Medical costs are continuing to mount at a pace well above inflation, but the practice of cost shifting, or shifting bigger portions of health-care premiums from employers to employees, may be leveling off, health-plan providers here say.As

Spokane Valley-based Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. says it plans to expand a basalt quarry on a square mile of property it owns in the Wandermere area north of Spokane.The property is located east of the north end of Perry Street and north of of

St. Lukes Rehabilitation Institute says it has hired two additional staff physicians, essentially creating an in-house physicians group at the 102-bed facility here.Until recently, only two physicians on the institutes medical staff were

Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, has been awarded a $23 million contract to build a 49,000-square-foot medical structure at the Washington State Penitentiary, in Walla Walla.About half of the new structure, to be called the Health Services

While some recreational-vehicle dealers here are reporting slower sales this year, others arent, and those in the industry say the Spokane-area market isnt as deeply in the doldrums as it is in other parts of the country.On the national so

While home sales here have fallen dramatically so far this year compared with last years volume, the number of real estate agents serving the market isnt showing as much fallout, industry insiders say. Rob Higgins, executive officer of the

The two major agricultural schools in the Palouse country of Eastern Washington and north-central Idaho are promoting diverse programsranging from winemaking to molecular biologyto show prospective students theres more to agriculture than and

Fred Grubb doesnt like routine construction jobs. His career, like the roller coasters his company builds, has been a thrilling and satisfying ride, he says.Grubb is president and co-owner, along with his wife, Suanne Dedmon, of Hayden-based

McKinstry Co., a Seattle-based mechanical engineering, construction, and design firm with an office here, says it has bought Ramsey Plumbing & Heating, a longtime Spokane plumbing contractor.McKinstry President Doug Moore says that Wendy and &

Amid a steep decline in residential construction here, commercial projects are continuing to hold up overall building-permit values in parts of Spokane County, especially in Spokane Valley, where total building-permit values this year through July