Latest News

A sink or swim venture

July 16, 2009

Scuba Center of Spokane Inc. is, above all, a way for Jamie Mankin to make a living doing what he loves. "From my first breath under water, I said, 'I have to find a way to get paid for this,'" Mankin says.Through his Spokane business, which

Sterling eyes branch site in Walla Walla

Spokane-based bank asks FDIC to approve outlet at new retail center there

July 16, 2009

Mike McLean

Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank says it's considering opening a second branch in Walla Walla, Wash.The bank has filed an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to establish a branch there in the recently developed Rose Street

Airport Board seeks Felts operator pact

Felts Field Aviation's long-term lease at east Spokane airport expires in September

July 16, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

The Spokane Airport Board is trying to negotiate a contract with the longtime fixed-base operator at its Felts Field general aviation airport here, after its request this spring for proposals for such an operator there netted no responses.A or a

EWU study finds strong clusters here

Results suggest Spokane now is less dependent on strictly local industry

July 16, 2009

Kim Crompton

The Spokane metropolitan area has experienced strong business "cluster" formation since 1990, reflecting an economy that now is "less dependent upon local industry and one that is participating in the larger U.S. economy," a newly released study by

Avista touts incentives for business

Energy-conservation programs highlighted on new Web page

July 16, 2009

Richard Ripley

Avista Utilities is taking its Web-based promotion of energy conservation incentives from the home to Main Street—or in this case what it calls "Efficiency Avenue." For some time, users have been able to click on the attic, windows, walls,

The making of a modern sewage plant

County's planned facility presents huge challenge, cutting-edge opportunity

July 16, 2009

David Cole

Developing a metropolitan wastewater treatment plant capable of meeting the most stringent water quality standards anywhere is a daunting challenge, but being able to design it from scratch is an enticing opportunity, says the man who's responsible

Waterfront sales sink to new depths

Lake home prices here drop as pool of affluent buyers dries up

July 16, 2009

Mike McLean

The market for lakefront and riverfront homes is in uncharted waters—and they're rough, real estate specialists here say.Bill Fanning, broker at Century 21 Beutler-Waterfront, in Spokane, says lake home prices are spiraling downward, and a

Sacred Heart ponders next move

Expansion plans in flux after state's denial; rivals opposed additional beds

July 16, 2009

Kim Crompton

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital was expected to decide by a deadline late this week whether to appeal the Washington state Department of Health's recent denial of its certificate of need application for 152 more a of

Preserve your capital by avoiding common financial gaffes

Don't chase industries that have rallied or jump in and out of the market

July 16, 2009

Personal Investing

"Never write a book about mistakes," an editor at a major publishing house once advised me. "People want to read about how to make money, not how to avoid losing money."The depth of this recession, however, makes capital preservation every bit a

Array

July 16, 2009

Deb and Bill Weisgerber, of Spokane, have bought the Grounds & Grub coffee stand at 1402 S. Bowdish, in Spokane Valley, and have renamed it Deb's Espresso, which is also the name of another coffee stand, at 1127 W. Northwest Blvd., that they says a