June 4 / Red Lion adds franchises

Red Lion Hotels Corp., of Spokane, said it expects to execute a new franchise agreement shortly for its Leo Hotel Collection with the owners of The Riverside Hotel, a 300-room establishment in Boise, Idaho, that will convert to Red Lion's Leo Hotel brand this summer. It announced separately last week that it also has added a new franchise in Tempe, Ariz. That 162-room, limited-service hotel located near the Arizona State University campus has been renamed The Red Lion Inn & Suites Phoenix/Tempe-ASU.

June 3 / Avista seeks to raise efficiency surcharge

Avista Corp., of Spokane, said its Washington customers could see a small hike in their electric rates on Aug. 1 if the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approves the company's request to increase a surcharge that funds the company's electric efficiency program in the state. If Avista's request is approved, a typical household using 989 kilowatts of electricity a month would see an overall 1.1 percent rate increase, equating to 99 cents more on their monthly bill. Avista said it made the request to adjust the amount it needs to continue offering the same level of rebates and incentives to customers for installing energy-saving measures.

June 3 / AmericanWest Bank to buy California branches

AmericanWest Bank, of Spokane, said it has agreed to buy eight Southern California bank branches operated by PacTrust Bank, of Irvine, Calif. The transaction would transfer about $477 million in assets to AmericanWest. The branches are located in the Riverside, Temecula, Chula Vista, El Cajon, San Diego-Clairemont, and Lakewood areas and will convert to the AmericanWest name once the transaction is completed, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year.

June 3 / Banner, bankcda to buy AmericanWest branches

Banner Corp., the Walla Walla-based parent company of Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, said it has agreed to buy AmericanWest Bank's Liberty Lake branch. Banner Bank currently operates 15 branches in the Spokane area. In an unrelated transaction, Coeur d'Alene-based bankcda announced four days earlier that it has agreed to buy AmericanWest's Kellogg, Idaho, branch, which will expand its operation to three branches in North Idaho. Both transactions are expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.

May 28 / Key Tronic to acquire sheet metal fabricator

Key Tronic Corp., the Spokane Valley-based electronic services manufacturing company, said it has agreed to buy the assets of Sabre Manufacturing, a sheet metal fabrication company in Juarez, Mexico. The $5.1 million transaction is expected to be completed in July and to be accretive to earnings immediately. Sabre Manufacturing operates a 66,000-square-foot complex near a Key Tronic complex in Juarez, employs about 90 people, and generates annual revenue of more than $7 million, Key Tronic said.


May 22 / Fairchild loses bid to host new tankers

Wichita's McConnell Air Force Base was selected over Fairchild Air Force Base and two others to be the main operating base for the Air Force's new KC-46A air refueling tanker, despite intense lobbying efforts by Spokane civic leaders and the Washington congressional delegation. The Air Force will base 36 of the new aircraft at McConnell starting in 2016, and will be investing nearly $200 million in upgrades to the base. The Air Force expects to buy 179 of the new tankers from Boeing Co. through 2028, so several other bases also eventually will have their aging KC-135s replaced with KC-46As.