Pakistan International Airlines takes delivery of its first 777 during a ceremony today at Boeing Field in Seattle. The plane, a 777-200ER, is the first of eight 777s the airline ordered in November 2002. One more will be delivered in March, with the rest coming in 2006 and 2008. The list includes two of Boeing’s not-yet-launched 777-200LRs, which will be the company’s longest-range commercial airliner when it enters service. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, both D-Wash., are expected to speak at the ceremony.
Everett Community College hosts a job fair today featuring a variety of employers. The job fair is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Parks Building multipurpose room.
Everett Mall’s KB Toys store is among 12 outlets in Washington state that the troubled retailer said it will close. A bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave KB Toys permission to close up to 490 stores as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization. The Alderwood Mall store, another Lynnwood location and outlets in the Sears stores at Alderwood and Everett malls were not on the closure list posted Wednesday on the company’s Web site. Officials announced Tuesday that another Everett Mall store, Wilson’s Leather, would also shut down.
Orders for big-ticket goods were flat in December after taking a dive in November, highlighting the struggles America’s manufacturers are encountering as they try to get on firm footing. The pace of new-home sales also slowed last month. The latest snapshot of manufacturing activity reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday disappointed economists, who were forecasting a solid 2 percent rebound in orders for costly manufactured goods in December.
The Federal Communications Commission was back in court Wednesday with challengers who say its rules for telephone and Internet services unfairly restrict competition and give states too much regulatory power. The government requires regional phone companies to lease portions of their local networks to competitors at wholesale rates. The companies – BellSouth Corp., SBC, Verizon and Qwest – say that allows others to use their networks at artificially low prices. Meanwhile, competitors are challenging rules that allow the regional companies to keep their high-speed fiber-optic lines off limits to Internet rivals.
Herald staff and wire services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
