June 28 / Deer Park Golf Club, property auction set
A Tulsa, Okla.-based auction company said that the Deer Park Golf Club and surrounding property, encompassing 265 acres, will be offered at auction Aug. 26. The company, Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate Auction, said the project, which developers in 1992 predicted would double Deer Park's population, will be sold off in parcels. The auction items include the 18-hole golf course; a 121-space RV resort; 70 residential lots; a luxury condominium; and a number of parcels of unimproved land.

June 24 / Banner announces $150 million stock sale
Banner Corp., the Walla Walla, Wash.-based parent of Banner Bank, announced a $150 million stock sale. The company said its sale of 75 million common shares at $2 a share should produce net proceeds of $141.8 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and related expenses. The bank said it plans to use a significant portion of the proceeds to strengthen Banner Bank's regulatory capital ratios and to support managed growth.

June 23 / Auntie's Bookstore expands to River Park Square
Auntie's Bookstore, of Spokane, said it plans to open a branch store, named Auntie's at the Square, on the second floor of River Park Square in downtown Spokane in July. The outlet will carry the same types of books as the business's main store, at 402 W. Main, with a larger volume of book titles popular among 18- to 34-year-olds.

June 21 / Council approves $1.8 million airport settlement
The Spokane City Council unanimously approved a $1.8 million settlement with the owners of Spokane Airways, a business at Spokane International Airport that was forced to relocate when a new control tower was built several years ago. The action by the city, which co-owns the airport with Spokane County, followed an announcement the previous week that the airport and RMA Inc., of Spokane, which does business as Spokane Airways, had reached a tentative solution of all litigation stemming from the airport's condemnation of buildings Spokane Airways occupied to meet line-of-sight requirements for the tower. A Washington state appellate court panel ruled that the condemnation violated state law.

June 21 / Litehouse Inc. acquires Green Garden Foods
Litehouse Inc., the Sandpoint, Idaho-based manufacturer and distributor of refrigerated salad dressings and other foods, bought the assets and brand of Green Garden Foods, a Seattle-based maker of cooked sauces, dressings, and dips. Litehouse said it plans to move Green Garden's equipment to its two plants in Sandpoint and Lowell, Mich., by October. It will retain the Green Garden brand.

June 17 / Itron launches new metering system
Itron Inc., the Liberty Lake-based maker of automated meter-reading technology, said it has launched its next-generation water-metering system, named ChoiceConnect 100. The new technology employs two-way communication that enables utilities and their customers gain access to water-usage data derived from utility meters, to detection of customers' leaks, and, in some cases, to collect data on electricity and natural-gas usage with the same system, the company said.

June 10 / Deaconess owners appeal Sacred Heart expansion
Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital & Medical Center appealed a settlement reached between Washington state regulators and Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital that authorizes Sacred Heart to add 75 adult acute-care beds. In the filing with the state Department of Health's adjudicative service unit, Deaconess and Valley Hospital accused Sacred Heart and state officials of holding secret meetings that led to an agreement and asserted that the settlement disregarded the state's own methodology for determining how many acute-care beds a community needs. In a cross-appeal, Sacred Heart reasserted its proposal to add up to 152 beds.

Corrections & Amplifications
The Spokane District Dental Society Foundation will coordinate participation by dentists who volunteer their time at Spokane Falls Family Clinic's dental clinic after it moves to the Northeast Community Center next year. That information was reported incorrectly in the Journal's June 17 issue.



The Four Lakes Water District says a drop in the water level in its well near Craig and White roads causes problems because it can't drop the pump any lower without making major modifications to the well or redrilling it. Spokane County says the Kalispel Tribe is not an active participant in a West Plains watershed planning process. That information was reported incorrectly in the Journal's June 17 issue.