How long is too long when it comes to waiting for a building permit? Is there a time when common sense should take precedence over strict interpretation of building code and permitting procedures?These are questions recently broached in an email

A book released recently by retired Spokane businessman Chris Carlson provides a nostalgic respite from the increasingly partisan bickering and lack of effective leadership that seem to so dominate politics these days.Titled, "Cecil Andrus: the

Companies have been laying off workers left and right since the economy tanked several years ago, but Linda Oien, a Spokane native and longtime former Xerox Corp. executive, thinks it was a flurry of such activity in the early 1990s that still is a

As I watch the federal deficit grow, I'm reminded of a college buddy who once got a cash advance from his credit card so that he could pay his—drum roll, please—credit-card bill.My friend's one-time, counter-intuitive move was funny at

Kim Zentz, executive director at Sirti, the Spokane-based Washington state economic development agency, once again appears to be showing her ability to help forge positive change in organizations where change is needed.Zentz has been one of the

Last week, the Spokane County commissioners wisely back-burnered plans to ask voters for $199 million to build new jails and related corrections facilities. They said the need for the project is crucial, but on some level, they hopefully have to

The push to derive more of our energy needs from renewable resources is laudable and something we all want to see. A big unanswered question, especially in this new-reality economy, is how much of a premium we're all willing to pay for it. Perhaps

In early February of 1986, when the Journal of Business published its first edition, I, too, was seeing my name in print for the first time. I was a freshman staff writer at my high-school newspaper who was basking in the glory of my first piece of

When I entered the newspaper business in 1972, it was well established that to boost circulation, small papers put peoples' names and faces in their pages so their friends and relatives could see them. Today, in a new twist on an old idea, Facebook

The idea that downtown Spokane will become the site of a nationally branded, 2,000-plus-room hotel has come up once again.When Spokane Public Facilities District Executive Director Kevin Twohig discussed the proposed expansion of the Group Hall