition to the Schoenfeld's to accommodate its growing staff. Its lease on its main building downtown expires in 2011.

The company said it is looking for 200,000 square feet of space with room to expand to 300,000.

A task force of civic leaders is working to keep DaVita in Tacoma. The company said it is considering other Puget Sound communities in addition to Tacoma for its offices.

Sea-Tac-based Horizon Air, the nation's largest operator of Bombardier Q400 aircraft, are keeping in close contact with authorities investigating the crash of a Colgan Air Q400 Thursday night near Buffalo, N.Y.

That crash killed 50 people.

Horizon spokeswoman Jen Boyer said those authorities with the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane's operator and local authorities in New York have uncovered nothing that suggests a defect in the aircraft was responisble for the crash.

If investigators discover anything of concern, said Boyer, Horizon "won't hesitate to take whatever action is necessary for the protection of our passengers and the public."

Horizon flies 37 of the 74-seat Q400 propjets made in Canada by Bombardier. The airline is converting its entire fleet to the fuel-efficient planes. Horizon is phasing out its 18 CRJ-700 jets in favor of the Q400s.

Horizon briefly grounded the Q400s last year to inspect their landing gear after two incidents in Europe in which landing gear on SAS Q400s failed. No passengers were killed in those incidents. Horizon's inspections uncovered no problems with the landing gear on its Q400s.

"Safety is our number one priority," said Boyer.

So far investigators say they've not discovered any mechancial issues that may have led to the crash. The Q400 operated by Colgan Air as a Continental Express flight was nearly new having entered service last April.

The Q400 has an excellent safety record.

Some aviation analysts are speculating that the plane, preparing to land in Buffalo, may have been hit by icing in the wet and snowy weather Thursday night.

Ice buildup on a plane's wings or control surfaces can radically alter a plane's aerodynamic profile, making controlling the aircraft difficult.

The Q400 wings are equipped with pneumatic rubber leading edges that can be inflated to crack and shed the ice on the surface.

Shares of Colgan's parent, Pinnacle Airlines Corp., fell nearly 15 percent Friday in Wall Street trading. Stock in Horizon's parent company, Alaska Air Group, fell just 1.17 percent to $28.61 a share.

United States Attorney Jeffrey C. Sullivan announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington has decided to close its two-year investigation of Costco Wholesale Corp.

The company had been investigated for improper accounting practices concerning the issuance of backdated stock options, according to a joint release from the U.S. Attorney and the state Department of Financial Institutions.

In closing the investigation, according to the release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office considered that executives who benefited from the backdated stock options voluntarily reimbursed the company, declined bonuses and chose to surrender certain stock option benefits.

Also, the company has committed to implement an enhanced ethics and compliance program. For a look at that program, click here.

The two year investigation determined that between 1996 and 2003, Costco issued stock options to employees of the company, including executive officers. Some of the stock options were made effective as of a date on which Costco’s stock price was lower than the price on the date when the options were actually granted, according to the release.

As a result, Costco failed to properly account for the stock options on its books and records, including on financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filings failed to recognize the full expense to Costco associated with the issuance of these stock options.

“I am pleased that Costco will significantly enhance its compliance and ethics program to assure its shareholders, and the investing public, that similar accounting errors will not reoccur,” said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Sullivan. “This investigation, and the remedial steps taken by Costco, should send a message to other companies that it is critical to implement and maintain a robust compliance program.”

In a statement released Thursday, Costco President and CEO Jim Sinegal said: “In the fall of 2006, we voluntarily brought to the attention of regulators issues concerning our option grants and took an accounting charge to correct for errors. We have cooperated with the ... investigation and have notified them of Costco’s commitment to enhancing its compliance program.”

Sinegal and Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti voluntarily chose to forego bonuses and stock option related benefits totaling in excess of $1.2 million, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Costco’s promise to enhance its compliance and ethics program includes employing a Chief Compliance Officer.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.

Fifty-seven lots in a Lacey subdivision owned by Pierce County's largest homebuilder, Puyallup's Soundbuilt Homes Inc., are scheduled for foreclosure sale next month.

According to information from the Thurston County Auditor's Office, the lots in Horizon Point are set to go to auction on March 13, The Olympian reported.

The lots are mostly unoccupied, but two of them are the site of Soundbuilt model homes.

Soundbuilt President Garry Racca didn't return phone calls today.

Auditor's documents identified Seattle's HomeStreet Bank as the mortgage holder for the lots. That same paperwork lists the lots' value at more than $5 million.

The real estate agent for Soundbuilt's homes in the subdivision, Mark Kitabayashi, told the Olympia newspaper that Soundbuilt and the bank are negotiating over the lots and loan repayment schedules.

He speculated that the auction would not happen because the bank and the homebuilder will agree on new terms before the auction date.

Soundbuilt is Pierce County's largest homebuilder and the fourth largest in the Puget Sound area. In 2006, Soundbuilt constructed and sold more than 600 homes.

The collapse of the home building market nationwide has left many builders in precarious financial health.

In the past, Racca has said that Soundbuilt, while affected by the slowdown, will survive because the company has adjusted its business practices to cope with the smaller and slower market.

Scandinavia's SAS airline, hit by big recession-caused losses, is halting service between Sea-Tac Airport and Copenhagen later this year.

The airline, the first to offer service between Sea-Tac and Europe, has been flying the route for 42 years.

The airline notified travel agents earlier this week that it will halt its service, but hasn't yet set a date for the discontinuance. The airline has bookings on the route through September.

