July 14 / Employment here falls
Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in the Spokane metropolitan area fell to 211,200 in June, down by 10,100 jobs from the June 2008 level, according to preliminary Washington state Employment Security Department figures. Preliminary figures from another survey put the unemployment rate here at 8.9 percent in June, up steeply from 5.3 percent in the year-earlier month.

July 10 / Three downtown car dealerships to be sold
David Coombs, president of Downtown Automotive Dealerships, of Spokane, said the company has entered into an agreement to sell Downtown Toyota, Downtown Honda, and Downtown Lexus to the Utah-based Larry H. Miller Auto Group for an undisclosed sum. With the dealerships here, the Miller Auto Group would own 44 dealerships in seven Western states. The company also owns the Utah Jazz professional basketball team.

July 10 / Rockwood mulls $90 million retirement project
Rockwood Retirement Communities, of Spokane, said it's considering a $90 million expansion and renovation project at its South Hill campus. It said the project would include renovating its 105-unit original tower, and constructing a new tower with up to 93 upscale independent-living apartments, as well as a connected floor with shared amenities, including a 10,000-square-foot swimming-pool area and wellness center and new dining venues.

July 10 / Innotek president convicted of fraud
A U.S. District Court jury here found Ryan M. Jensen, president of Innotek Corp., of Spokane Valley, guilty of five counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and nine counts of money laundering, said U.S. Attorney James A. McDevitt. Jensen, 35, bilked Innotek's investors and lenders out of $1.5 million between 2004 and 2006 and falsely claimed he owned patents to wireless smoke-alarm technology, McDevitt said. Sentencing was set Oct. 9.

July 9 / Home prices, sales rise seasonally
Median home prices in Spokane County in June climbed to $177,500 from $165,500 in May, but trailed the June 2008 median sales price of $193,000, the Spokane Association of Realtors reported. Five hundred homes were sold, for a seasonal increase from 390 home sales in May, although down from 595 sales in June 2008. Meantime, the foreclosure rate in May was 1.1 percent of mortgage loans here up from 0.50 percent in the year-earlier month, said First American Core Logic, which tracks mortgage activity.

July 9 / Shriners hospital here to stay open
Shriners International, the Tampa, Fla.-based charitable organization, said delegates to its annual meeting tabled a vote to close the Shriners Hospital for Children here and five others due to operating losses and a decline in the value of the 22-hospital network's endowment. The delegates voted to begin billing insurers and third-party payers, though Shriners still will provide care at no cost to patients and their families. Shriners said its hospitals will look to forge agreements with hospitals such as Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital, of Spokane.

July 7 / Providence hospitals here cut 25 more positions
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital and Providence Holy Family Hospital cut 25 more jobs, following the elimination of 19 management positions earlier this year. With the recent cutbacks, now Sacred Heart has shed 33 jobs and Holy Family has shed 11. Also on July 7, 45 other employees at the hospitals were reassigned. The hospitals said they made the cuts because of the recession, state budget cuts, decreasing reimbursement for services, and increases in uncompensated care.

June 29 / SIA passenger, cargo numbers fall
Spokane International Airport handled just under 1.2 million passengers through the first five months of this year, a 15.8 percent decrease compared with the year-earlier period. The airport handled nearly 19,000 tons of cargo through the first five months of this year, a 16 percent decrease compared with the year-earlier period.