COSTLY CATCH

Selfish actions cause buoy breakdowns

“;Slingshotting”; fishing crews should be ashamed for putting their own catch above the safety of the entire state. Federal officials say weather buoys critical during hurricane season have been damaged, apparently by net-fishing crews that drag and snap the buoys so they can catch the fish gathered below the buoys. The damage costs tens of thousands of dollars to repair, and without functioning buoys the state does not get as much information about approaching storms. Officials publicized the damage in hopes that the mariners who are causing it will stop.

RAISE REBOUND

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Amid the most welcome signs of a brightening economy: Pay raises are expected to rebound next year. A human resources firm surveyed 235 large U.S. employers in May and found that they are planning median merit increases of 3 percent for 2010, up from 2 percent this year. The survey by Watson Wyatt also found that many employers plan to reinstate previously cut raises.

OLI-FACTORY

Smells like entrepreneurial spirit

For some connoisseurs, kimchi without the pungent aroma just won't be kimchi.

But Kim Soon-ja is counting on attracting new fans to South Korea's national dish with a version that doesn't, well, stink. Kim, 56, who has run her own factory since 1986 and was designated South Korea's first kimchi master in 2007, secured a patent for a type of freeze-dried pickled cabbage that doesn't smell even after water is added.

Kim, who owns Han Sung Food in suburban Seoul, told the Los Angeles Times that the freeze-drying technique also can be used for snacks such as dried kimchi dipped in chocolate. “;Crispy but yummy!”; she said. “;Also, it's full of fiber.”;