April 24 / Employment here rises

About 204,200 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in the Spokane area in March, up by 900 from the prior month and by 1,200 from the March 2011 level, preliminary state figures showed. Preliminary results from another state survey put the Spokane-area unemployment rate at 9.9 percent during March, unchanged from February but down from 10.6 percent in the year-earlier month.

April 23 / Potlatch posts lower net

Potlatch Corp., of Spokane, reported first-quarter net income of $5.1 million, or 13 cents a diluted share, down from $7.7 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Potlatch Chairman, President, and CEO Michael Covey said sawlog prices fell during the quarter, but the company believes they have bottomed out and expects improvement in the second and third quarters.

April 23 / City, county to work jointly on jail issues

City and county leaders said in a joint news release that they plan to work together to come up with solutions for improving the county's jail system as cost effectively as possible. They cited the inadequacy of the dilapidated Geiger Corrections Center on the West Plains and possible closure of that complex if the city were to succeed in a search it has initiated to find lower-cost options for incarcerating is misdemeanant prisoners. The announcement resulted from the efforts of a joint task force that's evaluating opportunities for collaboration or consolidating certain city and county services.

April 20 / Former Sterling exec, bank sue each other

Former Sterling Bank CEO Heidi Stanley filed a $7.8 million lawsuit against the Spokane-based bank, claiming she was fired because of her gender and concerns about her health condition as she dealt with breast cancer. Sterling filed suit against her a day earlier, and released a statement saying that her claims were without merit and that her termination in 2009 was proper.

April 17 / Convention center expansion measure passes

Spokane County voters approved, with a 56 percent yes vote, a ballot measure to expand the Spokane Convention Center by 91,000 square feet, add 750 seats at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, and improve a stretch of Centennial Trail near the convention center. The measure will raise an estimated $65 million by keeping a 0.1 percent sales tax and a 2 percent hotel-motel tax in place for an extra 10 years, through 2043. Those taxes, which voters first approved a decade ago, had been scheduled to end in 2033.

April 16 / Ambassadors puts HQ building up for sale

Ambassadors Group Inc., the Spokane-based educational-travel provider, announced it has listed for sale its 133,000-sqare-foot corporate headquarters, located at 2001 S. Flint on the West Plains. Listing agent David Peterson, of Goodale & Barbieri Co., said the property's list price is $13.3 million. The company expects to locate to a smaller, leased location once the property is sold. Ambassadors recently reported a $7.8 million fourth-quarter net loss, and two investor groups—unhappy with its performance—are seeking to shake up its executive board.

April 10 / Mayor proposes 'no-growth' 2013 budget

Spokane Mayor David Condon announced that he'll propose a "no-growth" budget for 2013, directing that departments receive the same level of funding as this year. The city's finance division has forecast a $9 million to $10 million shortfall of anticipated revenues and programmed expenses within the city's general fund budget for next year. The mayor's Economic Forecasting Council anticipates flat retail sales activity, minimal new construction, and limited increases in utility tax revenues in 2013.