Aug. 26 / Gonzaga launches new school

Gonzaga University said it has established a School of Nursing and Human Physiology, its first new school in nearly 40 years, and has named Brenda Stevenson Marshall to be the school's dean. The new school includes graduate and undergraduate programs in nursing and an undergraduate program in human physiology. The university says its intent with the new school is to provide more professional and specialized leaders to serve the evolving health care industry and to collaborate with other programs here to serve vulnerable populations.



Aug. 26 / New Valley Hospital CEO named

Valley Hospital, a 123-bed acute care facility at 12606 E. Mission, said veteran health care administrator Tim Moran has been named its CEO after having served as the hospital's interim chief executive since July. He took over the permanent post Aug. 26. Originally from New York, Moran has a master's degree in health care administration and has worked for hospitals in California, Oregon, and South Carolina, and overseas in Saudi Arabia.



Aug. 23 / Judge blocks initiatives

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno ordered that two controversial initiatives be left off the November ballot for Spokane voters. Moreno ruled that the initiatives, pursued by groups named Envision Spokane and Spokane Moves to Amend the Constitution, fell outside the scope of the initiative process and were invalid. A coalition of government and business interests sued to prevent the initiatives from appearing on the ballot, contending they would hurt economic development here.



Aug. 22 / Byrne takes over at RiverBank

The board of RiverBank and RiverBank Holding Co., of Spokane, said it has appointed Daniel G. Byrne, longtime former chief financial officer here for Sterling Financial Corp., to be the new CEO and board vice chairman for RiverBank, a seven-year-old boutique institution. Byrne takes over the position formerly occupied by Clyde B. "Chuck" Brooks Jr., who died in late April after a brief battle with cancer. Brooks joined RiverBank in May 2011, succeeding Duane Brandenburg, one of the bank's founders, who retired.



Aug. 20 / Key Tronic's earnings dip

Key Tronic Corp., the Spokane Valley-based provider of electronic manufacturing services, reported net income of $2.4 million, or 22 cents a diluted share, for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter that ended June 29. That was down from earnings of $3.8 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. For its entire 2013 fiscal year, though, the company reported an increase in earnings, to a record $12.6 million, or $1.15 a diluted share, up from $11.6 million, or $1.11 a share, in the prior fiscal year, on top of record annual revenue.



Aug. 20 / Employment here rises

About 210,600 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in Spokane County in July, up by 4,700 from the July 2012 level but down by down by 2,200 from June this year, preliminary state figures said. Preliminary results from another state survey put the unemployment rate here at 8.1 percent, down from 8.6 percent in the year-earlier month, but up slightly from 7.9 percent in June.



Aug. 19 / GSI's Hadley to step down

Greater Spokane Incorporated, the combined chamber of commerce and economic development council for the Spokane area, said that its president and CEO, Rich Hadley, will step down in April 2014. Hadley, 66, has served as the organization's leader for 20 years. GSI appointed Linda Elkin, of U.S. Bank, and Scott Morris, of Avista Corp., as co-chairs of its CEO search committee and said a full committee is expected to be appointed next month.