Wheat harvest's over, grape and apple picking is not yet begun, and in a lot of communities, everyone who hasn't left town for Labor Day is headed to the county fair. But here at the 509 Report, we soldier on, because some of you will find that Wi-Fi hot spot in downtown Chelan and will want your weekly fix before you walk down to the lake.

HOMEOWNERS IN WENATCHEE are feeling pretty pleased with themselves this week, after a federal report showed the value of homes there grew faster than anywhere else in the nation over the past year - 23.5 percent. That's nearly eight times the national average of 3.2 percent, according to the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Actually Washington home values did pretty well overall, according to this report. Longview, metro Seattle (including Bellevue and Everett), Tacoma and Spokane all were in the top 20 nationally in terms of house-value appreciation.

It's the second quarter in a row that Wenatchee's had the hottest housing market, the Wenatchee World reports. But while the outlook is still strong, observers expect a cooling this fall.

"The supply is increasing substantially, with pretty flat demand," Brian Vincent, co-owner of Pacific Appraisal, told the paper. "That will indicate a softening or flattening of prices until supply and demand come into balance."

IN NEWS OF INTEREST TO DIY PAINTERS, Spokane-based Columbia Paint and Coatings has agreed to be taken over by Sherwin Williams. The terms were not disclosed. Columbia will become a Sherwin Williams subsidiary under the plan, which still needs regulatory approval. The Spokesman-Review has more details about the deal, but you'll probably have to register to read it.

ANOTHER SPOKANE COMPANY also is being purchased: Administration Services Inc., which administers employee benefit programs. It's being acquired by Chicago-based Zenith Administrators, which is in the same business. (And if you've already registered at spokesman-review.com, you'll be able to read more about it here.)

AND IN OTHER M&A NEWS, Sterling Financial announced Friday that its pending acquisition of Redding, Calif.-based North Valley Bancorp will be delayed from the third till the fourth quarter of this year. Spokane-based Sterling didn't say why.

NEW IMMIGRATION RULES are causing consternation in the Yakima Valley. The new rules require growers to verify that the workers they hire have valid Social Security numbers, but growers say the rules are neither workable nor fair.

"Seasonal employers didn't sign on to be immigration officers for the country," Washington Farm Bureau labor specialist Dan Fazio griped to The Seattle Times.

FARM-WORKER WAGES are climbing, a new report shows. The Yakima Herald-Republic reports new Census Bureau data shows the median income for Hispanic families in Yakima County jumped 23 percent last year, in large part because of increases in farm pay.

AND THE SUN DOME could be getting a new tenant: Arena League Football. The Herald-Republic also reports that Yakima is in line to get an AF2 expansion team. The new Yakima team would compete in a division with the Spokane Shock, Tri-Cities Fever and Boise Burn. The future of another Northwest rival - the Everett Hawks - is uncertain, however. My friends at The Daily Herald in Everett report that team owner Sam Adams (yup, the former Seahawk) has folded the team, which had a losing record on the field the past two years, and even bigger problems off it.

A TRI-CITIES LIFE SCIENCES COMPANY, IsoRay, is expanding, the Tri-City Herald reports. IsoRay produces radioactive "seeds" that are used to fight prostate cancer. Demand is so high that the company is moving into a new, larger building and planning to hire 70 people to its current production force of 12. That will allow IsoRay to double production.

PASCO AND WALLA WALLA are getting a new bus link, the Herald adds. The new service is being subsidized by the Washington Department of Transportation with a two-year grant. It's not exactly mass transit: the buses will have 12 to 15 seats available per run. However, it will be an important link for low income and elderly people trying to get between the cities, backers say.

AND IF YOU'RE A WINE-LOVER discouraged by how hard it can be to find a hotel room in Walla Walla, take heart. The Marcus Whitman Hotel has just completed a $9 million expansion that?s added 36 guest rooms to the landmark downtown tower, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports. How tight has the lodging market been in Wally World? The U-B's Vicki Hillhouse says that in 2005, "the hotel lost nearly 5,000 room nights because it was occupied, according to the company that secured the loan for the hotel's expansion."