Initiative 1351, which would reduce K-12 class sizes in Washington and is one of three statewide propositions on the upcoming general election ballot, is an unfunded mandate that simply would cost too much to implement, particularly given that its educati

The Spokane Area Workforce Development Council has received $3.2 million-down $150,000 from last year-in state workforce development money for the summer-2014-to-summer-2015 funding period. The reduced funding isn't necessarily a bad thing, though,

IntelliPaper LLC, the Edwall, Wash.-based company that makes recyclable, paper-based USB flash drives, has raised more than 10 times its goal of $10,000 through a recently completed Kickstarter crowdsourcing campaign for swivelCard, a 'smart” business

Spokane medical benefit broker VEBA Service Group is planning to open a call center division here on Jan. 1, says Mark Wilkerson, area president for VEBA. The company, located in 8,400 square feet of space at 906 W. Second downtown, will be hiring six c

Skin care is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the beauty industry, according to Washington State Employment Security figures, says Dana Ware, a master esthetician who plans to train students in the Spokane area in all phases of skin care with the

The Washington State Small Business Development Center Network, the Spokane-based statewide business advisory organization, has named Duane Fladland as its director. Anson Fatland, Seattle-based associate vice president for economic development and exter

The Washington state Community Economic Revitalization Board has approved a loan and a grant totaling $538,000 to construct infrastructure to expand one steel supplier and to bring another supplier to the Inland Northwest market. Together, the companies