Spokane Electrical Services Co. (SESCO), the Spokane-based parent of Rods Electric, Power City Electric, and PowerCom, plans to hire more than 50 additional workers and acquire at least one more companyboth by the end of this yearand is

The Washington state Employment Security Department says it plans to open a new 80-employee call center in the Spokane Valley late next year, where it will handle unemployment insurance claims by telephone, primarily for Eastern and Central a

Spokane restaurateur Jim Becker and his partner, Jim Eagle, of Yakima, plan to close the Chapter Eleven restaurants here at 9304 N. Division and 7720 E. Sprague by Labor Day. The Chapter Eleven restaurant at 105 E. Mission will remain three a

The Book & Game Co., of Spokane, which owns and operates a small chain of retail stores, including Aunties Bookstore downtown, has discussed possible sales of two of its operationsMerlyns Science Fiction-Fantasy Store and the Paper who

AutoPatch, a division of Cheney-based XN Technologies Inc. that makes audio, video, and digital signal switching and routing equipment, has opened a sales and customer support office in Osaka, Japan.The two-person office opened last month,

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., the venerable Columbus, Ohio-based retailer of mens and womens casual clothing, says it is considering opening a store in the Spokane area.Lonnie Fogel, a Columbus-based spokesman for the company, says & Fitch

A young Portland company called Zess Technologies Inc. that is marketing a new type of heat exchanger with purportedly wide-ranging commercial and industrial applications plans to open a small testing and assembly facility here.Company Jim

Thirty years ago Blackie, Lucky, Shadow, and Spot were common names for the family dog. Nowadays, mans best friend is more likely to be dubbed Lucy, Jimmy, or Samnames usually reserved for human members of the family. The names reflect

A Spokane venture-capital fund that has its roots in the Momentum economic-development movement has received a federal license that gives it access to $22 million in additional investment fundsincreasing the pool of capital that it and a to

A consortium of banks that do business in Spokane and North Idaho is being formed to finance construction of speculative commercial buildings to boost economic development here and in North Idaho.Nine banks in Spokane, three in North and a