The Hoquiam Farmers Market is going ‘barking mad' on August 15th, and plan on having a ‘dog-gone good time' for everyone to enjoy! Yes, the middle of August brings the traditional ‘Dog Days of Summer', when the clock is running out of vacation days and school is just around the corner. Bring your 4-legged canine friends to the market for a home-baked doggie biscuit treat.  We'll have a wading pool for them to ‘cool their dogs off", contests, special dog related exhibits, information on adopting dogs, an artist specializing in dog portraits, hot dogs on the bbq, and a play area for children.   Do you have puppies who need a new home?  We welcome you to bring them to the market on Aug. 15th and show them off to potential new owners.  Looking for a new puppy? 

Fire agencies in Washington State have reported 31 fire deaths so far for 2009.  This is a 29% increase over the 24 fire fatalities reported during the same time period in 2008.  "The leading preventable fire causes are electrical-related and smoking.  Prevention is the best defense against deadly fires," says State Fire Marshal Mike Matlick.

SEATTLE, Wash. - Washington ranks 14th in the nation in the new Kids Count report, slipping three places in a comparison by state of factors that influence children's well-being: infant mortality, high school dropout and teen pregnancy rates, numbers of families in poverty, and more. This year, the economy has even affected the research - more 2008 data should be available by now, but budget cuts have made it more difficult to gather.

By next year, another 60,000 children in Washington, whose families are now just barely making it, month to month, will be at risk of slipping into poverty. The Kids Count report says in 2007, one in three children in the state had parents without stable employment - and that was before the recession.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - "Get your medical bills lowered." "A solution so simple, it's brilliant." "The savings do not stop there."

As people struggle to find affordable health care, many are turning to discount health plans. And some buyers, who mistakenly think they've bought insurance coverage with full benefits, are discovering that the discounts are much more limited than they thought.

Several new laws, including one requiring more regulation and disclosure for such plans, took effect yesterday.

"This bill forces the plans to disclose to consumers how the discount works and where it can be used," said state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. Since 2003, he said, the office has received more than 400 calls from consumers with questions or complaints about such plans.

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Anglers planning to fish for salmon on any of the eight tributaries that flow into the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam can expect good fishing for hatchery coho.

Starting Aug. 1, when fall salmon fishing opens in the Columbia River Basin, anglers fishing those rivers will be allowed to catch and keep up to six adult salmon per day, provided that at least four of them are hatchery-reared coho. No wild coho may be retained.

The six-fish daily limit - up from two salmon in recent years - may also include up to two chinook salmon, subject to rules in effect on each river.