When you order Boeing 737s by the dozen, you sometimes take delivery of a small fleet all at once.

That’s the case for European low-cost carrier Ryanair which recently took delivery of numbers 146, 147, 148, 149 and 150 Boeing 737s for its fleet.

The five latest deliveries are shown here together at Boeing Field where they were test flown prior to handover to Ryanair.

Ryanair reportedly got the 737s at a bargain price because it ordered huge quantities of the twin-aisle jets during the airline order slump after the

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Despite equipment problems that sidelined Amtrak’s Spanish-designed Talgo trains in the Northwest from August through late October, ridership grew 7.4 percent in the last year, Amtrak reports.

The rail passenger service’s Cascades trains, which provides rail service in the corridor from Eugene, Ore., to Vancouver, B.C., grew for the eighth consecutive year.

Cascades trains carried 674,000 passengers in the fiscal year that stretches from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, the rail passenger service said. Tacoma was the second busiest station for Amtrak in Washington with more than 100,000 passengers. Seattle was

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University Place’s Town Center project is beginning to have spin-off effects even before it opens.

Construction has begun on a new mixed condominium-retail project at 3318 Bridgeport Way W. across the street from the Town Center site.

The Alicia will feature somewhat larger-than-normal condominiums. Those 24 residential units will range from 1,380 square feet to 2,211 square feet. All will have at least two bedrooms and a den and two baths. Larger units will have 2/1/2 baths.

Wonderland Investment is building the four-story structure. The ground floor will feature four office and commercial spaces ranging in size

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It’s called the National Financial Education Network Summit, but Kerry Killinger, chairman and CEO of Washington Mutual, said the name doesn’t quite fit.

"We call it a summit, but we’re a long way from that," he said. "This is more like base camp."

Today and tomorrow, Washington Mutual – along with the state Department of Financial Institutions and a handful of business-related organizations – is sponsoring the gathering at the bank’s Cedarbrook Leadership Center in Sea Tac.

More than a hundred educators, officials, bankers and other business leaders have come to build both partnerships and a national

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Cascade Eye & Skin Centers is completing an $8 million medical facility in University Place at 5225 Cirque Dr. This will be the group’s fifth center.

When it opens in February, the 26,000-sq.-ft. site will provide patients with vision and dermatology services, along with a full-service cosmetic center, optical shop, pathology and Mohs surgical suite for advanced skin cancer treatment.

The clinic will house five dermatologists, one fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon and three ophthalmologists. A total of some 70 employees will work at the center, and owners expect to serve an average

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Five-year-old Northwest Commercial Bank set records during the third quarter for total assets, loans and deposits – while marking a ninth consecutive quarter of profitability.

Loans rose 26 percent during the quarter to $55,598,000, said Kurt Graff, bank president and CEO. This compares to $44,049,000 for the same quarter in 2006.

Graff reported a 16 percent increase in profits for the quarter, up from $103,000 in the same period last year to $119,000 at the end of the latest quarter.

As of Sept. 30, Northwest Commercial Bank recorded deposits of $57,976,000, an increase of 11 percent over

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Who says cars were invented in the 19th century? Think prehistoric. The LeMay Museum collection of all-things-automobile has now grown to include a Stone Age artifact: the car used by the Fred Flintstone family back when brontosauruses offered the only other means of locomotion for residents of Bedrock.

The car, powered by Fred’s two feet, offers seating for four, sides unencumbered by doors, and a cabriolet roof. Accessories include animal skin upholstery and a log suspension.

Museum steering committee member Peter Hegeman of Kirkland recently donated the vehicle to the

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The Associated Press reports that an Internet company called the Excused Absence Network is selling fake doctors’ notes and jury summons to people wanting to play hooky from work.

Note: The Biz Buzz doesn’t endorse using fake excuses to skip work. We don’t mind skipping work – but the excuses need to be real. Like going to Disneyland. Or having shingles.

A bit of the story:

For about $25, students and employees can buy excuse notes that appear to come from doctors or hospitals. Other options include a fake jury summons or an authentic-looking

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