Latest News

A haven for moms

September 17, 2009

Margaret Hildahl strives to be a nurturer. She says she seeks to create an atmosphere that's both bright and calm, and that's the feeling one gets upon entering Mother's Haven, her Coeur d'Alene business.Though Mother's Haven makes its bread and

WSU picks designer for building here

Seattle architectural firm to draw up $45 million Riverpoint biomed facility

September 17, 2009

Mike McLean

Washington State University has selected Seattle architectural firm NBBJ to design a $45 million medical-sciences building that's to be constructed at the Riverpoint Campus east of downtown. A general contractor and construction manager will be to

$38 million Pullman smart-grid plan eyed

Avista, Itron, Schweitzer Engineering involved; proposal awaits broader effort's approval

September 17, 2009

Richard Ripley

Avista Corp. and several partners would make a $38 million investment in technology and equipment in Pullman if a $178 million five-state demonstration project is a winner in a national competition for federal stimulus grants that would cover half

Agilent finds new home at Liberty Lake

Company puts up for sale big complex on Mission that it partially occupies

September 17, 2009

Mike McLean

Agilent Technologies Inc., the Santa Clara, Calif.-based scientific-instrument maker, says it has decided to move its Liberty Lake operations into leased space and out of a much larger complex that it owns here after having reduced its Spokane-area

Two counties, one recession, shared pain

Spokane County sees early job losses; Kootenai leads in defaults, bankruptcies

September 17, 2009

Mike McLean

Ask which county—Spokane County or its Idaho neighbor, Kootenai County—has been hit hardest by the recession, and economists and business operators here will say it depends on which measuring stick you use.Job growth—or lack of a

Avista eyes big upgrades at dams later

Cabinet Gorge, Long Lake projects total $316 million, could serve 108,000 homes

September 17, 2009

Richard Ripley

Avista Utilities has listed in a new long-term plan three potential major hydroelectric upgrades at its Long Lake and Cabinet Gorge dams that would add 144 megawatts of generating capacity to its system, or more than the 125 megawatts of combined a

Appliance rebates spark mixed views

Anticipated arrival of $300 million might be hurting demand now

September 17, 2009

David Cole

Appliance dealers here say an anticipated federal program that will provide rebates to consumers who buy qualified energy-efficient home appliances should boost sales, but for now might be dampening demand as buyers wait for details of the program

Peppertree developers get loans

Work on $9 million hotel project to resume this month

September 17, 2009

Mike McLean

Developers of the long-stalled Best Western Peppertree Inn & Suites project at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Division Street say they expect to resume construction of the $9 million structure this month, after having secured a portion of

Company touts 'green' CD annual reports versus paper

September 3, 2009

Environmentally minded, publicly traded companies have a new option for distributing their annual reports to shareholders, as required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).A new Oklahoma-based company, Green Wise Report, has a it

Engineers find way to make more butanol

Ohio researchers pursue better method to ferment bacteria to create biofuel

September 3, 2009

Engineers at Ohio State University have found a way to double the production of the biofuel butanol, which might someday replace gasoline in automobiles.The process improves on the conventional method for brewing butanol in a bacterial bacteria