Three Western Washington companies have filed an involuntary petition against Paper Direct Inc., a Spokane maker of corrugated shipping cartons and a distributor of paper products, apparently seeking to force Paper Direct into liquidation under the

Fairwood Village Retirement, a retirement community on Spokanes North Side, plans to begin work on a $6 million expansion within the next four months.The project will include adding about 40 units to one of the campuss 10 multi-unit and 45 a

Fred Meyer Inc. says it hopes to begin work early next year on a planned store at the southwest corner of Third Avenue and Thor Street in east central Spokane.Marilyn Coffel, a spokeswoman for the Portland, Ore.-based retail chain, says the is a

Visiontec LLC, a Spokane contract manufacturer, is seeking investors and hopes to raise at least $5 million to buy new equipment and buy or lease additional manufacturing space here.The 3-year-old company initially specialized in assembling used

Packet Engines Inc. founder Bernard Daines says a high-tech office park he hopes to develop in the Spokane Valley could house dozens of buildings with up to 3 million square feet of floor space and the capacity to house more than 1,000 workers. for

First National Financial Group Inc., of Spokane, has opened three new branches in the last two months, giving it five, and plans to open a sixth office, in Vancouver, Wash., within the next two weeks.Glen Hays, a director and senior shareholder

The owners of Empire Dance Shop, who write out their monthly balance sheets by hand on pieces of ledger paper, maintain a computer database that tracks which pointe shoes each of the shops customer has tried over the years and what they thought a

Spokane developer and general contractor Mick McDowell has firmed up plans for a 10-story, roughly $8 million high-end condominium project on Riverside Avenue, just west of downtown Spokane, that would overlook Peaceful Valley and the Spokane He to

Avista Corp., of Spokane, is considering moving its non-regulated businesses out of Spokane and expects to decide whether it will do so within the next six to 12 months.Tom Matthews, Avistas chairman, president, and CEO, declines to disclose a

Steve Livingstone, one of the founders of Bayou Brewing Co., says he now hopes to try an unusual restaurant idea in the ballroom of the restored Odd Fellows Lodge, at 1017 W. First.Livingstone currently is working on recruiting a small group of