June15 / Employment here falls
About 206,900 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in the Spokane area in May, down by 5,300 from the May 2009 level, but up by 1,900 from April this year, preliminary state figures said. Preliminary results from another state survey put the unemployment rate at 8.9 percent during May, up from 8.5 percent in the year-earlier month.

June 11 / Clearwater Paper chooses location for plant
Clearwater Paper Corp., of Spokane, chose Shelby, N.C., as the site for a new tissue drying and converting plant that's expected to cost $260 million to $280 million, employ 250 people, and produce 10 million cases of tissue annually. The company plans to break ground on the facility in the third quarter of this year and expects to begin production during the second half of 2012. The state of North Carolina plans to contribute $50 million in incentives to the project over the next 12 years.

June 9 / County selects detention facility sites
Spokane County commissioners voted to replace the aging Geiger Corrections Center with a new facility that would be constructed near the Medical Lake interchange on Interstate 90, if voters approve funding for it. Commissioners also voted to place a new treatment-oriented community corrections center at the county's campus near the current Public Safety Building and county jail, at 1100 W. Mallon. Commissioners plan to place a bond measure for jail construction on the April 2011 ballot.

June 8 / Avista faces possible $1.1 million fine
Regulators from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission's pipeline safety program recommended penalties that could exceed $1.1 million against Spokane-based Avista Corp. for actions involving a natural gas explosion in an Odessa, Wash., home. Investigators found a crack in an improperly installed pipe caused the explosion, and that Avista removed a section of pipe before commission staff completed its investigation. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will rule on the penalty later this year.

June 4 / Mayor unveils plans to buy buildings for police
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner announced tentative plans for the city to buy the 66,000-square-foot former Great Floors warehouse, at 4010 E. Alki, and the 17,800-square-foot Gardner Building, at 1427 W. Gardner, for a combined total of $4.6 million. The building on Alki would replace the city's outdated police evidence facility, and the department's investigative-services division would move into the building on Gardner from smaller leased space. The City Council must approve the purchases.

June 2 / Coldwater Creek reports profit
Coldwater Creek Inc., the Sandpoint-based specialty women's fashion retailer, reported net income of $2.3 million, or 3 cents a share, for its fiscal quarter ended May 1, up from a net loss of $7.6 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The company said its net sales for the latest quarter were $243.1 million, up from $228.4 million in the year-earlier period. Separately, the company said President and Chief Merchandising Officer Georgia Shonk Simmons plans to retire on May 1, 2011.

June1 / Triumph machinists approve contract
Local 86 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers said its members who work for Spokane aircraft-parts manufacturer Triumph Composite Systems Inc. approved a three-year contract that provides job security while freezing base pay. The agreement, approved by 81 percent of the voting membership, guarantees Triumph's 335 union machinists 40 hours of employment per week and protects employees from work transfers to any other facility operated by Triumph's parent company, Pennsylvania-based Triumph Group Inc., the local said.