Those whove tracked Spokanes economy for any time know the term cautiously optimistic all too well. For 2004, you can toss the word cautiously from that phrase. Based on interviews with dozens of experts and observers in the that a

Fred Brown believes he has lassoed a big one.The calf roper-turned-software entrepreneur formed Next IT Corp. here last year and soon after acquired Spectre AI Inc., a then-2-year-old artificial-intelligence software developer here founded in a

Editors Note: When a new patient begins rehabilitation in an institution after a serious injury or illness, it can help to get to know a staff member who has gone through rehab. St. Lukes Rehabilitation Institute here employs a handful of who a

Steve Terry points to a cleaning device propped behind the door of his office at Deaconess Medical Center.Its called a mega mop, and Terry contends it cleans faster and more thoroughly than a conventional cloth mop, which means Deaconess can

Washington state regulators are considering certificate-of-need rule changes that, among other things, would eliminate the requirement that hospitals must have an open-heart surgery program in order to offer heart-catheterization has some in the as

Bank of America is taking bold steps to strengthen its position as a leading financial institution, as shown by its recent $47 billion purchase of Boston, Mass.-based FleetBoston Financial Corp.That aggressive national growth strategy, though,

Spokane Teachers Credit Union has set its sights on a lofty milestone: reaching $1 billion in assets by 2007.Unlike some other credit unions here, however, Teachers will rely on what it has been doing, and not expanding into new markets, to its

Numerica Credit Union, of Spokane, has bought a location in the Tri-Cities to build a new branch and enter the market there, continuing a trend of geographic expansion by leading Spokane credit unions.Earlier this year, Numerica Credit Union a

A development company here thats proposing a new downtown-Spokane office building has redesigned and expanded the envisioned structure with hopes of attracting a coveted anchor tenant.The company, Riverside 89 LLC, now is looking to build a a

A company headed by Spokane developer Dick Vandervert has bought an old United Furniture Warehouse building on Spokanes North Side and is remodeling it with hopes of landing a new retail tenant for the property.The building is located at the