Latest News

Four-day Snoqualmie Pass closure cost $27.9 million

Economic impact study totes up losses from storm; major project to start soon

November 20, 2008

The four-day closure of Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass last winter cost the state 170 jobs and the loss of $27.9 million in economic output, $1.42 million in state revenue, and $8.6 million in personal income, a Washington state Department of at

Rural airports spend to boost economies

Operators eye hangar, ground leases for direct and indirect benefits to their communities

November 20, 2008

Jeanne Gustafson

Rural airports in Eastern Washington are seeking to attract more general aviation business to fuel economic growth. Their operators say that with little space available at Spokane's Felts Field and their relatively low rates, leased hangar and is

Soaring diesel prices took truckers down rough road

Fuel-efficiency efforts, surcharges help offset sharply higher costs

November 20, 2008

David Cole

The dramatic increase in diesel prices earlier this year has hurt trucking companies here and nationally—with the potential of increasing the cost of everything transported by truck, including food, retail products, and manufactured industry a

Calendar: November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008

November 20-December 4, 2008 The Journal of Business publishes information about meetings, events, and learning opportunities of interest to the general business community. Submit such items to Ben Rascoff, Journal of Business, 429 E.

In The News: November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008

Nov. 18 / Employment here falls Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in the Spokane area fell to 220,200 in October, a decrease of 300 jobs from the October 2007 level, according to preliminary state figures. Preliminary figures

The 95/95 proposition: How to get on winning side of it

To hit more home runs, focus on receiving, not making, unsolicited calls

November 20, 2008

Sales & Marketing

When a prospective customer calls you on the phone and wants to buy—either they heard or read something about you, or read something that you wrote, or someone referred them to you—the odds are close to 95 percent that you can make a sale

Used judiciously, cash equivalents can be strategic tool

Certificates of deposit, money-market accounts are most popular choices

November 20, 2008

Andrew Leckey

Under the mattress, in the cookie jar, or buried in the backyard were common hiding places for cash in less sophisticated times.Today, the sophistication level is higher, but the fear of losing money is every bit as real.Cash investments, as

Small Business Wacth: November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008

Couple opens medical supply business here Yvonne and Keith Knittle, of Coeur d'Alene, have launched a company here named Copper Creek Medical Inc. that sells and rents medical equipment used to treat sleep disorders.The couple two a

Suncrest agency merges with Keller Williams

November 20, 2008

Nvest Real Estate Co., a small agency that specializes in handling Suncrest-area residential and commercial real estate sales, has merged with a much larger agency, Keller Williams Realty Spokane.Nvest's 1,200-square-foot office in the Suncrest

Rendering courtesy of Garco Construction Inc.

Second phase of Big Cigar project (ART ONLY)

November 20, 2008

Big Cigar LLC, of Spokane, says it expects to develop this four-story building at 627 E. Second as soon as it secures some initial tenants for the structure. The building is expected to have about 6,000 square feet of space on each of the three and