SAS executives early this week told financial analysts it will focus its service more tightly on serving Scandinavia and trim its overseas connections.

The airline is also ending service from Stockholm to Bangkok and between Copenhagen and New Dehli and Beijing.

Seattle is one of four destinations the airline serves in the United States. The others are Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

Traffic figures from Sea-Tac Airport show SAS's business here has dwindled in the last few months.

The airline in December 2008, for instance, carried 6,768 passengers from Sea-Tac to Copenhagen and back. That's 14.8 percent fewer than the 7,950 it carried in December 2007.

For all of 2008, the airline carried 136,968 on that route compared with 145,969 in 2007.

SAS has in recent years seen new competition from Europe from Lufthansa, which flies from Sea-Tac to Frankfurt, from Air France, which flies to Paris, and from Northwest Airlines, which flies from Sea-Tac to Amsterdam.

British Airways also provides non-stop service from Sea-Tac to London.

The Washington State Bar Association, American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the Federal Emergency Management Association have formed a partnership to assist low-income victims of recent storms in the state.

A toll-free legal aid line – the Disaster Legal Services Line, which allows callers to request the assistance of a lawyer – is now available toll-free at 866-519-7099, according to a release from the state bar group.

Lawyers willing to volunteer legal services for storm victims should also call the hotline.

WSBA staff will monitor the line daily, and a volunteer lawyer will contact the caller to gather more information and to match storm victims with volunteer attorneys. Eligibility for the program is limited to those victims who would otherwise be unable to afford the services of a lawyer.

In the aftermath of the December 2007 storms and floods, WSBA volunteer attorneys successfully assisted more than 100 individuals and families – primarily resolving renters' insurance matters and legal issues involving businesses destroyed in the storm, according to the release.

The types of legal assistance available include:

• Assistance with securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster victims;
• Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;
• Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
• Replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster;
• Assisting in consumer-protection matters, remedies, and procedures;
• Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems;
• Counseling on landlord/tenant problems;
• Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
• Preparing powers of attorney;
• Help with guardianship and other similar legal papers.

Pierce County continues to have the highest rate of foreclosures in the state when compared to other counties.

According to information released by RealtyTrac today, one in every 393 housing units was in some phase of foreclosure in January.

The California-based company tracks foreclosure-related filings including notices of default, notices of trustee sales and REO properties, which have been foreclosed on and are now owned by a bank. A housing unit includes houses, apartments and mobile homes.

The county foreclosure rate is higher than the national rate of one in every 466 housing units. The state averaged one in every 874 housing units in some state of foreclosure.

Pierce County counted a total of 800 homes in some state of foreclosure in January. That's an 18 percent increase from December and 55 percent increase from January 2008.

Seattle-based jeweler E.E. Robbins has opened an outpost in Tacoma.

The store near Costco and the Tacoma Mall at 2128 S. 37th St., Building C, opened a week ago, said the company.

E.E. Robbins specializes in engagement rings although it carries a few men's wedding bands and a small amount of other jewelry.

The three-store chain (the third branch is in Bellevue) began eight years ago in Seattle's Belltown.

The Robbins chain is a descendant of longtime Seattle jewelry store Ben Tipp Diamonds. Ben Tipp Diamonds was a premiere Seattle jewelry store in the '30s, '40s and '50s.

EE Robbins owner Eugene Robbins' grandfather, Ben Tipp, owned that store until he sold out in 1955.

Southwest Airlines says it started testing a new satellite-based airborne Internet service this week, beating rival Alaska Airlines to the punch.

Both Southwest and Alaska have made deals with California-based Row 44 to provide Internet services aboard their aircraft.

Alaska had equipped one of its Boeing 737s with the electronic equipment needed to test the Internet connectivity before Christmas, but the high demands of holiday traffic postponed the testing.

Southwest said it expects to have four of its 737s equipped with Row 44's satellite equipment by the end of this month.

The Row 44 system will allow passengers to connect to the Internet with their laptop computers, cell phones and personal digital assistants. Neither Southwest nor Alaska have decided on a fee structure for the service.

Southwest has teamed up with Yahoo! to create a homepage for the Internet service that includes such features as a flight tracker to plot their flight's progress and information about local events, weather and maps of their destinations.

Other airlines have begun limited airborne Internet service but using a system of cell towers scattered around the country.

Alaska opted for the satellite system because the cell tower system doesn't provide connections in remote areas of Alaska or over the Pacific between the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

Only in the Tri-Cities and the Southcenter/SeaTac area did hotel occupancy advance in 2008 as compared to 2007.

A year-end report out this week from Bellevue hospitality consultant Wolfgang Rood says statewide hotel occupancy fell 6.6 percent statewide in 2008 – and 22.8 percent in Pierce County.

Other regions that saw double-digit declines were Bellevue (19.5 percent), Everett (27.4 percent) and Southwest Washington (29.1 percent). The occupancy rate in downtown Seattle fell by 5.2 percent while Spokane marked an 8.4 percent dip.

In Pierce County in 2008, 43.8 percent of available hotel and motel rooms were occupied – compared to 56.7 percent of rooms throughout 2007.

The cost of a room in Pierce County fell 2.6 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, from $75.86 to $73.86. The statewide rate fell 1.0 percent from $114.92 to $113.76. Only in Southcenter/SeaTac, Southwest Washington and the Tri-Cities did the average rates increase.

