The Spokane Area Economic Development Council expects this month to get some fresh ideas on how to beef up the economy here. California-based economic-development consultant Audrey E. Taylor, who will offer those ideas, says that boosting a can

Inland Northwest Health Services plans to hire 70 well-paid computer-technology and health-care analysts this year and next as it upgrades its electronic regional health-care information network.The workers, who will earn between $60,000 and a

The Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, known for its annual trips to Washington, D.C., that enables business leaders here to lobby on defense, agricultural, and other issues, will send a second delegation there this year to focus solely on new a

Avista Advantage, the Avista Corp. unit that manages utility bills for businesses with multiple sites, cut its losses sharply last year, and also built up its customer base substantially.The Spokane-based operation slashed its annual net loss 3

Itron Inc., the Spokane maker of utility meter-reading technology, is working on licensing to a competitor some of its electric-meter-module and other related technology to satisfy the U.S. government before the companys $255 million acquisition

A subsidiary of John Stone Development LLC, of Spokane, has begun grading the 25.5-acre residential portion of the big Riverstone development, in Coeur dAlene, and will put in roads and utilities there shortly, spokesman Mike Craven says.The

Taxable retail sales rose sharply in Kootenai County in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, showing that the economy is gaining strength there.Farther east, Shoshone County, long an underperformer, also basked in the glow of strong increases

Sandpoint, which counts on good snow years at Schweitzer Mountain Resorts ski area to help drive its economy, is receiving a blizzard of business from recreation-home buyers after Sunset magazine covered the Idaho city in a glistening story in in

Washington Trust Bank, delighted with the results of its entry into the Boise and Seattle markets, plans to build a regional financial center and an additional bank branch in the Boise area this spring and is contemplating opening an office in The

We knew the numbers would be big, and now we know just how big.Last year, real estate-backed loans in Spokane County shot up by 24.1 percent, to $5.38 billion from $4.19 billion in 2002, says RMS Information Services, of Kaysville, Utah, which