Gonzaga-area bar changes its name

The former Bulldog Tavern, at 1305 N. Hamilton St., asked patrons to suggest its new name, and the results are in.

Business owner Mary Livingston put up the new sign this week for the University Bar and Grill.

Livingston took over ownership after the previous owner, Trefry Enterprises, left a year ago. After trying three earlier names, Livingston turned to a patron contest, letting customers vote.

Livingston said the name fits the nearby Gonzaga University community.

For more than 60 years the business was known to the neighborhood as the Bulldog Tavern. In 2005 Trefry Enterprises changed the name to The Bulldog. Last summer, after a property dispute, lead partner David Trefry shut down the pub, saying he planned to reopen elsewhere and would take the trademarked Bulldog name with him.

Tom Sowa

Home mortgage rates hit historic lows

WASHINGTON – Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 3.84 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. The 15-year mortgage dropped to 3.07 percent, also a record.

The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.8 last week, up from 0.7 the previous week. The fee on 15-year loans was 0.7, the same as last week.

The average on one-year adjustable-rate loans also dropped to a record low of 2.7 percent last week, down from 2.74 percent last week.

Associated Press

FAA seeking fines from Alaska, Horizon

WASHINGTON – Federal officials are seeking $655,125 in fines against Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air affiliate for alleged safety violations, including failing to inspect a plane for cracks.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that Horizon operated a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights, while it failed to follow a safety order to check for cracked or corroded fittings on the engine housing.

A 2011 order required airlines to inspect the fittings every 300 hours of flight time. The FAA said Horizon used the plane on at least 45 passenger flights in March 2011 after it had passed the 300-hour mark. The FAA proposed a civil penalty of $445,125 against Horizon.

The FAA also said it would seek a $210,000 civil penalty against Alaska Airlines, charging that the airline failed to properly tag turned-off equipment before making repairs to Boeing 737 jets. It said the violations of worker-safety rules occurred 10 times in 2010 and 2011.

Alaska Air Group Inc. spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Horizon performed the required inspection, “however, we did not properly document our maintenance due to a misunderstanding over wording on the work order.” On the Alaska planes, she said, the maintenance work was done but not properly documented.

Associated Press