Avista Corp. plans to merge its Avista Communications and Avista Fiber affiliates later this year, the Spokane-based company disclosed in its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week.Avista Communications be

Two Spokane businessmen and a Seattle executive have formed a company here called Commencement Bay Partners LLC to manage a new venture-capital fund that aims to invest in technology companies in the Pacific Northwest or on the West Bay hopes to up

The demand for cowboy hats has declined, even out here in the West, and fedoras havent been popular since before full-haired John F. Kennedy, who preferred not to wear a head covering, was elected president.Dont think for a moment, though, &

Bernard Daines, founder of Webiness Inc. and World Wide Packets Inc., has bought a 10,000-square-foot building in Liberty Lake and plans to triple its size to accommodate, at least for now, both of those high-tech, Spokane start-ups.Eventually,

The owners of Liberty Lake-based Accra-Fab Inc. plan to build a $6 million, 150,000-square-foot plant at Liberty Lake Center for the company, and have set aside enough land there to build a second building of similar size to accommodate the fast a

Retail growth is at a standstill along some corridors in the Spokane Valley, and the vacancy rate for retail property there is higher than in most other parts of the Spokane area.Though Costco Wholesale Corp. has said its looking at moving its

While the Internet is opening up new advertising and sales channels for some businesses here, it also is opening the door to new jobsboth for people who work directly with the worldwide network of networks and in more conventional positions at an

Dave Lenartz cant seem to take his Technet hat off.For nearly a decade, the Spokane software entrepreneur and other founders of that support group to high-tech companies here have sought ways to bolster Spokanes technology industries. In has

The Spokane Transit Authority has taken steps to condemn about 14 acres of land near the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center to use as right of way for a proposed light-rail line and as a site for a passenger station.STA filed a petition in late a