Rachel

I have a photo of the washout. Call me immediately. It is 6:15 p.m. Sunday. I understand 1,000 or so of you are stranded, plus some farm animals. Dont’ delay. Now. Thanks.

Rachel Pritchett, reporter
(360) 475-3783

Readers,

Kitsap County has 13 port districts and holds the distinction of having the most by far of any county in the state.

I’m in the process of getting to know each one, seeing what it does, and asking whether any gains would be had by some of them consolidating.

How do you feel? If there fewer port districts, or even one all-county port district, would the promotion of economic development and job creation be better served? Could more be done in this area if the ports all pulled together? Could the resources be gathered to turn Bremerton National Airport into a regional airport with a commuter airline? Or maybe develop the rail tie at the Port of Bremerton to ramp up the commerce coming into or going out of Kitsap?

Or do small port districts provide an important identity for their communities, a sense of pride. Are they most efficient?

Tell me your thoughts. Here or contact me. Leave your name. You insights may be used in my stories.

Thanks.

Rachel Pritchett, reporter
(360) 475-3783
rpritchett@kitsapsun.com

Dow at 11,349 this morning, minus 23 points.

NEW YORK (AP) — Encouraging news from the labor market has stocks mixed in midday trading Thursday.
Stocks had edged higher in the morning after a report from the Labor Department showed that first time claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the second-lowest level this year. Claims fell to 421,000, below the 428,000 figure that Wall Street expected.
The four-week average of claims also slid for the fifth straight week, reaching the lowest level since August 2008, before the darkest days of the financial crisis.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is inching up, a day after setting a closing high for 2010. The index rose 0.4, or 0.03 percent, to 1228.70. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25 points, or 0.2 percent, to 11,346.63. The Nasdaq composite index rose 3, or 0.1 percent, to 2,611.91.
Of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 17 fell. The index’s laggard is DuPont. The chemical maker’s shares are down 1.7 percent after it forecast earnings and sales for next year at the low end of analysts’ expectations.

The week ends at 11,381, up 19 points for the day.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher after spending most of the day in a slump.
A late afternoon surge helped all three major indexes recover ground lost earlier in the day. A drop in the dollar boosted shares in energy and materials companies.
An unexpected rise in the U.S. unemployment rate to a seven-month high pushed most stocks down Friday morning.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 19, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,382.
The S&P 500 is up 3, or 0.3 percent, to 1,224. The Nasdaq composite index is up 12, or 0.5 percent, to 2,591.
Rising shares outpaced falling ones by almost two to one on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was 907 million shares.