Northwest Strawboard Inc., a Pasco, Wash.-based company thats been formed to develop three plants in Eastern Washington to make particle board out of straw, hopes to raise $5 million in a stock offering to help pay for the first of the plants, in

Dakotah Direct Inc., the big Spokane telemarketing company, plans to hire 300 additional insurance agentsmost of them in Spokaneover the next eight months to handle increased telemarketing business from insurance companies.Connie Browning, a

Home Depot Inc., of Atlanta, has leased land at the northeast corner of U.S. 95 and Sunset Avenue in Coeur dAlene and plans to build a store there, says Amy Friend, a Fullerton, Calif.-based company spokeswoman.Earlier, Home Depot had said it

As Spokane Countys unemployment rate has slipped lower and lower, the available work force here, which has been touted for years as plentiful, isnt so abundant any more.Both companies with large hiring needs and temporary-help agencies are a

A 108-mile freight line that connects Cheney to Coulee City, Wash., was deteriorating and headed for abandonment until Eastern Washington grain shippers, legislators, and the state Department of Transportation stepped in to help save it.Now, the

Copyright 1998 by Journal of BusinessEmpire Securities Inc. of Washington, a Spokane brokerage firm, is under fire.A retired Spokane optometrist and his wife have filed suit in U.S. District Court here claiming that Empire Securities and them

Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, has begun remodeling the Farm Credit Banks Building downtown for Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., the big Spokane financial-services company that bought the high-rise last year. Metropolitan plans to its

EVO-lution Inc., a Spokane motorcycle dealership, has been sued by Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and its parent for alleged use of Harley-Davidson registered trademarks without authorization.The lawsuit, which was in

Michaels Stores Inc., a big Dallas-based retailer of arts, crafts, and home-decor items, plans to open a second Spokane-area store, this one in the former Best Products Co. building on North Division.Michaels has leased about 25,300 square feet

Extended Stay America Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company that operates more than 190 extended-stay hotels nationwide, says it plans to build a 115-unit hotel in the Spokane Valley.Mariesa Capelli, a spokeswoman in Fort Lauderdale for of