A new company here plans to open in Spokane Valley a franchise store of DirectBuy, a membership-based company that offers discounted household goods.The company, Brava Enterprises Inc., has leased about 15,000 square feet of floor space in the

The Spokane-area economy appears to be strengthening again, according to the most recent Spokane Leading Economic Index compiled by Washington State University professor Don Epley.Meanwhile, in a second index compiled by Epley, the purchasing a

Horizon Credit Union has acquired Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. and will operate the mortgage business as a subsidiary. Terms of the transaction involving the two Spokane Valley-based organizations were not disclosed. Cherry Creek Mortgage will

How hot is the Spokane-Kootenai county housing market? Smokin.Through the first 33 weeks of this year, building departments in the Spokane and Coeur dAlene areas issued permits for 32 percent more homes than in the year-earlier period, when

A development company here has proposed constructing a small retail building at the busy Division Street-Second Avenue intersection that would include a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop.The company, Keeper LLC, has requested from the city of Spokane

In an unusually lucrative payoff, Coldwater Creek Inc. shareholders next week will receive a 50 percent stock dividendtheir second in eight monthsfrom the Sandpoint-based retailer. Coldwaters board recently approved a 3-for-2 stock split

Old Standard Life Insurance Co., an affiliate of Spokane-based Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., says its commercial lending division is on track for a record year, based on mid-year results.The division posted $338.3 million in closed of

This game called Blongoball, it doesnt look like much.The ball is a short nylon rope with golf balls attached to each end. The target, called a blongoal, is a three-foot-high structure made of PVC pipe. The object of the game is to so

The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries proposal to raise workers compensation premiums by 19.4 percent next yearfollowing a 29 percent hike this yearis likely to be met with vehement opposition.The department was to the

Three groups have teamed up to study the feasibility of bringing fixed-rail streetcars back to downtown Spokane. The studys supportersthe Downtown Spokane Partnership, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, and the Spokane Transit the