Oregon hotels fared worse than those in the Evergreen State, Rood said. Statewide, Oregon hotels saw an average 16.1 percent decline in occupancy and a 5.1 percent decrease in rates. Central and Eastern Oregon pegged the greatest decline, with occupancy down 30.4 percent in 2008 over 2007. No region saw an increase in occupancy, and only suburban Portland hotels showed an increase in the average daily cost of a room.

Temporary labor provider TrueBlue Inc. closed 70 of its 920 branch offices in the fourth quarter of 2008 as demand for its laborers dropped sharply late last year.

The company, headquartered in Tacoma, said in a year-end report that the 70 branch closures brought the total of branches shuttered for the year to 102.

"The decline in demand for our services accelerated in the fourth quarter," said TrueBlue's chief executive Steve Cooper. "We will continue our focus on aggressive cost management and on maintaining our strong financial position," he said in a news release.

The company, formerly called Labor Ready, reported a net loss of $46 million or $1.08 a share for the last quarter of 2008.

Those results included a charge for loss of goodwill and intangible assets amounting to $61 million related to the company's acquisitions over the last five years.

Alaska Airlines and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal for a new 2-year labor agreement.

The proposed deal offers pay increases for flight attendants while keeping the flight attendants' insurance arrangements and work rules intact, the union said.

Flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA will vote whether to approve or reject the deal. No date for that vote has been set.

If the membership rejects the new pact, the union and the company will go back to the bargaining table this spring, said the union.

Unemployed workers in Washington could qualify for up to 13 weeks of additional jobless benefits, Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee announced earlier today.

The U.S. Department of Labor has notified the state that Washington qualifies for extended benefits because of the rising unemployment rate, according to an ESD release.

Extended benefits will become available starting Feb. 15. They will be paid only after eligible workers have first used other benefits.

The department is identifying workers who have exhausted both their regular and emergency unemployment benefits, the release said. Application packets will be sent beginning the week of Feb. 22, although benefits may be paid retroactively to Feb. 15.

State officials are asking that potential applicants not call the state’s unemployment call centers, which are already at capacity due to high call volume. Instead, unemployed workers are asked to wait until they receive an application packet in the mail and then send the applications directly to Olympia. After the applications for extended benefits are received, the department will notify workers if they qualify and how much their benefits will be.

Washington qualified for the extension under state and federal laws because the three-month average for the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was both above 6.5 percent and 10 percent higher than the same period last year, according to the release. During the October, November and December, the state’s unemployment rate averaged 6.6 percent.

The state collected general fund tax payments $62.5 million less – or 5.3 percent less – in the past month than estimated in November, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported late this afternoon.

Actual general fund collections between Jan. 11 and Feb. 10 were $1.106 billion. compared to the previously estimated $1.169 billion.

Revenue Act receipts were $53 million, or 4.7 percent, lower than expected; and non-Revenue Act receipts were down by $9.7 million, or 18.1 percent, from the prediction.

The cumulative shortfall since the November forecast stands at $196.8.

• The council statement said taxes paid by the retail trade sector were 12.7 percent below the level a year ago, following a decline of 13.4 percent the month before. Retail sector payments have declined for 12 of the past 13 months.

• Although food and beverage stores reported an increase of 9.5 percent in tax payments, all other retail sectors reported declines. The greatest of these came in furniture, down 30 percent; motor vehicle dealers, down 26.8 percent, gas stations and convenience stores, down 19.9 percent; clothing and accessories, down 18.6 percent; and building materials and garden supplies, down 17.9 percent.

• The construction sector marked a 9 percent decrease over the same month a year ago, and the manufacturing sector was down 20.6 percent in tax payments.

• Real estate excise tax payments were $11.7 million below the estimate, while real estate tax receipts excluding penalties and interest came in at 47 percent below the level of a year ago. The month before, December receipts declined 49.1 percent from the year before. Taxable real estate activity has fallen for 24 of the last 26 months on a year-over-year basis.

Alaska Airlines today asked the federal Department of Transportation to investigate whether its upstart rival, Virgin America, violates foreign ownership limits.

Those rules prohibit non-U.S. investors from owning more than 25 percent of a U.S. airline.

The issue of Virgin America's ownership delayed Virgin's start up in 2007 when other airlines raised questions about who would finance the fledgling San Francisco-based carrier.

Alaska counsel Keith Loveless said that recent media reports raise questions about whether Virgin America will remain a corporate U.S. citizen.

Virgin America is partly owned by financial partners headed by Britain's Sir Richard Branson. Branson is a founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores and Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue, Virgin Nigeria and VAustralia airlines.

A story in the Financial Times on Jan. 18 raised the question whether two major U.S. investors in Virgin America, Black Canyon and Cyrus Capital Partners, will exercise options to extract their $150 million investment in Virgin America. Their ownership stake would revert to the Virgin Group.

Virgin America said Alaska's suspicions are baseless.

"This is a meritless petition. We are a U.S. owned and controlled airline that is in full compliance with the law and all Department of Transportation regulations," said the airline.

"Nothing has changed in our ownership structure which was approved by the DOT. Should our ownership structure change in the future, we will of course notify the DOT in advance, so they can confirm our continuing compliance," Virgin said.

Denver's ProLogis has told the City of Tacoma it is halting plans to develop the former Northern Pacific Railroad shops site in South Tacoma into a 115-acre industrial park.

But the land's current owner, BNSF Railway, intends to continue the planning and permit-seeking process that ProLogis had begun, said Tacoma Community and Economic Development Director Ryan Petty.

ProLogis, smacked hard by the recession, has halted all of its early stage development planning worldwide, put millions of square feet of warehouses on the market and sold off its interest in Japan and China.

The company, the world's largest warehousing and distribution center developer, just today announced new losses even as it consolidates its business.

ProLogis spokeswoman Mo Sheahan said the company is moving swiftly to reshape the company to cope with feeble demand for new warehousing space.

Petty said he first became aware that ProLogis was likely to back out of its commitment to develop the land west of South Tacoma Way late last fall.

When he heard news that the company was having financial issues and that its executive ranks were changing, he called his ProLogis contact who gave him the likely bad news.

At a meeting last month among all the parties in the development program, ProLogis formally declared that it was no longer pursuing the development.

The good news is that BNSF has picked up the development where ProLogis left off, said Petty. The city is now renegotiating agreements with BNSF regarding the land.

Officially, BNSF had little to say about the land deal.

"The matter is under further review," said BNSF regional spokesman Gus Melonas.

The city's utilities arm, Tacoma Utilities, had been set to sell ProLogis land at the north end of the tract near Tacoma Utilities headquarters to provide access to the site from Highway 16.

ProLogis had hoped that when the business park was fully built out it would contain businesses that would employ between 572 and 950 workers.

The land, bordered by South 36th Street, 56th Street, Tyler Street and Burlington Way, was once the site of NOrthern Pacific's South Tacoma shops.

Those shops employed hundreds of workers maintaining locomotives and rail cars. The railroad quit using the shops in 1974, demolishing many of the red brick structures on the site.

Other than a few small users, the site has been unused for three decades.

Petty said BNSF has told him it wants to secure all of the development permits and zonings and then sell the property to another developer.

The city is not directly involved in marketing the property, he said.

"We have a Rolladex with lots of potential contacts on it and we're mentioning its availability to people we know at trade shows and elsewhere, but it's BNSF's property to sell," he said.

The Air Force has award Boeing Co. a nearly $3 billion contract to build 15 more of its four-engine C-17 transports.

The new contract will help keep the C-17 assembly line in Long Beach, Calif. open at least through the summer of 2010.

The Long Beach assembly plant, which Boeing inherited when it merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, is the last major aircraft assembly plant in California, a state that once was the aircraft manufacturing capital of the world.

Boeing is also attempting sell more of the transports to European governments still waiting for their first Airbus A400M military transport. That project now is predicted to be four years behind before the first production aircraft is delivered.

The C-17 is the mainstay of the Air Force transport fleet. Pierce County's McChord Air Force Base is a principal post for C-17s.

BNSF Railway's Stampede Pass line, a major connector between the Puget Sound region and Eastern Washington and the Midwest, is expected to reopen from storm damage in mid-March.

Torrential rains in January shut down the former Northern Pacific Railroad line from Auburn to the Yakima area when landslides blocked the route.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said several slides cut the track including one which swept away 250 feet of track, Trains Magazine reported.

The Stampede Pass route carries half-a-dozen trains a day providing a third route across the Cascades. The others are the former Great Northern route through the Cascade Tunnel near Stevens Pass and the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle route on the north side of the Columbia River.

About 75 BNSF workers are clearing the Stampede Pass route, which passes through Tacoma's pristine Green River watershed.

Gasoline prices inched upward again today in the Tacoma area, continuing a trend that began in mid-December when gas prices hit a four-year low here.

That upward march, albeit a slow one, has continued almost unabated for nearly two months.

According to TacomaGasPrices.com, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular in the Tacoma area today was $2.127 a gallon, up just .001 cent from Monday.

A week ago, the average price was more than 10 cents a gallon less, $2.02.

Gas is still available in the Tacoma area for less than $2 a gallon as several ARCO, Costco and Fred Meyer stations. The lowest price reported by TacomaGasPrices today was $1.93 a gallon at Costco in Puyallup.

Why are gas prices rising? Experts say two factors are in play:

*Producers are making efforts to cut back supplies.

*Demand is rising as a result of relatively low prices in spite of the deep recession. In December, for instance, gasoline purchase nationwide were just three percent less than the year before compared with 7.6 percent in November.

Prices still are significantly below last year. This week in 2008, gas in Tacoma averaged $2.95 a gallon.

As spring moves closer and driving increases, gas prices have historically begun to rise, usually peaking in late May. That didn't happen last year with gas prices continuing to accelerate through mid-July when they reached $4.35 a gallon here.

New figures from the Association of American Railroads show intermodal rail traffic dropped 12.9 percent last month.

Intermodal traffic includes shipping containers such as the ones handled by the ports of Tacoma and Seattle and highway trailers carried on train cars.

The total carload traffic, including other cargoes, on the U.S. rail network fell even farther, 17 percent, the association said.

The Port of Tacoma hasn't published its January figures yet, but for 2008, container traffic fell 3.3 percent to 1.861 million container units.

In December, that volume was off even more, 12.3 percent, port figures show.

The Snohomish County Council's grudging approval to begin negotiations with airlines over construction of a new terminal building at Paine Field last week could bring new airline service to Everett.

Two airlines, Horizon Air and Allegiant Airlines, have made inquiries to the county-operated airport to make preparations for service.

Horizon wants to fly to Portland and Spokane. Allegiant could fly from Everett to Las Vegas.

The airlines' flights could save Snohomish County residents a long and sometimes arduous commute to Sea-Tac Airport south of Seattle.

But airport neighbors are strongly opposed to the beginning of commercial flights.

The former Air Force base is home to the world's largest aircraft plant, Boeing's wide-body aircraft construction facility as well as to a major aircraft overhaul facility. Boeing jets regularly use the Paine Field runway for testing and delivery flights.

The council had opposed the idea of opening the field to airline use, but the Federal Aviation Administration told the council it faced the cutoff of federal aid for airport repair and construction if it refused to negotiate with airlines.

The field would need a new or expanded terminal to handle regular airline flights and the security screening that would accompany them.

Boeing Chief Financial Officer James Bell says the company may make "modest cuts" in airliner production rates in the Puget Sound area next year because of the ill health of the world economy.

Bell, speaking at a Cowen & Company conference in New York, said the production pace will depend on how well the economy is performing.

The company is predicting production 480 to 490 jetliners this year at Boeing final assembly plants in Renton and Everett.

The company produced 375 aircraft last year, a total reduced by a two-month strike at the company last fall. That Machinists Union strike halted all airliner production for 58 days.

You know you are in a recession when... Starbucks has a value menu.

Starbucks announced today that it will offer a selection of pairings that cost $3.95. The meals include either a tall latte and an oatmeal or coffee cake; or a tall drip coffee paired with a breakfast sandwich.

Two of the breakfast sandwiches will be new menu items: a bacon and egg sandwich with gouda cheese and a ham sandwich with egg and cheddar cheese.

"During these tough times, customers need to know that they are making a smart choice when they come to Starbucks," said Michelle Gass, executive vice president of marketing and category.

At regular prices a tall latte and oatmeal can cost as much as $5. The value meal like options will save people an average of $1.20, the Associated Press reports. The meals will be available beginning March 3.

The rest from The Associated Press:

Seattle-based Starbucks has struggled to keep its customers as the recession has deepened and has been promoting loyalty cards and other options to give customers more value without hurting its premium brand status.

The company first mentioned the pairings last month after it released fiscal first-quarter results that showed same-store sales — or sales at stores open at least a year — fell 10 percent in the U.S. The sales drop was the biggest yet for the company.

Starbucks also has had to make room for a new lower-priced competitor in the specialty-coffee industry since McDonald’s Corp. introduced espresso-based coffee drinks in its U.S. stores.

Earlier Monday, McDonald’s said its same-store sales in January jumped 7.1 percent worldwide and 5.4 percent in the U.S.

Aerolineas Argentinas has agreed to order a dozen 737-700 aircraft from Boeing, an Argentine goverment official says

Argentine's planning minister, Julio De Vido, said the state-owned airline had signed the purchase agreement last week for the new twin-engine aircraft.

The first of those new planes, built in Renton, will be added to the airline's fleet in April, he said.

Argentina's government expropriated Aerolineas Argentina from the Spanish airline holding company Marsans recently claiming the Spanish company had operated the airline badly.

I’m working on a story for this Sunday concerning South Sound restaurants. I’m wondering how they’re handling the recession – and what customers are finding.

So - have you noticed any great deals at cafes and restaurants hereabouts? Good specials? Happier happy hours? More casseroles and fewer prime tenderloins?

And have you changed your own restaurant habits because of the recession? Are you eating out less, or are you perhaps ordering from the appetizer menu where you once ordered a full meal ala carte?

Please send me an e-mail (with a daytime phone number) at c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com.

Thanks, and bon appetite.

On Sunday, I wrote a story about recession resistant industries and jobs that are relatively safe bets for people looking for new and stable career paths.

Here's two boxes that were inadvertently left out of the story. The first lists the Top 15 jobs for growth over the next eight years and the second lists 11 recession proof industries for the state.

Jobs expected to grow
These the top 15 jobs for growth through 2016, according to the state Employment Security Department.

Recession resistant industries
The Employment Security Department provided a list of the top 11 recession resistant industries from the last recession, 2001 to 2002. Though government and finance and insurance industries are on the list, they are unlikely to remain recession resistant through this year and next.

- Hospitals
- State government and educational services
- Total local government
- Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
- Local government Educational Services
- Federal Government
- Total State Government
- Ambulatory Health Care Services
- Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
- Finance and Insurance
- Management of Companies and Enterprises

SeaPort Airlines begins service to the two Oregon coastal cities of Astoria and Newport March 15 with three daily trips to Astoria and two daily trips to Newport.

The airline, which flies from Seattle's Boeing Field to Portland, will provide connecting service to the two cities. From Boeing Field, the one-way fare will be $179.

The two cities will subsidize the service with $4.5 million in state and federal grants.

Sea-Tac Airport has passed its annual Federal Aviation Administration inspection with no deficiencies for the sixth time in the last 10 years.

The 4-day inspection included all elements of the airport's training, safety and wildlife control programs including the airport's newly opened third runway.

"We're all proud of Sea-Tac's staff and their consistent safety record," said Port of Seattle commission president Bill Bryant.

"In the post-inspection briefing, the FAA reported that we continue to be a 'leading edge airport' when it comes to safety," said aviation director Mark Reis.

It's not just Starbuck's anymore that's opening multiple stores in the same location.

JCPenney Sunday will open its second store in Puyallup's South Hill Mall at 10 a.m. Sunday. The 20-year-old mall is one of a few in the country where the retailer has two stores, said Ann Marie Bishop, a JCPenney spokeswoman.

The second Penney's store is a reincarnation of the old Mervyn's store at the mall. Mervyn's left the mall in January 2007 when it was cutting back it retail network. The California retail later quit business entirely.

The 77,000-square-foot store will house the department store's women's, children's and shoe departments along with a jewelry section, a portrait studio and the store's optical department.

The new store will introduce a full-service Sephora beauty boutique March 1. That boutique will feature skincare, fragrance, makeup and accessory items.

The existing Penney's store, some distance from the remodeled new store, will remain open but will be remodeled in phases, said Bishop.

When the remodeling is complete at the 51,000-square-foot existing store in May, it will house Penny's men's department, a styling salon and a newly added home department with bedding and bath items, window coverings, decorative accessories and housewares. The remodeled store will have wider aisles improved lighting and new signs and graphics.

Meanwhile, the mall itself is expecting bids next week on remodeling work for the mall itself, said South Hill Marketing Director Linda DiLembo. The mall's owner, Cafaro, announced plans last month for an extensive updating of the property.

That remodeling includes new skylights, lighting, entrances, setting, signage and floor coverings. The mall's food court area will be see a major redesign.

A sophisticated navigation system provided by Kent's Naverus Inc., will give Tibet's capital, Lhasa, more reliable airline access to the outside world.

Naverus announced this week it has agreed to provide its Performance Based Navigation procedures to China Eastern Airlines to allow it nighttime and bad weather access to Lhasa's mountainous airport.

The capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region is sited among the towering Himalayan Mountains with an altitude of 12,000 feet.

The navigation procedures use Global Positioning System satellite signals coupled with precisely calculated software to thread arriving and department aircraft through the mountainous approaches to the airport even when visibility is poor.

Naverus is already providing navigation procedures for three other Tibetian airports, Linzhi, Bangda and Jiuzhaigou.

Two of the aviation world's superstars, Sir Richard Branson and Steven Udvar-Hazy, accepted delivery of startup airline V-Australia's first aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, in ceremonies at Boeing Field this morning.

The aircraft flew on to Los Angeles for further ceremonies with politicians and civic officials there this afternoon.

Besides the aircraft, the chief media magnets were billionaire adventurer and serial entrepreneur Branson, and aircraft leasing company magnate Hazy.

Branson, for those who've escaped hearing of his widely publicized exploits, is the founder of such ventures as Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores, and airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Nigeria, Virgin America, Virgin Blue and now V-Australia.

He's also an adventurer holding various globe-spanning records in boating and ballooning.

Hazy is chief executive and founder of the world's largest aircraft leasing company, International Lease Finance Co., and one of Boeing and Airbus' largest customers. Hazy has a wing of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. devoted to aerospace named after him.

The two came together because ILFC owns the first Boeing 777-300ER that V-Australia leases. That plane will begin the airline's new service between Los Angeles and Sydney Feb. 27.

Branson predicted a fare war on the U.S.-Australian route that could force one of the four competitors, most likely United Airlines, to drop out of the competition.

Besides United, V-Australia, Delta and Qantas fly between the two countries.

Sea-Tac's Airport's dominant airline, Alaska, ranked 30th, last among the major domestic carriers in on-time performance in January, a new report shows.

That report, from Portland's Flightstats.com, said Alaska flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule 71.23 percent of the time last month.

That put the SeaTac-based airline 30th among all 37 domestic airlines including regional and commuter carriers.

Topping the list in January were Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines.

Hawaiian flights were on time 90.47 percent of the time. Virgin America's on-time percentage was 83.96, and Southwest scored 83.37 percent on time.

At the bottom was regional carrier Comair with just 56.04 percent of its flights on time.

Alaska's sister regional carrier, Horizon Air, was 72.33 percent on time last month, ranking 29th on Flightstats' list.

A North Carolina developer is hoping for an early summer start on a project to convert a former mattress factory near the Tacoma Dome Transit Center into a 90-unit apartment project.

The developer, The Landmark Group of Winston-Salem, N.C., originally had proposed building condominiums on the site of the former Spring Air Mattress factory on Puyallup Avenue.

But the collapse of the condominium market nationwide sent the developer back to the drawing board to consider another use for the property it bought in October 2007.

=> Read more!

Bellevue's T-Mobile ranks best among the nation's cell phone carriers in customer care, a new survey from J.D. Power and Associates says.

T-Mobile scored 755 points out of 1,000 possible in the survey firm's study of 13,000 wireless customers who contacted their cell phone firm's customer service department in last year.

T-Mobile was followed by Verizon Wireless (749 points) and Alltel (744 points.)

"Much of T-Mobile's success can be attributed to its ability to reach the customer very quickly," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power.

"More than one-third of T-Mobile subscribers report waiting less than two minutes on hold to speak with a representative," he said.

Among the nation's largest cell phones suppliers, AT&T ranked fourth (722 points) and Sprint Nextel ranked fifth (657 points).

A Mideast aircraft leasing firm, LCAL, today canceled a $2.4 billion order of 16 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The canceled order was the second in two weeks for Boeing's much-delayed, high-tech 787. Russia's S7 Group last week ended its order for 15 Dreamliners.

A combination of a weak economy, production delays and a declining price for oil conspired to make the order less viable for LCAL, which is based in Dubai.

World economic doldrums have put airline finances on the skids as businesses reduce flying. Lower oil prices have reduced incomes in the Mideast and made the case for buying the 787 less compelling.

One of the 787's main advantages over existing aircraft is its promise to cut operating costs, particularly fuel expenses, by 20 percent.

That advantage was more important last summer when crude oil hit $147 a barrel, but crude has since declined to less than $50 a barrel.

The two order cancellations leave Boeing with 882 orders for the Dreamliner.

The plane's first flight had been scheduled for the third quarter of 2007, but it has now been delayed until the second quarter of this year.

Deliveries are running close to two years behind schedule.

I wonder if they're celebrating over at SeaTac's Alaska Airlines this week to learn that their business only declined 4.7 percent in January?

