Sterling Financial Corp., the Spokane-based parent of Sterling Bank, announced this morning it has agreed to acquire Newport Beach, Calif.-based Commerce National Bank in a transaction valued at $42.9 million.The transaction is expected to be the

Avista Corp., of Spokane, reported this morning first-quarter net income of $42.3 million, or 71 cents a diluted share, up from $38.4 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.Scott Morris, Avista's chairman, president, and CEO, in

Northwest Bancorporation Inc., the Spokane-based parent company of Inland Northwest Bank, reported first-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders of $436,000, or 14 cents a diluted share, up from $156,000, or 6 cents a share, in the a

Itron Inc. announced this morning first-quarter net income of $2.6 million, or 6 cents a share, down sharply from $25.4 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.The Liberty Lake-based maker of automated meter-reading technology in

A company formed by an affiliate of Spokane-based Goodale & Barbieri Co. and Salt Lake City-based Woodbury Strategic Partners has bought for $11.6 million the Kalispell Center Mall and Red Lion Hotel, in Kalispell, Mont., from Spokane-based Red of

April 23 / Employment here risesAbout 207,800 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in the Spokane area in March, up by 3,200 from the March 2012 level, but down by 1,100 from February this year, preliminary state figures said. from /

Meetings & EventsGonzaga University will hold its 23rd Economics Symposium on Tuesday, April 30, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center, 502 E. Boone. David Wessel, economics editor for The Wall Street Journal, will a

Tracy Jewelers plans ownership transitionMaureen Tracy, owner of Spokane Valley-based Tracy Jewelers says employee Glen Brown will take over daily operations of the business on May 1 and will train with Tracy for four years, after which she to a

The next time you go into your neighborhood store, you may notice something new. More than 100 small businesses in Spokane have hung posters in their storefronts to highlight the need for immigration reform that includes a road map to am one of it

Spokane County estimates it has spent around $1 million to date creating a new customer service center on the first floor of the courthouse at 1116 W. Broadway, and it anticipates it will spend another $1 million completing the process.Ron for a