April 5 / ReliOn garners more funding
ReliOn Inc., the Spokane-based maker of backup power systems that use hydrogen fuel-cell technology, announced that it has secured an additional $6 million in equity financing through current investors. It said it plans to use the money to continue commercial growth in the U.S. and to expand international marketing and sales activities.

April 4 / Capital projects here advance
The Washington state House of Representatives released a $3.1 billion major-projects capital budget that included half of the money needed for a $70 million Washington State University Spokane Biomedical and Health Sciences Building at the Riverpoint Campus. The plan also included $30 million for the next phase of remodeling at Eastern Washington University's Patterson Hall and $20 million for classrooms at Spokane Falls Community College.

March 30 / Schweitzer Engineering grows
Pullman, Wash.-based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. announced the opening of its new 89,000-square-foot facility in the Pullman Industrial Park, the 11th SEL building in the park. Separately, the company announced 180 openings for employment. More than 190 people have started work at SEL since January, pushing the company's total number of employees to more than 2,500. Expansion projects continue in Pullman; Lewiston, Idaho; and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, the company said.

March 30 / Itron expands in Australia, Malta
Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of automated meter-reading technology, announced that Australian Energy Market Operator Ltd. will contract with Itron for automated short-term load forecasting to anticipate the amount of power needed for the Australian electricity market. Also, Itron announced that it started delivery of 120,000 smart water meters to Water Services Corp., of the Republic of Malta, an island country south of Italy, as part of a contract that will continue through 2013.

March 29 / Jail bond vote shelved
Spokane County Commissioners said they've shelved plans for a jail bond ballot measure this year and have rescinded an emergency declaration that would have allowed them to expedite rezoning efforts for a proposed new detention center on the West Plains. The commissioners said a $199 million detention facilities project is crucially needed, but they'll pursue approval through a standard comprehensive plan and Urban Growth Areas review process that is currently under way. They will continue to explore all financing options, and a ballot measure could go before voters next year, said Commissioner Al French.

March 24 / Employment here rises
About 202,500 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in Spokane County in February, up by 800 from the February 2010 level, and up 1,600 from January of this year, preliminary state figures said. Preliminary results from another state survey put the unemployment rate in February at 10.6 percent, down from 11.7 percent in the year-earlier month.

March 22/ InCyte to buy Walla Walla lab
InCyte Pathology PS, a Spokane Valley-based anatomic pathology laboratory that serves physicians and hospitals throughout the Northwest, announced that it has agreed to purchase Davis-Sameh-Meeker Laboratories, a 63-year-old pathology lab in Walla Walla, Wash. The transaction was scheduled to be completed April 1. InCyte spokeswoman Kim Hagerty said the company declines to disclose the terms of the transaction.

Corrections & Amplifications
Mark Felchlin's name was spelled incorrectly in a story in the Journal's March 24 edition. Felchlin is co-owner of BIAS Software Inc., of Spokane.