Seattle's University of Washington Medical Center was ranked 12th best hospital in the nation in a Newsweek magazine rating.

The magazine used a complex set of standards to rank how hospitals perform in handling complex and demanding medical problems.

Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital was at the top of the list with a total score of 30 points. Minnesota's Mayo Clinic was second.

Third was the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles followed by the Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital.

The UW ranked particularly high in cancer treatment and rehabilitation.

Port of Tacoma commissioners today awarded a $21.8 million contract for an overpass that's expected to cut both air pollution and shipping delays on the Tacoma Tideflats.

The Lincoln Avenue overpass will carry three lanes of roadway over four sets of railroad tracks.

Truck queues at the present at-grade crossing can last as long as 45 minutes while container trains pull into and out of the port's two main intermodal yards. Those idling trucks add tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in the Tideflats.

The majority of the overpass cost will be paid with federal stimulus funds.

In total, the project will cost $53.2 million including the overpass and approach roads already built.

The port received nine bids on the project ranging from $27.7 million to $21.8 million from Scarsella Brothers Inc. of Kent. The low bid was 10 percent less than the engineer's estimate of $24.4 million.

The project will break ground in August with completion set for March 2011.

Tacoma and Pierce County should be proud of their work retaining DaVita, members of the Rotary Club of Tacoma were told Thursday.

During the club's weekly lunch, Bob Drewel of the Puget Sound Regional Council gave an overview of the council's work and highlighted important areas of economic interest.

The PSRC is a government agency whose responsibilities involve transportation planning, economic development and growth management. Drewel is its executive director.

"One of the things (the region) has to do is grow jobs in economic sectors outside of King County," Drewel said. He went on to praise Tacoma for DaVita's decision in June to keep its headquarters here.

DaVita, which operates a network of 1,400 kidney treatment centers nationwide, is the city's second-largest downtown employer with 900 workers. The city offered several inducements, including business and occupation tax forgiveness based on the number of new employees the company hires.

As for Tacoma's largest downtown employer, Russell Investments, Drewel said he didn't need to tell the group the importance of their decision on whether to move their headquarters to Seattle.

But "we don't just need one Russell, we need to grow as many as we can," Drewel said.

Drewel also touched on the rumors swirling about Boeing and the second 787 production line.

"What we have here is a great deal of information with little knowledge," he said.

Panama's Copa Airlines today announced orders for 13 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Those aircraft are worth in excess of $1 billion at list prices.

The new order bring's Copa's 737 orders to 27. The 13 planes ordered today are expected to be delivered to the airline between 2012 and 2015. The airline took eight additional delivery options for planes to be produced between 2015 and 2017.

The new aircraft, built in Renton, are to be equipped with Boeing's new "Sky Interior" that borrows interior design elements from Boeing's Dreamliner. The interior features wider window surrounds and enhanced lighting.

The planes will also benefit from aircraft and engine modifications that are expected to improve their fuel economy by two percent.

The Boeing Co. has won an order for four telecommunication satellites from Intelstat Ltd., the world's leading satellite services provider.

Boeing didn't release a dollar figure for the contract, but analysts estimated the contract could be worth in excess of $1 billion.

The satellites will a variation of Boeing's 702 satellite design. The company has been developing the new satellite for more than four years.

The work on the satellites will be done in California.

A shuttle bus carrying passengers from Sound Transit's new Link light rail station in Tukwila to Sea-Tac Airport begins service Monday.

Service on the Link system between Tukwila and downtown Seattle starts up this weekend, but the bus shuttle service will be delayed until after the opening weekend crowds disappear, said the airport.

The bus will carry passengers the last 1.7 miles from the station to the airport's arrival level and to the public transit area at the airport's south end until December.

That's when Sound Transit and the airport expect to open up the airport station.

That station, adjacent to the airport garage, will be connected to the terminal with an elevated walkway.