AmericanWest Bank announced this morning that it plans to acquire Bank of Sacramento. The acquisition will give AmericanWest a total of nine branches in the Sacramento area and nearly 100 throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Utah. Bank

Voters should approve with enthusiasm both the parks and streets bond refinancing proposals that the city of Spokane has placed on the November ballot. In short, the proposals will retire debt and enable the city to make improvements during the next 20

The Spokesman-Review is offering voluntary buyouts to employees, with the intent of reducing its staff size by 5 percent, or 17 to 18 people, by the end of this year, the newspaper said this afternoon in a press release. The Spokesman-Review currently

Lee & Hayes PLLC, a Spokane-based intellectual property law firm, announced today that it has acquired Atlanta-based Hope & Baldauff LLC. The Georgia patent-law firm has 11 attorneys, two patent agents, and six support staff members, all of whom have j

The minimum wage in Washington state will increase to $9.47 an hour beginning Jan. 1, up 15 cents from the current hourly rate, the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries announced today. The change reflects a 1.59 percent increase in the

Initiative 1351, which would reduce K-12 class sizes in Washington and is one of three statewide propositions on the upcoming general election ballot, is an unfunded mandate that simply would cost too much to implement, particularly given that its educati

Downtown business interests must be laser-focused in their analyses of the proposed Spokane Transit Authority Plaza renovation and must use their influence to ensure development of a safe, vibrant public space in the city's core from which buses move ef