A more than 40 percent jump in asphalt prices over about the last year has shocked Spokane-area paving contractors, delayed some projects, and caused government officials here to fret about potential cutbacks in future repaving work.It will a

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which already has supercenters on Spokanes North Side and in Spokane Valley and has its sights set on the South Hill, plans to develop a supercenter on the West Plains.BCRA, a Tacoma, Wash.-based architect thats has to

Executives of Inland Northwest publicly traded companies saw their total compensation shoot up an average of 42 percent last year, as more of them cashed in on lucrative stock options and the companies they led shared the largess of improving CEOs

G.I. Joes Inc., which operates a chain of sporting-goods and auto-accessories stores, says it plans to open its first store in the Spokane market next spring in the Pine Water Plaza development just north of Spokane, and expects to open a store a

Sterling Savings Banks Ezra Eckhardt is seeking to sharpen the Spokane institutions competitive edge by implementing process-improvement strategies he helped launch at Microsoft Corp. while he was an executive with the software giant in on the

Coeur dAlene-based Kootenai Medical Center plans to expand its cancer services in Sandpoint, Idaho, to meet rising demand from patients in that area of North Idaho.KMC says it hopes to open a satellite cancer center at Bonner General in by of

Holy Family Hospital spokeswoman Anne McKeon is accustomed to being surrounded by patients and immersed in discussions about medical procedures. She recently found herself, though, in the less comfortable role of patient herselfas a living organ

Sacred Heart Medical Center has begun staffing its intensive-care unit with certified critical-care specialists, called intensivists, who act as liaisons to other doctors who provide care in those units, and also to patients families.Kootenai

Jim Sheehan, owner of the Community Building and former Saranac Hotel, both on Main Avenue at the east end of downtown, has bought a nearby building that houses a Goodyear Tire Center store, and is looking at perhaps opening a produce market there

A 7-year-old Spokane-based ministry that operates healing rooms in 26 countries has purchased a second building near downtown, more than doubling its space here.Healing Rooms Ministries recently bought the former Glacier Mountain Floral at