Johnny Humphreys enjoys golfing and motorcycling, so its not surprising that the retired but still enterprising former top executive of Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc. would come up with an invention that seeks to merge the two pastimes.The n a

Inland Power & Light Co., the Spokane-based electric cooperative, says its net marginsequivalent to net incomeleaped 42 percent to $4.5 million last year, due partly to better-than-expected power sales and lower-than-expected operating costs. a

Whitworth University says it plans to construct an $11.6 million residence hall on its North Side campus that will be ready for students to occupy by fall 2009.The 44,000-square-foot, 168-bed structure, tentatively being called East Residence a

Eastern Washington University says its considering pursuing a joint building project at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park east of downtown Spokane, and shelving plans to construct its own building there within the next couple of years.EWU

BlueRay Technologies Inc.s plant in downtown Spokane still is at least a few weeks away from beginning full-fledged production, but already has gotten what its top executive describes as a welcome lift.Toshiba Corp.s decision last month to

Ricks Custom Fencing & Decking Inc., a Hillsboro, Ore.-based company that claims to be one of the Northwests largest retailers of fencing and decking products, plans to develop a store on the West Plains that would be its seventh company most a

Avista Corp., of Spokane, is joining with two other Northwest investor-owned utilities to challenge a federal appellate court finding that the Bonneville Power Administration erred in the method it used to make big payments to the utilities.The

Prospera Wealth Management LLC, an affiliate of LeMaster Daniels, one of Spokanes largest accounting firms, says it has bought APC Financial Services LLC, of Bellevue, Wash., for an undisclosed sum in a related piece to a larger recent It says it

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians says it is considering revising the construction phases for a big planned resort and casino on the West Plains so it can open at least a portion of the projectnow expected to have a total cost of more than $500 a now

The lumber industry has endured a dismal year, and expects little improvement in 2008, with demand for its products perhaps softening even a bit more as fallout continues from a sharp downturn in the new-housing market.We are basically in the