Green Mountain Coffee Roaster plans to relocate Tully's roasting operation from Seattle to a distribution and manufacturing facility in Sumner, Green Mountain announced today.

The Vermont-based company bought Tully's wholesale division in March. Tully's has been roasting its own coffee at its headquarters in the old Rainier Brewing Company building right off of Interstate 5.

The brewery building will continue to house Tully's headquarters.

Jon Wettstein, Green Mountain's vice president of supply chain operations, said the Sumner operation allows the company to "accommodate both the significant growth and expansion we are planning for the Tully's business, as well as for the expansion of our other brands on the West Coast."

The new facility will be housed in leased space in White River Building.

The Sumner site will roast and distribute the beans used in Tully's cafes as well as the Tully's coffee sold in grocery stores and elsewhere, according to Amina Suchoski, the company's spokeswoman.

Tully's wholesale business employed 75 people. New owners Green Mountain offered those employees jobs with their company and said they plan to add another 50 jobs to the new Sumner plant, Suchoski said.

Green Mountain produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands including Tully's, Green Mountain Coffee and Newman's Own Organics coffee. The company also manufactures gourmet single-cup coffee brewing systems.

This just in from Karen LaFlamme at the Puyallup Fair: Job openings still remain.

Even with the nearly overwhelming response last week, which saw lines forming in the pre-dawn and thousands of people applying, 500 positions are still open and applications are being taken.

"Many thought that all of the Puyallup Fair jobs would had been filled by today,"LaFlamme writes in a release today. "That is not the case. The lines have decreased dramatically, and there are still approximately 500 jobs available."

Applications are being taken at the WorkSource Employment Office located on the north side of the fairgrounds (9th Ave. S.W. between 4th St. S.W. and 5th St. S.W.) Applicants must apply in person and bring proof of identity and ability to work (for example, photo I.D. and a Social Security card).

Wages begin at $8.55 per hour, with some paying more based on duties and skills required.

Federal Way's Weyerhaeuser Co. said today it has completed the sale of its commercial construction products business to a subsidiary of Atlas Holdings LLC.

The deal includes four manufacturing plants focused on the commercial construction market. Those plants are located in Chino, Calif., Hillsboro, Ore., Delaware, Ohio and Stayton, Ore. Also included in the sale were and 13 sales and engineering offices.

Some 230 employees will transfer from Weyerhaeuser to Atlas as a result of the buyout.

The price Atlas paid was not disclosed.

In after-hours trading, shares of Weyerhaeuser fell 11 cents to $34.68, after falling $1.21, or 3.4 percent, to close at $34.75.

Those school bells are almost ready to ring - as are the bells at the cash registers of back-to-school retailers.

Yes, the economy is going to affect back-to-school shopping. Yes, there are fewer students attending college. And yes, those apples on the desks of teachers nationwide probably came from Washington.

From data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation, here’s a look at back-to-school 2009, by the numbers.

56 million: Projected number of children in elementary through high school this fall
11: Percent of those students will be in private schools
76 million: Children and adults enrolled in school - nursery school through college - in the U.S, in 2007
27: Percent of the U.S. population 3-and-older enrolled in those schools
3.3 million: High school diplomas expected to be awarded in the 2009-2010 school year
3.2 million: Number of college degrees for the same period
71: Percent of children 3-6 enrolled in kindergarten in 2007
19 million: Number of students in colleges and universities this fall
15: Percent of college students 35 and older in 2007
$548.72: Amount the average family with students in kindergarten through high school will spend on school merchandise this season
7.7: Percentage decline in spending from 2008
$47.5 billion: 2009 back-to-school and back-to-college expenditure in the U.S.
40: Percent of people who will increase use of coupons for back-to-school shopping
$82.62: Amount the average family will spend on school supplies
$93.59: Amount the average family will spend on shoes
98,793: Number of public schools in the U.S. in 2006-2007
7.2 million: Teachers in the U.S. in 2008
$50,758: Average salary of public school teachers 2006-2007
$16.56: Average hourly wage of school bus drivers 2007-2008
$14,915: Average in-state tuition, room and board for college and university students for the 2007-2008 academic year
$40,640: Average for the same in private colleges and universities
58.5: Percent of college students who will be living at home this year
54.1: Percent who lived at home last year
$820.77: Average back-to-college amount families of college freshmen will spend this year
67: According to parents, the percent of students ages 6-17 who “often like school”
9.9 billion: Total U.S. apple production (with more than half coming from Washington)

A new survey of airline passengers by Southern California's Innovation Analysis Group shows a strong demand for inflight Internet connectivity, but a declining willingness to pay high fees.

The survey among fliers with demonstrated interests in in-flight connectivity showed more than 95 percent would use it either on every flight or at least occasionally.

And more than 65 percent of those fliers say the availability of airborne Wi-Fi would influence their choice of airlines.

But the average amount they would be willing to pay for an annual contract offering Wi-Fi access declined from $200 in 2006 to $137 this year.

Boeing's newest version of it venerable 747, the 747-8 Freighter, is nearly 80 percent complete and ready to begin the powering up process.

Boeing says the plane, a larger and more efficient edition of the 747, has been connected to external power sources and its beginning the complex "power on" process to test its electronics and electrical systems.

The new 747, being built at Boeing's Everett plant, features new wings and engines, a modified interior and a fuselage stretch to hold more passengers and cargo.

The first example of the new plane is set to fly sometime in this year's fourth quarter. If Boeing's other new aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, continues to have issues, the 747-8 could fly before it.

The 787 is now more than two years behind schedule because of production, labor and design problems. Boeing is currently working on a fix for weakness in the area where the plane's wing joins the body. It has not yet announced a first flight date.

Icelandair, which began year-round, four-times weekly service between Sea-Tac Airport and to Iceland on July 23, has announced a fifth weekly flight beginning next year.

The fifth flight to Keflavik Airport will begin in May next year.

Currently the airline offers flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays to its hub airport.

The flights connect in Iceland with onward flights to many European cities.

Last week’s story on the 50th anniversary of Harbor Lights had me wondering how many restaurants and watering holes in Pierce County are still active, 50 years on, at their original location.

I called Anthony Anton, CEO and president of the Washington Restaurant Association, and he was good enough to send me a list - repeated below.

Let me know if there are any others you know of.

Acme Tavern, 1932
Beach Tavern, 1934
Bob's Pier, 1947
Bob's Java-Jive, 1955 (built in 1927 but turned into Java Jive in ‘55)
Burr's, 1956
Cliff House Restaurant, 1925
Cloverleaf Tavern, 1950
Flying Boots Bar & Grill, 1938
Gertie's Grill, 1952
Goldfish Tavern, 1933
Harbor Lights, 1959
Hob Nob, 1950
Jubilee Drive In, (pre-1949)
Knapp's Restaurant, 1943
Poodle Dog, 1953 (actually, I think it was earlier than that)
Frisko Freeze, 1950
The Spar, 1917
The Swiss, 1913