March 25 / Bouten lands $7.8 million park project
The Spokane Park Board awarded a contract for construction of the first phase of recreational facilities at the Albi-Merkel Sports Complex to Bouten Construction Co., which submitted a winning bid of $7.8 million. The project involves site improvements consisting of five lighted softball fields, one lighted artificial turf soccer field, seven grass soccer fields, a neighborhood park, approximately 1,040 parking stalls, trails, and water, sewer, landscape, and irrigation improvements. The project plans include softball and soccer concessions buildings, a restroom facility, and a maintenance center.

March 20 / Postal Service to close district office here
The U.S. Postal Service said it will close its Spokane district office by the end of August, eliminating 75 jobs here, to cut costs in response to its national financial crisis. The district office is located in the Crescent Building at 707 W. Main, and serves Eastern Washington and Idaho. After the closure, the Seattle district office will serve Eastern Washington and North Idaho, while the Salt Lake City office will begin handling the remainder of Idaho.

March 18 / Cd'A arena would attract dollars, operate at loss
A 6,000-seat indoor sports arena in Coeur d'Alene would attract at least $8.5 million in new annual tourism spending, but it would operate at an estimated annual loss of up to $364,000, not counting debt service on the $25 million facility, said a report by a consultant commissioned by a sports- and event-center advocacy group. Such an arena, with 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of floor space and an attached baseball complex, would host at least 74 events annually with a total attendance of more than 180,000 and would generate at least 280 full- and part-time jobs and $776,000 in total annual tax revenue, the report said.

March 17 / Employment drops here
Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in the Spokane area dropped to 210,600 in February, down by 5,800 jobs from the February 2008 level, according to preliminary Washington state Employment Security Department figures. Preliminary figures from another survey put the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent in February, up from 6.1 percent in the year-earlier month.

March 11 / County takes no position on tribe's gaming request
Spokane County said it plans to take no position on the Spokane Tribe of Indians' upcoming application to the U.S. Department of Interior for approval of gaming activities on tribal property near Airway Heights. The tribe asked for the county's support, said its attorney, Scott Wheat. Wheat said the tribe's application addresses benefits of gaming activities there and impacts to the surrounding community, and should be submitted in a few months.

March 10 / Spokane schools bond, levy pass; city bond fails
Voters in a March 10 special election approved Spokane Public Schools' $288 million bond to finance school upgrades and also approved the district's three-year maintenance-and-operation levy renewal. Separately, voters rejected an $18.5 million bond request by the city of Spokane to pay for a new police property and evidence building, expansion of an animal shelter, upgrades to the police shooting range, and purchase of a building the city has been leasing for its Municipal Court.

Correction & Amplifications
Avista Corp., with a rate of return of 7.17 percent in the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008, trailed the S&P Utility MidCap Index median of 10.26 percent. One megawatt of power is enough to serve 750 homes on Avista's system. Those figures were reported incorrectly in the Journal's March 12 edition.