Trick or trickier?

Is there something smaller than “Fun Size”? Pickings could be slim for the trick-or-treat crowd this Halloween. A survey by the National Retail Federation says Americans plan to spend less on costumes and candy this year than they have in the past.

But less spending on the treat side could mean good news for trick suppliers. Expect healthy sales figures for eggs, shaving cream and toilet paper.

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Take Mom out for a coffee: Now it's the county's turn to try and clean up the bikini barista coffee stands. Snohomish County Council members are looking at a change that would reclassify the stands as adult businesses.

We'd tack on one more requirement: Adults under 75 years of age who want to get their coffee from women clad only in pasties and thong underwear must be accompanied by their mothers.

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Faster, Bossy, faster: With help from the county conservation district, an Arlington farmer is using solar power to pump water from a stream to troughs for the cows, keeping the cattle from mucking up a salmon stream.

The solar-powered pump is working much better than the first attempt at alternative energy; it was just too hard to convince the cows to stay on the exercise bikes.