Fisher Communications -- the Seattle-based broadcaster that operates KOMO 1000 radio and KOMO 4 TV -- said that its network of hyperlocal neighborhood blogs has surpassed 100 sites and more than 1,000 advertisers. The sites are being run by Bellevue-based Datasphere, which we profiled earlier this month after it raised $10.8 million in new venture funding.

Inrix, the Kirkland traffic analysis company, has named Don Butler as senior vice president of global marketing and product planning. Butler, 46, is a former vice president at General Motors' OnStar unit.

Applied Technical Systems, a Silverdale company which specializes in data analysis for government agencies, said today that it has won a $13 million contract to develop the Common Digital Sensor Architecture for the U.S. Navy's Above Water Sensors. The task order was awarded as part of the SeaPort-e contract.

The rotten economy is leading to the creation of more entrepreneurial ventures, reports Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The firm found that the percentage of unemployed workers starting their own business rose to an average of 8.6 percent last year. That compares to a rate of 5.1 percent in 2008.

It is now illegal for commercial bus and truck drivers to text from behind the wheel, with violations possibly resulting in civil and criminal penalties of as much as $2,750, reports Bloomberg News. Washington is one of the states that has outlawed texting while driving, though it is a secondary offense which means that a driver needs to be pulled over for another offense first.

Virtual goods revenues are expected to reach $1.6 billion this year, reports VentureBeat, which notes that social gaming platforms such as Zynga and Playdom are driving a good chunk of the numbers.

Seattle-based PopCap Games has lost a legal battle with casual game maker MumboJumbo, with a Dallas jury awarding the company $4.6 million in damages. PopCap plans to appeal, according to Gamezebo.