Aspen Way Enterprises Inc., of Billings, Mont., plans to open its third Aarons Sales & Lease Ownership store here this fall, one of five new stores the company has slated for the Inland Northwest, says Travis Higdon, its director of operations. a

Skyhawks Sports Academy Inc., a 30-year-old Spokane-based youth sports camp provider, has launched an affiliate venture, Skyhawks Franchise Group Inc., to operate as a nationwide franchiser of fitness programs for kids ages 4 to 14. The latter

The city of Spokane is implementing the first wave of recommendationswhich should yield an annual cost savings of about $500,000from the comprehensive efficiency study it ordered last year. The 500-page, $260,000 study, prepared by Matrix

A mixed-used building thats expected to get under way this fall south of Holy Family Hospital has grown substantially in scope in the two and a half years since plans for it first were disclosed by Franklin Park Medical Center II LLC, of to be at

Express Messenger Systems Inc., a Phoenix-based freight-delivery and courier service, has opened a hub in Spokane.The company, which specializes in same-day delivery, is leasing about 4,900 square feet of office and warehouse space at 6207 W. a

The unemployment rate in the Spokane metropolitan area fell in May to its lowest level in almost nine years.At 4 percent, the rate dipped to its lowest point since September 1998, when it came in at 3.6 percent.That is mighty low, Jeff

Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc., the No. 1 supplier of automatic meter-reading equipment in North America, is striving to compete in the next big meter-reading markettechnology that gives utilities and their customers two-way communication.The

Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, has begun work on a $50 million infrastructure project that will serve new housing developments planned at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, near Sandpoint, says the real estate broker whos marketing the work will a

With competition heating up as telecommunication companies seek to penetrate the small-business market, businesses here can expect telecom prices to fall further, and reliability to improve.Qwest Communications International Inc. and XO Inc., a

The Kalispel Tribe says it plans to announce soon a big expansion of its Northern Quest Casino, in Airway Heights, and although a spokeswoman declines for now to provide details, an online newsletter says the project would include a hotel, center,