The number of foreclosures in Spokane County last year jumped for the fourth straight year and exceeded 800 for the first time since an extended real estate slump in the late 1980s.Kootenai County saw an increase for a third straight year and,

Ashley Gardens Management Inc., of Issaquah, Wash., is building a 20-bed facility for victims of Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia about a block east of Mead High School, and expects to break ground this spring on another facility

Merrily Bjerkestrand sips soup silently. She cuts her salad greens into petite portions and tears off bite-sized bits of a breadstick with her fingers instead of her teeth. Across from her, I put my elbows on the table faster than you can spell

Coldwater Creek Inc., the Sandpoint, Idaho-based retailer that started with catalogs and last year exploded onto the Internet and doubled to four its number of full-line retail stores, expects to open four to six more stores in its next fiscal in a

A Spokane-based Internet start-up called Dealerswap.com says it will launch within the next few months an innovative web site that will serve auto dealers nationwide.Though still cloaked in secrecy as to the exact services the venture will the a

Hospitality Associates Inc., a Spokane-based hotel development and management company, is continuing its quietly aggressive growth strategy, which includes about $105 million worth of construction currently under way or planned for this year. 10 14

The top officials of Eastern Washington University and Community Colleges of Spokane have begun floating separate proposals to develop brick-and-mortar centers here that would be tied closely to the business community and would be focused tightly a

Quite literally, the groundwork is being laid in the Spokane area for the in-home communication networks of the future.Custom-home builder Sullivan Homes Inc. and start-up technology manufacturer World Wide Packets Inc., both of Spokane, are up

The Spokane Regional Transportation Council has recommended to a state transportation-funding board that the city of Spokane receive two grants for design of pedestrian amenities along Post and Howard streets.In one of the requests, the city the

The owners of the Highlands Golf & Country Club, in Post Falls, are relocating the courses pro shop and expanding its clubhouse and have renumbered its tees in preparation for the 2000 golfing season, which likely will begin sometime in March. is