Sept. 30 / DSP names new leader

The Downtown Spokane Partnership selected Mike Tedesco as its new president. He is expected to start work at the DSP this month. Tedesco previously worked as the executive director of the Pueblo, Colo., Urban Renewal Agency. Marla Nunberg, who currently is serving as interim president, will return to her role as vice president when Tedesco begins.



Sept. 30 / Avista rate hikes firm up

Avista Corp. and other parties in the company's electric and natural gas rate case filings in Washington reached a settlement agreement that is designed to provide an additional $20 million, or a 4.5 percent increase, in annual electricity revenue, and $3.75 million, or a 2.6 percent increase, in annual natural gas revenue. If approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, the rates would become effective Jan. 1. Separately, Avista received approval from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to increase electric base rates there by 1.1 percent, providing $2.8 million in additional annual electric revenue, and to increase base natural gas rates by 1.6 percent, generating $1.1 million in additional annual revenue. The rates became effective Oct. 1.



Sept. 29 / RiverBank gets new execs, mandates

Two new members were added to the senior management team at RiverBank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Spokane-based RiverBank Holding Co, and the boutique financial institution announced simultaneously that it has reached an agreement with state and federal regulators requiring it to take a number of steps to improve its financial condition. Clyde B. "Chuck" Brooks Jr. was named chief executive officer, succeeding Duane Brandenburg, who retired earlier this year, and John Roewe was named senior vice president and credit administrator.



Sept. 28 / Call center to add 65 jobs here

Register Tapes Unlimited LLP, based in Houston, said it will add 65 marketing jobs to its call center operation at 4503 W. Wellesley by the end of the year. The call center has been in Spokane for 10 years and is expanding its operation from 18 outbound marketers to more than 80, the company said.



Sept. 26 / SCC receives $2 million grant

Spokane Community College's Air Washington program received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training initiative. The Air Washington program aims to implement education, training, and services necessary to meet Washington state's growing work force demands in the aerospace industry.



Sept. 22 / Businesswoman charged with fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Doris Nelson, a Colbert, Wash., resident who owned Little Loan Shoppe, with conducting a Ponzi scheme and using investor money to fund home-improvement projects, gambling, and car purchases. The SEC alleged that Nelson defrauded investors in her company by misrepresenting the profitability and safety of their investments and by giving them the false impression that their money was being used to grow her business. Nelson raised about $135 million in nine years from at least 650 investors in the United States and Mexico, according to the SEC's complaint filed here in U.S. District Court.



Corrections & Amplifications

Leone & Keeble Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor for the new Westview Elementary School being constructed at 6104 N. Moore. The permit value for the project was $11 million. Another builder was listed incorrectly as the contractor on a list of top Spokane-area construction projects in the Journal's Sept. 22 issue. Also, a Cheney middle school project at 6120 S. Abbott Road was omitted from the list. Its permit value was about $16.8 million, and Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor.