The number of bankruptcy petitions filed in Eastern Washington soared to a record high for the fourth straight year in 2003, and experts here say they might continue to increase this year.Businesses and consumers last year filed 10,429 seeking

Taxable retail sales rose sharply in Kootenai County in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, showing that the economy is gaining strength there.Farther east, Shoshone County, long an underperformer, also basked in the glow of strong increases

Two of Spokanes largest medical practices, Rockwood Clinic PS and Physicians Clinic of Spokane, are exploring joining forces with several other large physician groups in the state to self-insure by forming their own malpractice insurance the pool

St. Georges School says it hopes to break ground by early summer on a $6 million athletic center at the small private schools campus north of Spokane.Pat Spanjer, spokeswoman for St. Georges, says the planned 26,000-square-foot structure

Spokane developer Rob Brewster Jr. says he has revised his plans for the $22 million Havermale Park mixed-use development at the east end of downtown to include a possible 22- or 23-story high-rise building.As envisioned, the tower would about

For Deke Cloyd, every picture does tell a story.Hes got a tale for each photograph that hangs from the walls of the quirky space he leases in the largely vacant Music City building in downtown Spokane. If youve got the time, hell bend ear

Spokane Mayor Jim West says he plans to pursue a major reorganization of city government aimed at improving Spokanes economy.The planstelegraphed in his campaign and embraced by his community-based transition teamcall for creating a new,

Sandpoint, which counts on good snow years at Schweitzer Mountain Resorts ski area to help drive its economy, is receiving a blizzard of business from recreation-home buyers after Sunset magazine covered the Idaho city in a glistening story in in

Just as the Inland Northwest economy has shown signs of getting off the ground again, soaring building-materials prices threaten to clip its wings.Steel prices have risen sharply in recent months, and Spokane-area companies that do business in

Online enrollment for benefits continues to be the No. 1 choice for U.S. employees, with 77percent using the Internet to enroll this year, according to research conducted by Hewitt Associates, the big human resources outsourcing and consulting an