Latest News

Effort afoot to ease utilities' renewable-energy targets

Marr bill seeks to keep I-937 goals, but avoid big rate-shock impact

March 12, 2009

Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, is spearheading a bill in the Washington Legislature that aims to strengthen environmental standards spelled out by voter-approved Initiative 937, but give electric utilities more ways to meet the standards bill, Senate

Building a 'sound' business

March 12, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

Joel Stehr has built his custom acoustic-guitar making business one piece of wood and steel string at a time.A mostly self-taught guitar crafter, he runs his Spokane-based business, Stehr Guitars, from his South Hill home. His musical pieces of a

Partners eye $27 million development

Whitewater Creek teams with nonprofit here to try to purchase Clare House

March 12, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

Whitewater Creek Inc., of Hayden Idaho, and the nonprofit Spokane Housing Ventures are working together on a $27 million deal to buy a struggling South Hill retirement complex and to develop 180 additional units of rental housing there for families

Toyota dealer plans $4 million expansion

Garco picked to remodel new-car showroom, erect two-story addition, skywalk

March 12, 2009

Mike McLean

Downtown Toyota/Scion has applied for building permits for a $4 million construction project that would make up the second and third phases of improvements planned at the dealership at 1208 W. Third Avenue.The project would include construction

Red Lion shareholder calls for sale

Seattle investment fund upset with hotel chain's shareholder rights plan

March 12, 2009

Paul Read

A Seattle-based investment company that has amassed nearly 13 percent of the stock in Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels Corp. has sent a letter to Red Lion's board asserting that the hospitality company's growth strategy is flawed and that its assets a

Higher rates fund upgrades, Avista says

Top executives contend return must be sufficent to keep good credit rating

March 12, 2009

Richard Ripley

Avista Corp., stung by criticism of its latest rate-increase request, says it must raise its electric and natural gas rates to catch up on capital investment in its infrastructure, to provide sufficient return to investors to maintain status, and a

Retail sector here battered by recession

Closures, layoffs, price cuts have become industry norm

March 12, 2009

David Cole

With few exceptions, the news in the retail sector here these days ranges from bad to awful.Major national retailers are closing their doors, others are filing for protection from creditors, and most are slashing prices to try to attract "It's

Phosphorus ban disliked, working

Treatment-plant data show substantial pounds-per-day decline

March 12, 2009

Kim Crompton

A ban on high-phosphorus automatic-dishwasher detergents imposed last July 1 in Spokane County triggered a consumer backlash that lingers today, but appears in early data to be having the desired effect of reducing the amount of the nettlesome into

Pipeline of work slows markedly

Economy, wait on stimulus details hold up projects

March 12, 2009

Jeanne Gustafson

Architects and engineers here mostly say a normally steadily flowing pipeline of projects has slowed markedly, as the recession takes its toll on private investment, and public entities hold off on some work while awaiting word on possible federal

In the News: March 12, 2009

March 12, 2009

March 10 / Avista's Clark Fork operations resume after spill Avista Corp. said it will continue cleanup operations and monitor conditions in the Clark Fork River in North Idaho and western Montana as its Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge