Washington State's tourism industry is booming. Each year, visitors to the state spend billions of dollars to see Pike Place, the Gorge, the Olympic Peninsula, the Space Needle, the Capitol and even Forks**, employing service and hospitality workers along the way. Tourism work in Washington State, in 2009, represented 3.8% of all jobs in the state. It was allocated a few million dollars in government money, but brought in $4.2 billion or more. Tourism is kind of a big deal. more ›

The Mariners won again last night by the skin of their teeth, shocking a Boston "Nation" whose presence has been hard to ignore throughout the series. The lowly Mariners are inconveniently getting in the way of a mighty "Nation" that strolled into the Emerald City expecting a sweep, and is now left licking its wounds after losing two straight to one of the most embarrassing teams in recent memory. more ›