Jan. 9 / Ambassadors to cut work force
Ambassadors Group Inc., of Spokane, said it will reduce its work force of about 720 employees by 15 percent to 20 percent this month because the softening U.S. economy has made families reluctant to commit to its educational travel programs. As of Jan. 7, the company said it had enrolled a net of over 34,500 participants for its 2009 travel programs, compared with a net of more than 42,500 participants a year earlier. The company limited total compensation increases to 1 percent of total payroll and froze cash compensation for its executive team for 2009.

Jan. 6 / Teck Cominco plans Pend Oreille mine layoffs
Teck Cominco Ltd. notified the Washington state Employment Security Department that it plans to lay off 165 workers at its Pend Oreille zinc mining operation near Metaline Falls, Wash., as of Feb. 16. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based mining company had announced in December that due to market weakness it planned to shut down the Pend Oreille mine temporarily.

Jan. 6 / Avista lowers natural gas prices in Idaho
Avista Corp., of Spokane, lowered natural gas prices in Idaho by 4.7 percent following approval by the Idaho Public Utility Commission and said it expects a ruling shortly on a proposal to reduce prices in Washington by 3 percent. It made the requests to reflect lower wholesale natural gas prices. Also, Avista said it set a record for electricity demand Dec. 16, when its system reached a peak load of 1,821 megawatts.

Dec. 31 / County signs raceway park operator
Fife, Wash.-based Austin Motorsports Management LLC signed a 25-year agreement to manage the Spokane County Motorsports Park, a West Plains facility that's projected to generate $40 million in revenue over the course of the agreement. The agreement calls for the county to receive $10,000 monthly in rent and $2 from every admission ticket sold, with the rent to increase by 2 percent annually starting in the sixth year of the contract. The county bought the 314-acre park for $4.3 million at a public auction in April.

Dec. 16 / Avista, Coeur d'Alene Tribe reach land-use agreement
Avista Corp. and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe reached what they called a "historic" agreement over the utility's past and future use of tribal land and water at its Spokane River hydroelectric projects, including Post Falls Dam. The tribe agreed to support Avista's application for a 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the dam and projects, and Avista agreed to pay the tribe more than $150 million for environmental measures and for compensation during the life of the long-term license.

Dec. 16 / Agilent to chop up to 120 jobs here
Santa Clara, Calif.-based mobile-phone technology developer, Agilent Technologies Inc., said it will eliminate 110 to 120 positions this year at its Liberty Lake facility, where it currently employs about 220 people, including many engineers, managers, and technical professionals. About 20 of the affected employees will be given the choice to move to Santa Rosa, Calif., where some of the company's work in mobile test equipment design will be consolidated.

Dec. 16 / Trial set for Met suit
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle scheduled a trial for a class-action lawsuit against former Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. auditors Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP and Ernst & Young to begin in March 2010. The suit seeks $300 million from the accounting firms that approved Metropolitan's financial reports prior to the Spokane-based company's 2004 financial collapse.