Aug. 27 / Raceway oval operator shuts down

Full Blown Promotions, subcontract operator of the oval track at the Spokane County Raceway on the West Plains, closed its doors in the wake of a dispute with Raceway Investments LLC, the main operator of the raceway complex, over what Raceway Investments claimed were tardy rental payments. Full Blown's owners contended their finances were hampered by their inability to sell or retain any profits from beer sales, which Raceway Investments controls, but the county said a state liquor rule prohibits such sales by a tenant operating under a sublease.

Aug. 21 / Key Tronic posts higher earnings

Key Tronic Corp., the Spokane Valley-based electronics manufacturing services provider, reported net income of $3.8 million, or 35 cents a diluted share, for its fiscal-year fourth quarter ended June 30, up from $1.5 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. For its entire 2012 fiscal year, Key Tronic posted net income of $11.6 million, or $1.11 a share, up from $5.7 million, or 55 cents a share, in the previous year. It reported record full-year revenue of $346.5 million, up sharply from $253.8 million in the previous year.

Aug 21 / Employment here falls

About 201,000 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in the Spokane area in July, down by 2,000 from the July 2011 level and by 4,400 from June of this year, preliminary state figures said. Preliminary results from another state survey put the unemployment rate here at 8.8 percent during July, down from 9.2 percent in the year-earlier month, but up from 8.6 percent in June.

Aug. 21 / Hecla acquires interest in silver company

Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur d'Alene, said it has agreed to acquire 20 million shares of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Dolly Varden Silver Corp. for $3.2 million. The acquisition will give Hecla a 20 percent ownership interest in Dolly Varden. Dolly Varden is engaged in exploration and development of silver projects in northwest British Columbia, including the past-producing Dolly Varden and Torbit mines that combined have produced more than 20 million ounces of silver.

Aug. 20 / City approves panhandler ordinance

The Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to ban aggressive panhandling in a central portion of the city, with council members who supported the measure asserting that those who go into the street to collect cash pose a public safety hazard. The new law encompasses major arterials, including state highway routes, in an area bounded by Seventh Avenue on the south, Boone Avenue on the north, Hamilton Street on the east, and the Maple-Ash street corridor on the west.

Aug. 17 / INHS buys rest of Wells Fargo building

Inland Northwest Health Services, of Spokane, said it bought the remaining 74 percent of the Wells Fargo Building, at 601 W. First downtown, in a foreclosure auction with a bid of $16 million. The organization already owned and occupied parts of six floors in the 17-story, 184,100-square-foot tower. It has had operations in that building since 2006.

Aug. 15 / Treasury to sell Sterling stock

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced that it plans to hold a secondary public offering through which it will sell about 5.7 million shares of Spokane-based Sterling Financial Corp's common stock. Net proceeds to the Treasurer are expected to be about $113.3 million. The Treasury Department received the common stock in 2010 as part of Sterling's recapitalization program in exchange for preferred stock the Treasury had received initially as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program's capital purchase program.