As Spokane Countys unemployment rate has slipped lower and lower, the available work force here, which has been touted for years as plentiful, isnt so abundant any more.Both companies with large hiring needs and temporary-help agencies are a

A 108-mile freight line that connects Cheney to Coulee City, Wash., was deteriorating and headed for abandonment until Eastern Washington grain shippers, legislators, and the state Department of Transportation stepped in to help save it.Now, the

Copyright 1998 by Journal of BusinessEmpire Securities Inc. of Washington, a Spokane brokerage firm, is under fire.A retired Spokane optometrist and his wife have filed suit in U.S. District Court here claiming that Empire Securities and them

Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, has begun remodeling the Farm Credit Banks Building downtown for Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., the big Spokane financial-services company that bought the high-rise last year. Metropolitan plans to its

EVO-lution Inc., a Spokane motorcycle dealership, has been sued by Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and its parent for alleged use of Harley-Davidson registered trademarks without authorization.The lawsuit, which was in

Michaels Stores Inc., a big Dallas-based retailer of arts, crafts, and home-decor items, plans to open a second Spokane-area store, this one in the former Best Products Co. building on North Division.Michaels has leased about 25,300 square feet

Extended Stay America Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company that operates more than 190 extended-stay hotels nationwide, says it plans to build a 115-unit hotel in the Spokane Valley.Mariesa Capelli, a spokeswoman in Fort Lauderdale for of

A small consulting firm here called Pacific Energy Research Associates Inc. has been awarded two contracts to conduct energy-related planning and feasibility studies in eastern Russia that could have major implications.Under one of the Pacific a

Last year, Spokane-based RAHCO International went for months without finding a single qualified engineering candidate to hire. It finally recruited one from South Africa. Spokane headhunter Jeannine Marx, who typically has sought seasoned for is

Broadway Group, a Spokane-based company that owns a chain of truck stops and smaller fuel stop-convenience store outlets as well as other properties, is getting ready to expand again.It expects shortly to buy a truck stop, casino, motel, and at