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Yard care sans gas, smoke

July 2, 2009

Tavis Schmidt says it was his young son who drove home for him the irony in the pollution people generate while sprucing up their home's little piece of nature—their lawn, shrubs, and trees.Schmidt, 34, of Spokane, says that while toiling a

24-lot business park planned at Liberty Lake's west edge

Land-use application for 30-acre commercial project notes Garco ties

July 2, 2009

Mike McLean

A development company with ties to Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, is planning to develop a business park on the west edge of Liberty Lake north of Interstate 90, according to documents on file in that city.Ted Williams Partnership, which a

Cd'A plans $72 million in wastewater plant upgrades

Shannon Industrial is constructing building to house test systems

July 2, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

The city of Coeur d'Alene is embarking on a nine-year plan to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility, at a cost of about $72 million, to comply with anticipated stringent new water-quality standards. The city recently approved amendments to a

Real estate company here prevails in profiteering suit

Jury finds some NAI Black agents violated standards, but awards no damages

July 2, 2009

Kim Crompton

A heated legal dispute between a former Spokane County prosecuting attorney who felt he'd been wronged on a real estate deal and one of Spokane's largest commercial real estate companies ended recently with a jury here finding that three company a

ReliOn's sales grow offshore, lag in U.S.

Hydrogen fuel-cell maker loses ground in timetable for becoming profitable

July 2, 2009

Mike McLean

Growing telecommunications markets worldwide have helped Spokane Valley-based fuel-cell maker ReliOn Inc. expand its sales reach, but some of its largest U.S. customers in that industry are holding back on capital purchases due to the recession and

Sales weaken for high-tech manufacturers

Companies combat lull with job cutback, efforts to broaden customer base

July 2, 2009

David Cole

High-tech manufacturers here have seen sales decline in 2009, causing them to cut jobs, seek new markets, and mine current accounts for new opportunities.Meanwhile, the sales outlook for the rest of the year is hard to read, but looks like more a

Wanted: your children

Day cares here face lagging demand in down economy

July 2, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

Day-care services here are struggling with falling demand, as people pull their children from centers and services located in homes because they are out of work."We've had a massive amount of calls from child cares starting about a month ago a &

Economy puts brakes on exec pay

Overall compensation falls 3.6 percent; base pay drops sharply

July 2, 2009

Paul Read and Paul Read

Executive pay at publicly traded companies here fell last year for the first time since 2000, as the beleaguered economy caused corporate performance—now a bigger factor in how execs are paid—to swoon.Many public companies now base pay

In The News: July 2, 2009

July 2, 2009

June 23 / City Council votes to buy YMCA The Spokane City Council voted to approve the purchase of the YMCA, at 507 N. Howard, next to Spokane's Riverfront Park. The council approved an interfund loan of up to $4.4 million from the to

Emerging markets boom so far this year, but remain risky

They're up more than 50 percent, but still well down from a year ago

July 2, 2009

Personal Investing

ices of double-mud chocolate-brownie cake offered to you by restaurant servers at the end of your meal.You run the risk of a severe stomachache later, but they sound so good it's hard to resist.In 2009, emerging markets mutual funds are up an