It’s been exactly 101 years since Anna Jarvis organized the first observance of Mother’s Day – in West Virginia – and 95 years since Congress officially designated a day to honor mothers nationwide.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation, here’s a look at Mother’s Day 2009 in the U.S.:

• $123.89 - amount the average American will spend for Mother’s Day
• $14.1 billion - total amount expected to be spent
• 83 percent - of Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day
• 62.4 percent - of Americans will buy a gift for mom, stepmom or wife
• 1.6 percent - will buy a gift for a godmother
• 66.8 percent - will buy flowers
• 54.8 percent - will make an outing for dinner or brunch
• $2.7 billion - amount that will be spent on dinner or brunch
• $416 million - value of cut flowers by 15 leading states
• 82.8 million - number of mothers in 2004
• 55 percent - of 15-44-year-old women who were mothers in 2006
• 80 percent - of women 40-44 who were mothers in 2006
• 2.1 - number of births-per-woman in 2006
• 4.3 million - number of registered births in 2006
• 112,513 - births to women 40 and older in 2006
• 494 - births to women over 50 in 2006
• 25 - average age when giving birth for the first time in 2006
• 40 percent - of births that were a mother’s first in 2006
• 18,674 - number of births in 2006 that were a mother’s eighth or more
• 38,568 - number of births in 2006 that did not occur in hospitals
• 387,798 - births in August, the highest of any month
• 13,482 - average births every Wednesday, the highest birth-day of the week
• 2007 - the year in which Jacob and Emily were the most popular names for newborns
• 5.3 million - number of stay-at-home moms in 2008
• 757,616 - number of childcare centers in the U.S. in 2006
• 67 percent - women who gave birth for the first time between 2001 and 2003 who worked during pregnancy (44 percent during 1961-1965)
• 83 percent - of working mothers returned to their former employer within a year of giving birth
• 9.8 million - single mothers living with children under 18
• 58 percent - of children under 6 who ate breakfast with their mother every day in 2006

You still can't describe a trip to Sonic: America's Drive-In on South Hill as "fast food."

This afternoon's lunch trip broke down like this:
- 14 minutes in the southbound left-turn lane on Meridian Avenue
- 5 minutes on 136th Street East waiting to turn into the parking lot
- 11 minutes to get through the parking lot to the queue for a drive-in parking stall
- 13 minutes in the queue
- 5 minutes to get the food delivered to car
- 18 minutes to eat the Extra Long Chili Cheese Coney, large Tater Tots, Reese's Ice Cream Blast and medium Diet Cherry Limeade
- 6 minutes to get out of parking lot

Total lunch time: 72 minutes – not counting travel time.

The Sonic opened April 27.

Washington's average prices for a gallon of unleaded regular gas have risen to the highest among the 48 states, lower only than prices in Alaska and Hawaii.

With fuel prices rising swiftly as summertime approaches, the average price in Washington is now $2.392 a gallon, according to Tacomagasprices.com.

That compares with $1.896 in Arizona, the lowest average price in the country.

Washington gas prices typically are in the upper 25 percent of gas prices among the states. Part of the reason for the high prices has to do with taxation.

At 55.9 cents a gallon for total state, local and federal taxes, Washington gasoline taxes are the second highest in the country. Only New York with a total tax burden of 59.7 cents a gallon, has higher gas taxes.

The average tax per gallon nationwide is 45 cents a gallon.

Supply and demand also plays a significant role. When local refineries curtail production in the spring to convert from winter to summer blend gasoline, the demand versus supply equation is altered affecting the price.

Washington isn't always among the most expensive states for gas. Last December when prices dropped below $2 a gallon, Washington's prices fell significantly below the national average.

In Tacoma, the unleaded regular price jumped three cents from Wednesday to Thursday according Tacomagasprices.com.
The average here is now $2.394 a gallon according to the Web site.

That price is nearly nine cents a gallon more than a week ago.

In Olympia, the Web site reported average gas prices Thursday of $2.391 a gallon.

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Economists attempting to forecast the future of the U.S. economy disagree over what letter of the alphabet a chart of the economy will resemble.

Some economists say it will look like an L: a steep decline followed by a period of no growth or very slow growth.

Some say it will look like a V: a steep decline followed by a steep recovery.

Others say it will look like a W: a steep decline, with a slight upward tick due to the federal government's stimulus package, a drop back down and a steady climb up.

During a speech this morning at a meeting of Lakewood United, I asked the audience members to predict which letter would come true. The vote came out:

L = 4 votes
V = 5 votes
W = 19 votes

The people have spoken.

A major Boeing supplier predicts the planemaker could drop its 737 production rate at Renton to as few as 21 a month next year.

That compares with the present production pace of 31 a month for the popular single-aisle jet.

That prediction comes from GKN Aerospace chief executive Marcus Bryson, in an article on FlightGlobal.com. Bryson recently returned from a tour of U.S. aerospace companies.

Boeing has yet to announce any planned cuts in the production rates of its 737. The company did announce last month that it will reduce its 777 production to five a month in Everett and postpone planned production rate accelerations on its 747 and 767 jets.

Boeing spokesman Jim Proux refuted the prediction of a major 737 rate cut saying the company has no plans to slow down the assembly line. Any deferrals of 737 deliveries, he said, will allow other airlines to move up in the queue to receive new planes.

Airbus, Boeing's main rival, has announced reductions in production plans for its A320 family of aircraft, a direct rival to the 737. Airbus now is producing 34 A320s a month.

Airlines, suffering from the side effects of the recession, are looking to delay capital expenditures as passenger traffic drops. The drop in fuel prices from last year has also diminished the incentive for those airlines to mothball older, less efficient aircraft in favor of economical new 737s.

An unidentified airline customer or customers this week canceled orders for 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing revealed in its weekly order update today.

That brings total Dreamliner cancellations to 57. With a Gulf Air order for eight more of the super efficient twin-engine jetliners, Boeing's order book is down 49 in the Dreamliner column this year.

The company still counts orders for 861 of the new jets.

Boeing doesn't reveal which customers canceled orders.
The only airline on Boeing's 787 order book with 25 Dreamliner orders is German low-cost carrier Air Berlin.

On the positive side, Boeing booked new orders for five 777s from Turkish Airlines and 13 737s from yet-unidentified customers in the past week.

The Dreamliner cancellations give Boeing a year-to-date order total of minus one.

Boeing's rival, Airbus, is reporting net orders of 11 aircraft for the year.

Both planemakers have suffered order cancellations and deferrals this year as airline customers struggle with lower traffic and fares.

The Dreamliner's first flight is scheduled from Everett's Paine Field by the end of June. That flight is now nearly two years behind schedule.

In the past being named among the best restaurants in the nation's airports would have been an honor equivalent to being selected as the best seafood place in Midland, Texas.

But with recent renovations and enhancements at airports nationwide emphasizing local food, the naming of a Sea-Tac eatery as among the best airport restaurants in the country is indeed an honor.

The prize in this case goes to Sea-Tac Airport's Ivar's in the airport's central terminal. The honor comes from Frommers.com, the travel guide people.

Ivar's was among 13 restaurants in terminals around the country that won the honor.

Among other restaurants honored nationwide were Encounter at LAX, Ike's Food and Cocktails in Minneapolis, Harbor Village and Ebisu in San Francisco, Legal Seafoods in Boston and Gallagher's Steakhouse in Newark.

Here's a link to the best airport restaurants story.