One sign that the first flight of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is finally approaching:

Boeing this week began the first of a three-stage ground testing program to check the aircraft's systems in preparation for its first flight.

During that phase, the first test aircraft will be hooked up to a computer and "flown" in a dry run of the first flight.

The pre-flight testing will include two more phases of what Boeing calls 'gauntlet testing" to try out the aircraft's readiness to leave the ground.

Boeing has promised to put the first airplane into the air by the end of June. The plane's first flight is almost two years behind schedule because of problems with incomplete work by suppliers and because of parts shortages and technical issues.

The company also has scheduled a day-long briefing for aviation writers next week to discuss the flight testing process, another sure sign that the first flight may actually occur on the new schedule.

You’ve only got a few hours left to get a free scoop of ice cream during Ben & Jerry’s Annual Free Cone Day (and what a nice day for some ice cream).

Look for your freebie at Ben & Jerry’s at 1410 Lake Tapps Parkway E. in Auburn; 2800 Southcenter Mall in Tukwila; and at 4635 Point Fosdick Dr. at Uptown Gig Harbor. And look for a few new flavors: Chocolate Macadamia, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road and Orange & Cream.

Should you miss out on the 31st Annual Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day today, then mark your calendar for April 29 (that’s a week from tomorrow) when Baskin-Robbins presents its annual “31 Cent Scoop Night,” when a scoop of ice cream costs but three dines and a penny - that’s 31 cents more than Ben & Jerry’s, but then you get to pick from 31 flavors. You’d think they might have had it on the 31st, but what with April containing only 30 days, I understand.

What I’d also humbly suggest is that the company, when promoting its product in the Tacoma area, make note of the fact that Baskin-Robbins had its very beginnings here in town, way back when.

I mean, it’s interesting that Randy Quaid, Leeza Gibbons, Rosie O’Donnell and President Barack Obama each once worked as B-R scoopers; and that Diddy got his start in show business by performing in a B-R commercial at age 2; and that the company has launched more than 1,000 flavors over the past 64 years – but how about mentioning the company’s South Sound roots in the publicity packet?

Or maybe they could concoct a flavor to honor those beginnings: I say we start with Mount Tacoma Truffle, Point Defiance Date, Commencement Bay Clam Sherbet and Washington State History Museum Mummy Gummi.

Any other ideas?

Will the Weyerhaeuser Co. we know today resemble the company that operates in the post-recession economy?

The company's CEO, Dan Fulton, addressed that question in remarks to reporters recently. But we didn't have room in the paper to publish all of his answers

We think his views deserve airing, so here are the questions and answers that ended up on the cutting room floor after we edited our Tuesday Fulton interview.

Does Weyerhaeuser have any particular strengths that will allow it to capitalize on the recovery when it comes?

Our company has historically enjoyed higher margins than average and that is a function of both our location and our land position. We are in some markets where land is highly constrained, and that ends up getting folded into the value of the homes.

Some companies in the wood products business have gotten out of the land and timber business or shed their production facilities to become pure landholders and tree growers. Weyerhaeuser remains in both. Will the company sell off it production facilities?

The manufacturing activities today will remain as long as they perform. There are some investors who want a pure play, but I think most investors would be happy if we do well with our timberlands and we bring along other businesses that generate a lot of cash and earnings. And we have the room to do that. There’s a lot of operating leverage in our system when the market recovers because of our scale.

Amtrak has hired a consultant to study the feasibility of restoring passenger train service from Salt Lake City to Seattle via eastern Oregon, Portland and Tacoma.

Amtrak operated a daily train on that route called the Pioneer until 1997 when it was discontinued because the service was losing money.

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo inserted an amendment into an Amtrak funding bill requiring that study.

Amtrak has hired J.L. Patterson & Associates to do the study, which is due for completion by October.

Boeing Co. has completed fabrication of the first set of new wings for its latest generation of the 747 jumbo jet.

The new wings are designed to improve the fuel economy, range and aerodynamic efficiency of Boeing's new 747-8 aircraft.

The 747-8 is the third generation of the venerable jumbo jet. The new jet is designed to carry more passengers and cargo more comfortably and efficiently that the last generation of the 747, the 747-400.

The 135-foot-3-inch wings were built in the company's Everett plant. The 747-8 is still months away from its first flight.

The sad saga of the ambitious plan to build a new hotel on downtown Tacoma's Thea Foss Waterway moved to a new chapter this week.

Both the Thea Foss Waterway Authority and the hotel site owners this week are talking with prospective investors about taking over the oft-delayed project.

"There are several parties interested in moving it forward," said Don Meyer, the authority's executive director.

Meyer met with one group of investors Monday to discuss the sale of property.

The authority sold the property on the west side of the waterway between the Esplanade condominium project and the Foss Landing residential project last year to a group led by Seattle hotelier Bob Thurston.

Thurston's group obtained all of the permits needed to start construction, said Meyer, but Thurston's bank declined to proceed in such an uncertain business environment.

Under a development agreement Thurston's group signed with the authority, the development group is obligated to build a hotel on the site. That development agreement will bind any new owner to those same conditions unless the agreement is renegotiated.

The authority still wants a hotel on the site, said Meyer.

The hotel, first conceived half-a-dozen years ago, has met repeated roadblocks to its construction.

The first prospective hotel developer walked away from the project, and the second developer, Thurston, has spent years repeatedly redesigning the project in an attempt to make it appealing for banks to finance its construction.

First Thurston envisioned a pure hotel project much like his Inn at the Market at Seattle's Pike Place Market. Then he redrew his plans to create a hybrid condominium-hotel project with high-end residences atop the boutique hotel.

When the condo market collapsed, he again restructured his plan to reduce the number and price of the condo units in the building.

In the meantime, the housing market soured, and the banking crisis tightened the spigot on financing.

Now, at the end of his string, Thurston, is looking for at developer to pick up from where he's leaving off and to carry the project to fruition.

Both Thurston and the waterway authority have been actively seeking new owners for the project.

Meyer said a new owner would be smart to continue Thurston's work because starting from scratch again with all of the permitting required on such a waterfront project would take years to duplicate, Meyer said.

Meyer contends that studies support the need for another hotel downtown. The 100 or so rooms planned for the waterfront property wouldn't inject too much new supply into the marketplace, he contended.

A study for the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center last year concluded the assembly facility was losing convention opportunities because there are too few hotel rooms within walking distance for the convention center. The Foss project would be about two blocks from the center.

The pending decision by Russell Investments whether to keep its headquarters in Tacoma or to move it to Seattle, could play a big role in whether the hotel project moves forward.

Without Russell and the well-to-do clients it brings to Tacoma, the market for a waterfront boutique hotel could be considerably diminished.

Russell, which last week laid off 400 workers worldwide because of reversals in its investment advisory business, had been scheduled to make a decision before the end of last year on the headquarters question. Now it says that decision will come some time this year.

Advocates for both Tacoma and Seattle's downtown's have reportedly met with Russell recently to press their cases for locating in their cities.

The state's Employment Security Department is advising workers to be sure they know the difference between an "employee" and an "independent contractor."

The latter are viewed as self employed and are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

An independent contractor is not under the supervision of and control of an employer, has a contract specifying the start and end dates of the service, brings more than his personal labor to the job, works for more than one payer at a time, has a business and other licenses and is responsible for filing state and federal reports and taxes.

Knowing the difference when they are hired can save a lot of time and frustration if the workers end up applying for unemployment benefits.