​Thousands of feverish souls, picks and sluices and dredges in hand, are making their way to the hills near Wenatchee where the promise of gold beckons, glittering deep within rocky veins. All right, we're kidding. But maybe not for long. A Canadian company says the foothills four miles south of the city may be filthy rich with billions of dollars in gold. Eureka! The first samples could be coming out of the ground, about a mile deep, by late this month.

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​Barnes & Noble is waging a desperate battle to remain relevant and viable in a world where cheaper online rivals and discount bookstores are threatening its very survival. The country's largest traditional bookseller now says it will no longer sell in its 700 consumer stores any books published by Amazon.com. The company says the Seattle-based retail behemoth has "undermined the industry" by trying to sign exclusive agreements with publishers, agents and authors.

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Schultz

​The pledge by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to no longer contribute to presidential or congressional campaigns drew a lot of sympathetic publicly for him and his corporation last year. But while Schultz's money boycott was aimed at persuading pols to tackle the deficit, his company was quietly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to persuade the same politicians to pass costly laws benefiting Starbucks' bottom line.

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​Following in Texas' footsteps, Virginia retailers are making a strong push to make Amazon.com charge sales taxes after the Seattle-based retail giant opens two large distribution centers in the state. At issue is the vexing question as to how growing online sales should be taxed. Now, Virginia has signaled that it make take the Lone Star state's lead in defining Amazon's distribution center in Fort Worth as a "physical nexus," and therefore requiring Amazon to collect the tax on sales to Texas residents.

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​While not showering is considered cool among hobos and indie-rock fans, most people like to stay fresh. And while a handful of offices have showers, most don't, making midday exercise challenging for anyone unwilling to buck up for a gym membership. Seahawk running back Justin Forsett thinks he has the solution for such a dilemma, and it retails for under $2 at a running store near you.

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​What's the upside of a mountain-pine-beetle infestation? United States trade official say it's the opportunity to use the bugs as a way of undercutting American lumber prices.

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Is it Indian or Turkish?

​As it looks for business opportunities in the U.S., Turkey has been wooing Indian tribes. Colville Reservation Business Council Chair Michael Finley was one of 20 Indian leaders brought to Turkey last year. He says he heard that the Turks feel "related" to Native Americans. "Literally."

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​If Boeing pays its sales agents on commission (and Lord knows they should), then there are some serious bonus checks being cut right now.

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​Generally, snooping around on behalf of a large corporation pays better than this. But then again, anyone can take a picture with a smart phone.

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Killinger

​The government's pursuit of Kerry Killinger is apparently over except for the official champagne uncorking - by Killinger. The feds have already ended a fruitless criminal probe of the man behind America's biggest bank failure. Now a Seattle federal judge says a settlement is pending in the government's civil, and likely final, action against the former Washington Mutual CEO.

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