March 10 / Avista's Clark Fork operations resume after spill
Avista Corp. said it will continue cleanup operations and monitor conditions in the Clark Fork River in North Idaho and western Montana as its Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge hydroelectric projects return to normal service this week following a 1,250-gallon oil spill discovered Feb. 26 at the Spokane-based energy company's Noxon Rapids dam. A preliminary investigation indicated the spill originated from an ice-damaged valve that leaked lightweight mineral oil into the river from a transformer cooling system. The spill caused no observable impacts to fish, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, or domestic water supplies, the company said.

March 4 / Coldwater Creek posts $18.6 million loss
Coldwater Creek Inc., the Sandpoint-based specialty women's fashion retailer, reported a net loss of $18.6 million, or 20 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with a net loss of $17 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. For its 2008 fiscal year, the company reported a net loss of $26 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $2.5 million, or 3 cents a share, in fiscal 2007. It said its comparable store sales fell 21.4 percent in the latest quarter, compared with the year-earlier period.

March 2 / SIA passenger, cargo numbers decline
A total of 222,500 airline passengers arrived at and departed from Spokane International Airport in January, a 14.6 percent decrease from the total in the year-earlier month. Inbound and outbound air-cargo tonnage at SIA fell to 4,081 tons in January, a decrease of 12.3 percent from January 2008.

March 2 / JPMorgan Chase names Campbell regional chief
JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that former Spokane banker and civic leader Phyllis Campbell will become its Pacific Northwest chairwoman next month. Campbell has been president and CEO of The Seattle Foundation, the largest community foundation in the state, for the past six years. Campbell, who began her banking career in 1973 as a management trainee for Old National Bank in Spokane, will sit on JPMorgan Chase's executive committee and will be the firm's senior executive in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Feb. 27 / Nonstop Spokane-Chicago flights to resume
United Airlines will resume nonstop flights between Spokane International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport beginning June 4, the airport here announced. The flights, a priority of the business community here, will be operated daily by Shuttle America on 70-seat Embraer 170 jets. United had halted the Spokane-Chicago flights last Nov. 2.

Feb. 27 / Intermountain Community Bancorp posts loss
Intermountain Community Bancorp, the Sandpoint-based bank holding company that owns Panhandle State Bank, reported a fourth-quarter loss applicable to common shareholders of $2.9 million, or 35 cents a share, down from net income of $2.8 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. For all of 2008, the company said it had net income applicable to common shareholders of $1.2 million, or 14 cents a share, down from $9.4 million, or $1.10 a share, in 2007. The company's assets grew 5.4 percent last year, to $1.11 billion.

Feb. 25 / Vaagen Bros. announces mill curtailment
Vaagen Bros. Lumber Inc. said it will curtail production at its Colville, Wash., log yard and sawmill until April 6, citing much lower lumber prices. It said prices for lumber byproducts also have fallen as much as 40 percent from their highs in 2008. Vaagen Bros. said it might extend the closure if market conditions haven't improved by next month, but plans to continue its chipping operations, retaining up to 50 of about 200 people it employs between its Colville and Usk mills, as long as it has chip-wood inventory.