The second flight test subhunting Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft took off on its first flight today from Renton Field where it was built.

The plane's flight ended with a landing at Seattle's Boeing Field at 1:28 p.m. The plane had left the ground at 10:32 a.m.

While on its first flight, the aircraft made a low pass over Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, one of the bases where the Poseidon will be based when it becomes operational.

The first P-8A took off from Renton on April 25. The Navy has asked Boeing to build five test aircraft, three for flying tests and two for ground testing.

The second test aircraft, S!, is undergoing strength testing at Renton.

The P-8A is a militarized version of Boeing's best-selling 737 twin jet airliner. The P-8A is equipped with advanced electronics to find submarines under water and a bomb bay to house weaponry to destroy the submarine.

The Navy has ordered 117 of the planes. India is also ordering the aircraft for its maritime surveillance needs.

Costco Wholesale's seven percent same store sales decline in May isn't as alarming as it first appears when you peer behind the raw numbers.

That sales drop raised some alarm among Wall Street analysts who had expected a better performance this week from Costco.

But the sales declines were not so much about customers buying fewer goods, but the goods, particularly gasoline, selling for lower prices this year.

Gas is now selling for substantially less than it was at this time last year, thus the drop in gross sales. Without the effect of the change in gas prices, Costco domestic sales would have dropped only one percent at stores open last year.

Overall sales were also deflated by the relatively strong dollar. If the dollar exchange rate had remained at the same level as last year, Costco reported, foreign store sales would have climbed seven percent.

The order pipeline was dry again this week for The Boeing Co.

The aerospace company reported no new orders for commercial aircraft this week. That leaves Boeing with zero net orders for 2009.

The company has booked 60 new orders this year, but airlines have canceled a like number, most of them for the much-delayed 787 Dreamliner.

SeaTac-based Alaska and Horizon airlines remained in the top tier of domestic airlines in May in on-time performance according to new statistics from Flightstats.com.

Horizon flights last month were nearly 88 percent on time, and Alaska flights were nearly 85 percent on time.

Those on-time percentages put Horizon in fifth place among the nation's 36 airlines and Alaska in 10th place.

That 10th place finish for Alaska puts it in first place among the nation's seven traditional "legacy" carriers such as Continental, Delta, Southwest and United.

On-time performance is defined as within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

At the top of Flightstats' list for May was Hawaiian Airlines with 89.83 percent of its flights on time. In 36th place was Comair, a regional airline, with 65.49 percent of its flights on time.

Demand is up and donations are down.

So Goodwill is looking for assistance.

“More people are coming to our stores, which is a good thing, but in these tough economic times, people are tending to hold on to items more. That causes us to dip into our reserves,” said spokesman Matthew Erlich earlier today.

“We need help,” he said. “We need clothes that people can wear, shoes and household items.”

According to a recent release, the agency this year expects to see a 20 percent increase from the 5,200 people – a record in itself – who benefited from Goodwill training and job-placement services in 2008. Those services are provided as a result of sales of donated items at Goodwill stores.

Last year, the agency received 48.7 million pounds of donated items from people in its 15-county Washington catchment area. This year, said Tacoma Goodwill CEO Terry Hayes, donations “simply haven’t kept pace with the need.”

Attended donation stations are available at some WalMart stores in the South Sound and at all Goodwill stores. A complete list of locations where donations may be left is available at www.tacomagoodwill.org.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to a call of a man trapped at 9:25 this morning in the yard of metals dealer and recycler Simon Metals LLC, formerly Joseph Simon & Sons, at 2202 River St. in the Tideflats.

Pierce County Medical examiner identified the man in his 40s as Luis Rodriguez of Tacoma. Tacoma Fire spokeswoman Jolene Davis said he died at the scene after being trapped under materials.

Fire officials were briefing what looked like Rodriguez's family members around noon at the scene.

Twenty firefighters and the department’s technical rescue team answered the call Friday morning, Davis said, as well as representatives of the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office and some state agencies. The Medical Examiner continued to work at the scene through the late afternoon.

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has begun investigating the incident, the conclusions of which will not be available for more than a month, said spokeswoman Elaine Fischer.

Fischer said there was another work-related incident – originally thought to be another fatality – involving electrical work at a farm in Eastern Washington on Friday.

"Two fatalities in one day is unusual," Fischer said. "On average, there are about two a week in the state."

L&I receives claims of about 100 deaths attributed to work-related injuries and illnesses in Washington each year.

In 2008, motor vehicle accidents were the most common cause of deaths reported to L&I, followed by machinery-related accidents and those involving a worker being struck by an object.

An official at Simon Metals said that the firm had no immediate comment on the incident. The company will be closed until Monday.