In an imploding economy, that's what could pass for good news these days.

Consider the positive part of that bad news released by the airline today:

*That decline in passenger traffic, 4.7 percent, was less than the airline's pullback in capacity, 8.9 percent.

*That means Alaska's planes were fuller in January 2009 than in the relatively prosperous January 2008.
In January last year, the airline filled 68.8 percent of its seats. In January this year, it filled 71.7 percent.

*Compared with most of its competitors, Alaska's figures were encouraging. Southwest Airlines, for instance, saw its January business drop 9.7 percent on a 4.4 percent capacity decline. The airline filled just 62.8 percent of its seats last month compared with 64.2 percent a year ago.

Continental Airlines saw its business fall 11 percent on a 6.5 percent capacity drop. United Airlines nearly matched that with a 10.9 percent traffic decline, but the Chicago-based carrier trimmed its capacity by 10.5 percent.

Pierce County’s median home price in January remained well under where it was a year ago at this time, but figures released Wednesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service showed a few encouraging signs for homeowners and sellers.

The median price for residential homes and condos came in at $235,000 last month – unchanged from December, up from November, but still down almost 10 percent from January 2008. The county’s median home price has declined year-over-year for 15 of the past 16 months.

The county reported 659 pending sales, up 26 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale dipped 18 percent from last January to 6,183.

In King County, the median price dropped 8 percent over the year to $364,137. Pending sales were down 11 percent over the year and active listings decreased by almost 3 percent.

Both the shrinking inventory and increased pending sales in Pierce County are signs that the market might be stabilizing, said Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research in Pullman.

A larger than usual number of homes for sale has been one of the factors keeping prices low. The increase in pending sales, however, suggests that some demand may be coming back, Crellin said.

But he’s not terribly optimistic.

“I’m delighted the numbers are as good as they were, but I’m not sure it’s going to be maintained especially with the national economy in as severe of a recession,” he said.

=> Read more!

Boeing union engineers and technical workers at the company's Everett plant rallied at lunchtime today to offer support to 700 union engineers at the company's Wichita, Kan. plant.

Those engineers vote Thursday whether to accept a Boeing contract offer. The engineers union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, has recommend the Wichita workers turn down Boeing's offer. SPEEA is based in Tukwila.

Boeing workers in Wichita have been working under a contract extension since early December.

The union claims the Wichita proposal offers annual raises two percent lower than the five percent raises union professionals won here last year. The Wichita contract offer also eliminates the company's defined benefit pension program for new hires.

Boeing attempted to get workers in the Puget Sound area to accept that pension change here, but later withdrew that proposal in favor of the existing pension arrangemet.

Upstart San Francisco-based carrier Virgin America has lost $270 million since it began service 18 months ago, new figures from the airline reveal.

In the first three quarters of 2008 alone, the company, backed in part by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, has lost $175.4 million.

The privately held airline, which was forced to disclose the financial information by the U.S. Department of Transportation, said the losses were in line with its expectations of the costs of starting a new airline.

While the losses may be leaving Virgin America's investors unhappy, its fight to steal market share from established carriers such as SeaTac-based Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines, has created a fare war along the West Coast.

Virgin America is now advertising Sea-Tac-to-San Francisco fares as little as $49 each way not including taxes. On a connecting route to San Diego from Sea-Tac, it is offering a $59 one-way fare and a $59 fare to Los Angeles.

Alaska and other competitors have matched those fares, a fact that is not helping their bottom line finances.

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey D. Goltz, a 30-year veteran of the attorney general's office, is the new chairman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

"I have no doubt that Jeff has the leadership and strong ethical background that is required to successfully manage this dynamic and complex agency," said Gov. Chris Gregoire, herself a former Washington attorney general.

Goltz has an extensive background with the WUTC where he served as division chief for the attorney general's office for 11 years.

Goltz also served with the Department of Ecology as an assistant attorney general and division chief. He also served in the state's revenue department.

The WUTC regulates utility and transportation rates throughout the state.

Amazon.com Inc.began offering game downloads, stepping up competition with Yahoo! Inc. and other gaming Web sites, Bloomberg News reports.

Consumers can download and play more than 600 games for $9.99 each or less, the Seattle-based company announced Tuesday.

Amazon.com has expanded into electronic content over the past few years, offering music downloads and streaming videos. In October, the company bought Reflexive Entertainment Inc., which makes and distributes video games.

The service is "our first step into the downloadable games space," the company said in a blog posting. Every game comes with a free 30-minute trial, Bloomberg said.

In an attempt to reacquaint consumers with its signature meal, Denny’s offered free Grand Slam breakfasts for eight hours on Tuesday.

And the customers showed up. Restaurants around the South Sound had lines out the door and full parking lots.

The meal, which includes pancakes, eggs, bacon strips and sausage links, is one of the restaurants best-selling menu items.

The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company ended the giveaway, having served up 2 million free Grand Slams around the country, according to The Associated Press.

News Tribune editor Cole Cosgrove tried to get in on the promotion after seeing the ads on television this past weekend.

At 10:30 a.m., about 20 people stood outside the Denny’s at 5924 Sixth Ave. in Tacoma. The parking lot was full, and three other cars circled like hungry sharks. "I took one lap and headed for the exit," he said.

Copy editor Rick Arthur, however – who also saw all the Denny’s spots on Sunday’s Super Bowl telecast – says there was no waiting for a counter seat when he popped into the chain’s outlet in Fife, right off Interstate 5, about 12:45 p.m., though the entryway was full and the line for those awaiting tables was out the door.

Denny’s has promoted the freebie heavily, with a 30-second ad that aired during the third quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday, another 15-second ad during the post-game show and a full page ad in USA Today’s Monday editions.

The company reported 14 million hits on its Web site between Sunday night and Monday morning — the site read “service unavailable” at midday Tuesday. By late afternoon Tuesday, when the site was back up, Denny’s had recorded 40 million hits since Sunday night, according to the AP.

With the promotion only under way a few hours, spokeswoman Cori Rice said restaurants in Miami, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles were reporting long lines and other locations said they were very busy but under control.

“From all reports, it’s going extremely well,” Rice said.

Construction on the eight-story Midtown Lofts condominium project has halted after construction financing reached its limit.

The 50-unit building at 1142 Fawcett Avenue is about 65 percent complete, said Tom O'Connor, managing partner of Fawcett LLC, the company developing the project.

The company's lender, Frontier Bank, is considering whether to extend the term of the construction loan, O'Connor said.

The project originally received an 18-month construction loan from Frontier that was extended last fall.

That extension ran out at the end of the year. Fawcett LLC is seeking another extension.

New conservative appraisals of the project have erected obstacles in the building's path, O'Connor said.

Those new appraisals are less than half the amount already committed to the building, said O'Connor.

The bank now estimates that under the current depressed market conditions, selling out the building will take about four years, said O'Connor.

The 50 condos were to sell for prices between the mid-$200,000s to the $800,000s for a three-bedroom penthouse.

The developers have considered converting the building to apartments, but the building, made of concrete and steel, may be overbuilt for that use, O'Connor said.

The developers have amassed a list of about 120 potential buyers who have expressed strong interest in the building. No units are yet sold.

The building's construction lender, Frontier Bank, reported losses in the last quarter of nearly $90 million. In the building and construction sector of its portfolio, non-performing loans increased from $183 million to $359 million.

Between 40 and 50 construction workers were laid off the job late last week when the funding ran out.

In retrospect, said O'Connor, one of the developers' mistakes was obtaining the construction loan five months before actual construction began. That delay left the developers with too little time to get the building finished within the loan's time limits.

SeaTac's Alaska Airlines, which has steadily expanded its reach beyond the West Coast since 2001, is adding yet another destination, Austin, beginning in August.

Alaska's daily service will fill a hole left by American Airlines, which discontinued its non-stop service between the two cities.

The new service will begin Aug. 3 with a daily departure from Sea-Tac Airport at 9:45 a.m. arriving in the Texas capital at 3:40 p.m. The returning flight will leave Austin at 4:40 and arrive back in Seattle at 6:45 p.m.

Alaska also announced today that it is enlarging its repertoire of flights to Hawaii. The airline will inaugurate new service from Portland to Maui beginning Aug.7. That service will operate Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Alaska began service to Hawaii from Seattle in October 2007. The airline currently offers daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii and between Anchorage and Oahu and Maui.

The state Employment Security Department call center will now be open on Saturday to deal with the growing number of people applying for unemployment benefits.

Applicants now may call on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon in addition to the normal 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday schedule, the department said.

Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said in a news release that expanding call hours is just the latest move by the department to handle the rapidly growing workload created by the nation’s economic recession.

“We are hiring and training new staff as fast as we can and exploring every option to process unemployment claims faster,” Lee said.

Employment Security has nearly doubled its intake agents in the last year, with another 27 newly trained agents being added in February and another 50 in April.

The number of employees who investigate and make decisions about complicated and disputed unemployment claims also has increased, by more than 20 percent, the agency said.

Lee said there are some things claimants can do to avoid delays and reduce the number of phone calls.

1. File your initial unemployment claim online at www.esd.wa.gov.

2. When calling the hotline (800-318-6022), use a landline rather than a cell phone, because there will usually be a wait time that could use up cell-phone minutes. And don’t hang up and redial, because it puts the caller back at the end of the line.

3. Provide complete and accurate information in your application, including your Social Security number; the name and address of all of your employers during the last two years, regardless of how long you worked there; the dates you worked for all of your employers during the last two years; and the reason you became unemployed.

4. File weekly claims on Monday through Thursday, avoiding the Sunday rush that sometimes clogs the automated phone system.

5. Use the automated features on the phone system (800-318-6022) on Monday through Thursday evenings for many routine matters, after the “live” calls are done for the day.

Seattle's Hotel Concepts has scaled back its plans for a hotel on the site of the old Heidelberg Brewery near the University of Washington Tacoma.

Han Kim, principal with Hotel Concepts, said the new plans call for a 140-room Holiday Inn Express on the site. As recently as last July, Hotel Concepts had proposed a 160-room Holiday Inn Express and a 72-room Candlewood Suites hotel for the site.

The Brewery District hotel plans have been on the drawing boards for a couple of years now in several forms. The developer has modified those plans at least twice to make the building more compatible with the old warehouse area near the university.

No groundbreaking date has yet been set.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air says it will make Bellingham the home base for two of its MD-80 jets and hire dozens of workers to service those planes.

Allegiant, which first began service from Bellingham four years ago with service to Las Vegas, said it will employ 80 workers, pilots, ramp agents, customer service workers, aircraft technicians and flight attendants in Bellingham.

Allegiant has made a profitable business of linking smaller markets to resort destinations such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Florida.

Allegiant flies from Bellingham to Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Oakland and San Diego, Calif., Phoenix and Reno, Nev.

The airline plans a job fair Feb. 9 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Quality INn Baron Suites at 100 Kellogg Road in Bellingham.