The press release from the office of State Attorney General Rob McKenna today minces no words.

"A new type of bottom-feeder is chomping at homeowners struggling to keep up with their loan payments,” McKenna said.

And some of those bottom feeders have themselves been chomped, as Washington has joined the Federal Trade Commission and other states in “a crackdown on foreclosure rescuers and loan modification businesses that charge hefty upfront fees and often provide no help.”

Five state cases were announced Wednesday McKenna’s Consumer Protection Division. Also, four other businesses that provide mortgage-related services have been issued civil investigative demands, which are similar to subpoenas.

According to a press release, McKenna’s office this week is also communicating with 138 state businesses that market foreclosure assistance, loan modification services or other mortgage-related services – to inform them about state laws.

=> Read more!

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways today kicked off what some analysts say could be the beginning of a fall airfare war.

The two airlines are offering some roundtrip coast-to-coast airfares below $200. Most other airlines have matched those fares on competitive routes.

Air travel typically drops during the fall, and airlines are looking to stimulate already lagging traffic with bargain fares.

The opening of Sea-Tac Airport's third runway last fall and the recession-caused drop in air traffic is helping the airport with a couple of long-deferred runway projects.

The airport is completely rebuilding its longest runway, the nearest one to the terminal, this summer. And now the airport says it may do the same with the center runway two years from now.

That center runway is the second longest at the airport at 9,426 feet. It was opened in 1972. The FAA rates its pavement as being in fair condition. The runway now being rebuilt was rated as poor.

The first runway being rebuilt now dates from 1944, but it has been overlayed with new asphalt several times, the last time in 1992.

Thanks to federal economic stimulus money, more than two dozen yard trucks at the Port of Tacoma now spew less toxic diesel emissions into the air.

Gov. Chris Gregoire visited the Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) terminal at the port Wednesday to celebrate the completion of a first round of projects funded by the economic stimulus dollars and aimed at reducing diesel emisssions in the ports.

TOTE received $121,000 to retrofit 27 yard trucks with green mufflers -- catalytic converters that reduce about 65 percent of the diesel particulate matter coming from the vehicles.

The project was part of $1.7 million in stimulus funding that will go mostly toward creating reducing emissions from equipment used at Washington ports.

Gov. Gregoire said that the stimulus dollars were not only making sure people stay healthy by improving air quality, but also putting people to work.

"I want to make sure that these dollars are reported back to President Obama as being money well spent," she said.

The retrofitted trucks represent about 60 percent of TOTE's fleet. TOTE president Bill Deaver said the rest of the older units will be retired.

"This is a major step in protecting the air we breath and the environment we work in," Deaver said.

In total the stimulus funding will help reduce emissions coming from almost 400 pieces of cargo handling equipment at the ports of Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver, WA.

Some of the money will also go toward school districts to help reduce diesel emissions from school buses.

The work at TOTE moves the Port of Tacoma further towards the emission-reducing goals it's set as part of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Initiative, a partnership between the Tacoma port and ports of Seattle and Vancouver.

The Tacoma port reported the results of its first year of clean air efforts last week.

So far 57 percent of the ships that call frequently at the port use use cleaner burning fuel and 47 percent of the cargo handling equipment meets cleaner burning engine standards.