Sept. 2 / Biomed building funding sought

The Board of Regents at Washington State University approved a supplemental budget request for the upcoming legislative session that includes $35.8 million to complete funding for the Riverpoint Biomedical Building, in Spokane. During the most recent session, the state Legislature approved $35 million to begin construction of that project. The request for the biomedical building is the largest item in the university's supplemental budget list.



Sept. 1 / Cities, county to put animal shelter on ballot

Spokane County and the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley all decided to place on their November ballots a measure to replace the current Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services (SCRAPS) facility. SCRAPS provides animal control services for Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Cheney, Millwood, and the unincorporated areas of Spokane County.



August 30 / City renews waste-to-energy deal

Members of the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to keep Spokane's waste-to-energy plant open for the next three years by approving an operating contract with Wheelabrator, the waste management subsidiary that has operated the plant since 1998. Under the new contract, the company will receive $800,000 more a year in fees, and waste-collection rates are expected to go up as a result.



August 26 / Avista reaches Idaho rate settlement

Avista Corp., of Spokane, said it reached a proposed settlement over its request for electric and natural gas rates for Idaho customers. If approved by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the settlement would result in a 1.1 percent increase in base electric rates and a 1.6 percent increase in natural gas rates, effective Oct. 1. The utility company says, though, that when combined with Avista's other proposed rate adjustments now pending before the IPUC, the net effect would be an overall decrease in electric rates of 2.4 percent and a drop in natural gas rates of 0.8 percent.



August 25 / Sacred Heart prevails in suit

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital, Spokane's largest medical center, didn't violate Washington state's Minimum Wage Act in the way it compensated nurses for missed rest breaks, a Spokane-based state appellate court panel ruled in a 2-1 decision. The panel overturned a Spokane County Superior Court judge's ruling in favor of the Washington State Nurses Association and dismissed the four-year-old lawsuit brought by the association and one of its members. In the suit, the nurses claimed entitlement to overtime pay, not straight time, for a portion of their missed rest breaks. The Superior Court judge had ordered the hospital to pay $104,700 in overtime damages to some nurses and $222,500 in attorneys' fees and expenses.



August 23 / Key Tronic posts earnings drop

Spokane Valley-based electronics manufacturer Key Tronic Corp. reported fiscal year 2011 fourth-quarter net income of $1.5 million, or 15 cents a diluted share, down from $2.3 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. For its full 2011 fiscal year, the company posted net income of $5.7 million, or 55 cents a share, down from $8.7 million, or 85 cents a share, in the prior fiscal year. The declines in earnings occurred despite a 7 percent increase in total revenue for the fourth quarter and a 27 percent rise in revenue for the year.



Corrections & Amplifications

TJX Cos., the parent company of apparel retailer Marshalls, is based in Framingham, Mass., and American Tire Distributors Inc. is based in Huntersville, N.C. The locations of those companies' headquarters were reported incorrectly in the Journal's Aug. 25 issue.