Up Close

North Idaho College starts aerospace training program

School hopes to enroll 520 students through Hayden facility by '15

July 18, 2013

North Idaho College is assembling the components it needs to launch aerospace manufacturing and maintenance programs starting next month under a $3 million federal grant, says Kassie Silvas, NIC's director of aerospace and outreach.The goal of a

Gonzaga University business dean to step down

GU's Barnes oversaw growth in enrollment, programs, accreditations

July 18, 2013

Treva Lind

Clarence "Bud" Barnes, soon to retire as longtime dean of Gonzaga University's School of Business Administration, has watched the school's undergraduate enrollment grow from 450 students in 1980 to nearly 1,200 people this year in studies ranging &

More lodging execs optimistic about current conditions

Those surveyed say they are less certain about upcoming 12 months

July 3, 2013

News Wise

U.S. lodging executives' sentiment about general business conditions was up slightly in May compared with the prior month, says the University of New Hampshire Lodging Executives Sentiment Index. The index moved to a score of 71.2 in May from A

Housing market recovering; market challenges remain

Homeownership rate drop said most pronounced among 25 to 54 year olds

July 3, 2013

Driven by rising home prices and growing demand, the U.S. housing recovery is well under way, says The State of the Nation's Housing report released late last month by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass.

Mid-market managers expect their companies to grow

Survey respondents were less confident in nation's economy as a whole

July 3, 2013

After sustained economic turmoil, mid-market executives have a stronger footing and are taking the necessary steps to make the sector an engine for growth in the next year, according to results of a survey published in late April by New York-based

Auto sales projection increased

Edmunds.com expects highest volume since the pre-recession years

July 3, 2013

After reviewing first-quarter auto sales and macroeconomic trends, Edmunds.com Inc., the Santa Monica, Calif.-based automotive website, is raising its auto sales forecast to 15.5 million for 2013. The industry hasn't achieved that level of and

Retail market here maintains steady climb upward

Spokane businesses see promising growth through first half of '13

July 3, 2013

Jessica Valencia

Retail sales here are showing signs of recovery so far this year, with many seeing sales continue to climb after solid end-of-year figures for 2012, Spokane retailers and market experts say.Bryn West, general manager for River Park Square, says

Jobs to continue to grow

Trend projected in private-sector hirings for work in key industries

July 3, 2013

Treva Lind

The number of jobs in Spokane County has trended upward during the second half of 2012 and so far this year, with a net gain of more than 3,000 new jobs, labor observers say."We've seen significant gains of people employed; it's mostly jobs," of

Aerial wildfire douser starts working on aircraft at SIA

Arizona-based Aero-Flite moves handful of workers here, more to come later

June 20, 2013

Treva Lind

Aero-Flite Inc., a Kingman, Ariz.-based company that's providing the U.S. Forest Service with next-generation air tankers for wildfire suppression, has based some employees at Spokane International Airport and expects to move other activity there a

Airlines notch second-best year in performance review

Industry earns improved marks in handling bags, on-time performance

June 20, 2013

News Wise

Airline performance in 2012 was the second highest in the 23 years that researchers with Wichita State University and Purdue University have tracked the industry. The performance of the nation's leading carriers last year was nearly identical to