AmericanWest Bank, the main operating subsidiary of Spokane-based AmericanWest Bancorp, says it will grow its operations in Eastern Washington by opening branches in Airway Heights and College Place, Wash.AmericanWest has submitted applications

The organic food industry is growing at a rapid pace in the U.S., and agricultural experts here say Washington states organic food production reflects that trend, as does rising demand from Spokane-area consumers for the food.Organic food and

Medford, Ore.-based Lithia Motors Inc., which owns Spokanes Camp Automotive Inc., says its in the process of buying land in Liberty Lake possibly to build a new facility for its Mercedes-Benz dealership here.The automobile-dealership chain

The opening of a grocery store downtown, which doesnt have a full-line food store now, would be a boon to residents who live in new and converted multi-occupant buildings, and at least two specialty grocery chains are looking to see whether they

Retirement planning is especially important for women, who often need to be much more involved in their families financial planning than they are, experts here say.Women live longer than men, earn less money, and receive smaller Social and a

A business here, called Leading Edge Software, says it has created a software product that helps gambling operations comply with state regulations, reduce costs, and become more efficient.The product, which Leading Edge Software released in is

CPM Development Corp., of Spokane Valley, which owns Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. and Inland Asphalt Co. here, has extended its reach farther west by acquiring the names and assets of several operations owned by Salem, Ore.-based J.C. Compton this

Community Frameworks, a Spokane, nonprofit affordable-housing provider, has bought a building that formerly housed a nursing home on the South Hill near downtown, and plans to convert it into a cooperative housing project.Community Frameworks a

Mead School District says its in the final stages of planning for a new middle school that will replace one of its current schools and will cost an estimated $31 million.The district hopes to secure $12.5 million in state funding later this a

Kent and Cal Clausen, two brothers here who have been developing hotels since the early 1990s, plan to open a hotel in Coeur dAlene soon, as well as three other new lodging facilities in Western Washington, Montana, and Nevada, all within the two