Meetings & EventsConnect Northwest will hold an Executive Connect breakfast on Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 7 to 9 a.m., at the Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside. Larry Krauter, CEO of Spokane Airports, will speak. The cost is $30. To register, go to a

Preliminary Washington state Employment Security Department statistics put the Spokane County unemployment rate in October at 7.6 percent, the lowest rate since December 2008. The unemployment rate, which isn't seasonally adjusted, fell from 8 in

Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of automated utility meter-reading technology, announced this morning that Philip Mezey will succeed LeRoy Nosbaum as the company's president and CEO, effective Jan. 1.Mezey, who currently serves as and of

Red Lion Hotels Corp., of Spokane, today reported a third-quarter net loss of $906,000, or five cents a share, down from a loss of $122,000, or 1 cent a share, in the 2011 third quarter.Through the first nine months of this year, the company has

For at least the past six years, there has been little positive said in most media outlets about the state of the overall real estate market-especially the residential sector. There has been good cause for much of that angst, but the past is past a

Beyond Beads closes in Spokane ValleyA bead store named Beyond Beads Gallery that has operated for 21 years in the Spokane Valley is closing.Owner Jody Young says she expects to shut down the store at 12019 E. Sprague on Nov. 10. It has one and

Nov. 6 / Avista reports decline in net incomeAvista Corp., of Spokane, posted third-quarter net income of $5.8 million, or 10 cents a diluted share, down from $10.7 million, or 18 cents a share, during the 2011 third quarter. Avista had disclosed

Meetings & EventsThe Inland Northwest chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners will hold its November meeting on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m., at the Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln. Reynetta DeVeau, of Spokane, will present a

The performing and visual arts are an important economic catalyst to our region and to Spokane's urban core, as Marla Nunberg, acting president of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, so aptly stated recently.They also are a key contributor to the