Aberdeen - The Bonneville Power Administration's increase to wholesale power rates will increase Grays Harbor PUD's costs by more than six million dollars over the two-year rate period. Following last Tuesday's announcement of the BPA increase, the PUD conducted a financial analysis on the local impact of the 7% average increase to wholesale power rates. The analysis determined the actual rate increase for Grays Harbor PUD is about 5% based on the type of contracts the District has with BPA.

"While we were pleased to see the BPA increase is lower than the originally proposed 9.4 percent, this is still is a significant increase for Grays Harbor PUD," said Rick Lovely, General Manager of Grays Harbor PUD. "Most of our power comes from BPA, which means any increase in BPA rates will always have a direct impact on our costs."

Bellevue-based Tri-State Construction, Inc. recently landed a $31.1 million WSDOT contract to extend the Interstate 5 high occupancy vehicle (HOV) network south from the King County line. This two-year project adds about three miles of carpool lanes on northbound and southbound I-5 from the King County line to the Port of Tacoma Road interchange in Fife. Total construction costs on this project in Pierce County are about $42 million - about $35 million of which is paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

"The federal stimulus dollars have allowed us to advance our Pierce County HOV construction, which enhances the movement of people and goods, and help get our economy back on track by putting people to work," said Washington State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. "We continue to live up to our end of the bargain by having our projects and our state's contractors able to take full advantage of the ARRA funds."

The action will be hot and heavy this weekend at Grays Harbor Raceway located at the Fairgrounds in Elma, in the running of the 10^th Annual Shipwreck Beads Modified Nationals, Friday July 31^st and Saturday August 1^st.  Over 50 drivers from California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, have pre-entered making it one of the largest fields in years. Grays Harbor Raceway is a ASA Member Track

On Friday, drivers will qualify, run two sets of heat races, that will set the A, B and C Mains for Saturday Night.  The highlight of Friday night's racing will be the 30 lap Pete Muller Logging Race of Champions, to be eligible you must have been a former Nationals Champion, former Track Champion and a feature winner at Grays Harbor Raceway in 2009.

Saturday Night will see Trophy Dashes, C, B Mains, a last chance race, and the 40 lap Shipwreck Beads Nationals Main Event.  The Pacific Hardtop Racing Association Dwarf Cars will also be running on Saturday with heat races, Trophy Dashes and Main Events.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland has cancelled the excessive heat warning for the areas of the coast and the Willapa Hills.   An increase in onshore flow has caused temperatures to fall this morning to levels about 10 degrees cooler than Wednesday morning across most of the coast range.  The enhanced marine influence will help hold temperatures down somewhat today, with high temperatures in the area expected to be generally in the 80s and lower 90s.  While these temperatures are still above normal they represent a significant drop from the triple digit heat of the past couple days. 

For the most up to date weather information from the NWS please visit http://www.weather.gov/portland.  This page brings up all advisories, watches, and warnings for the southwest Washington area.

Washington, D.C. - Before members of Congress take their August recess, AARP is giving them a send-off, and a reminder to keep health care reform top-of-mind while they're visiting their constituents. Volunteers from across the country, including several from Washington State, are on Capitol Hill today for one-on-one meetings with lawmakers.

Among them is an insurance benefits counselor, Victoria Dain, who says she faces at least $70,000 in out-of-pocket expenses that her own insurance policy didn't cover for brain surgery.