Feb. 24 / Employment drops here
Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in the Spokane area dropped to 212,000 in January, a decrease of 3,400 jobs from the January 2008 level, according to preliminary state figures. Preliminary figures from another state survey put the unemployment rate at 9.6 percent in January, up from 5.9 percent in the year-earlier month.

Feb. 23 / General Dynamics to close Itronix plant
General Dynamics C4 Systems, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said it will close its General Dynamics Itronix Corp. plant here by the end of 2009 because of lagging sales and the poor U.S. economy. The defense contractor said 60 of the Spokane operation's 380 employees will be offered jobs at its engineering design center in Sunrise, Fla., 20 will be offered the opportunity to work remotely, and 300 will be let go. Itronix, a maker of rugged wireless laptop computers and handheld devices, was spun off by Itron Corp., of Spokane, in 1992 and was bought by General Dynamics in 2005.

Feb. 19 / R.A. Hanson Co. founder dies at 85
Raymond A. Hanson, founder of R.A. Hanson Co., passed away Feb. 19 at his home in Spokane Valley. Hanson, born Dec. 10, 1923, in Potlatch, Idaho, began R.A. Hanson Co. in 1946 after inventing a self-leveling device that enabled agricultural combines to operate on steep hillsides. He later became well-known for devising canal digging machines employed in other countries and for other innovations.

Feb. 18 / Itron's net income rises
Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of automated meter-reading technology, reported fourth-quarter net income of $4.3 million, or 12 cents a share, up slightly from $4 million, also 12 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. For all of 2008, the company reported net income of $28.1 million, or 80 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $16.1 million, or 55 cents a share, in 2007. Separately, the company announced that its board has elected President and Chief Operating Officer Malcolm Unsworth to succeed LeRoy Nosbaum as CEO effective March 31.

Feb. 18 / Avista's earnings shoot up
Avista Corp., of Spokane, reported fourth-quarter 2008 net income of $17.5 million, or 32 cents a diluted share, up from $14.1 million, or 26 cents a share, from the year-earlier period. For all of 2008, the energy company posted net income of $73.6 million, or $1.36 a share, compared with $38.5 million, or 72 cents a share, in 2007. It attributed the improved earnings largely to a higher gross margin at Avista Utilities stemming from rate hikes in Washington and Idaho last year and increased customer energy use in the first quarter of 2008 due to cold weather.

Feb. 16 / Coldwater Creek forecasts loss
Coldwater Creek Inc., the Sandpoint-based specialty women's fashion retailer, announced it expects to post a fourth-quarter loss of 23 cents to 25 cents a share on sales of about $280 million. The projected loss would reflect a roughly 22 percent same-store sales decline and would compare with a loss of 19 cents a share in the year-earlier quarter. Additionally, the company said it had strengthened its capital position through a new three-year credit facility with Wells Fargo.

Feb. 12 / Potlatch's net falls
Potlatch Corp., of Spokane, reported fourth-quarter net income of $5.4 million, or 14 cents a share, from continuing operations, compared with $7.5 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. After adding in the effects of its spin-off of its pulp-based operations into a new company called Clearwater Paper Corp. and the closure of its Prescott, Ark., lumber mill, Potlatch posted a net loss of $4.3 million, or 11 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with net income of $11.2 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.