March 23 / Avista files for rate hikes in Washington, Idaho
Avista Corp., of Spokane, filed requests to raise electric rates 13.4 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively, in Washington and Idaho and natural gas rates 6 percent and 4.1 percent in the two states. It said it needed the nearly $100 million in added annual revenue from the hikes to cover rising costs of producing and delivering power and to upgrade aging infrastructure. Washington regulators have 11 months to review the filings, and Idaho regulators have seven.

March 19 / Airbus parent might yet bid for tankers
Major Boeing competitor European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS), the parent company of Airbus, said it would consider again submitting a bid for a U.S. Department of Defense contract to replace the U.S. Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers. A consortium of EADs and Northrop Grumman previously had withdrawn its bid, saying it believed a revised request for proposals issued by the Pentagon clearly favors a smaller aircraft, which left Boeing the sole bidder for the contract.

March 17 / Providence Sacred Heart might add 75 beds
The Washington state Department of Health said it has reached a proposed settlement with Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center that would allow the Spokane hosptial to add 50 new beds and move 25 beds there from Providence Holy Family Hospital, also of Spokane. Providence Sacred Heart originally had sought to add 152 new acute-care beds, but the department denied its request and a subsequent appeal. After a 30-day comment period and review, the department said it expects to issue a final decision on May 5.

March 17 / SprayCool sold
A division of Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp. said it bought Liberty Lake-based SprayCool Data Systems Inc. and has added it to its Parker Gas Turbine Fuel Systems Division. SprayCool was founded as Isothermal Systems Research in 1988 and makes liquid-cooled enclosure products for defense, aerospace, and industrial electronics applications. Parker said that integrating SprayCool products with Parker Aerospace's advanced thermal management systems will create a broad product line.

March 16 / Unemployment up sharply here
Nonfarm wage and salary employment in the Spokane metropolitan area fell to 205,000 in February, down 5,200 jobs from the February 2009 level, according to preliminary Washington state Employment Security Department figures. Preliminary figures from another survey put the unemployment rate here at 11.2 percent in February, up steeply from 9.3 percent in the year-earlier month.

March 16 / Sterling continues capital-raising efforts
Sterling Financial Corp., of Spokane, said it has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent with one firm to provide additional capital, and also is negotiating with several private equity investors, its major creditors, and its regulators about alternatives for recapitalization. Sterling released a letter from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which said it would agree to the exchange of its preferred stock in Sterling for preferred stock that Sterling could convert to common stock, and that Sterling was taking further action such as raising at least $650 million in new common stock at a price no greater than 20 cents per share.

March 12 / Kendall Yards' first phase, tax exemptions approved
In separate actions, the city of Spokane granted conditional approval of the first phase of residential development at the Kendall Yards site, then four days later exempted up to 279 residential units proposed west of Maple Street there from property tax rolls for 12 years. The city said the tax exemption will encourage economic growth near downtown. Long-range plans for the 79-acre Kendall Yards property, which is being developed by Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Corp., to include a total of nearly 1,000 residential units and 600,000 square feet of commercial space.