Government

Washington state denies HydroOne's acquisition of Avista

Regulators says proposed acquisition wouldn't serve public interest

December 5, 2018

Washington state regulators denied the proposed acquisition of Avista Corp. by Canada-based Hydro One Limited, finding the merger wouldn't service the public interest. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission determined the proposed merge

City of Spokane approves three land-use change requests

Fourth proposal tabled, fifth withdrawn, refiled

November 21, 2018

Samantha Peone

The Spokane City Council has approved three requests for land-use designation changes and postponed a fourth request, while a fifth request was withdrawn, says Dwight Hume, of Land Use Solutions & Entitlement LLC,

SBA lending in Spokane District reaches $226.7 million

Restaurant, hotel, gas stations account for bulk of activity here

November 8, 2018

Samantha Peone

Total lending backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Inland Northwest rose $8.3 million through fiscal year 2018, data compiled by SBA indicates.

U.S. Pavilion at Riverfront Park concept

ART ONLY

November 8, 2018

Staff Report

This conceptual drawing shows what a walkway within the U.S. Pavilion at Riverfront Park could look like when the $16.5 million renovation of the iconic downtown feature is completed.

Washington L&I mulls overtime, salary rule changes

Meantime, feds revisit thresholds that had been rejected in 2016

October 25, 2018

Virginia Thomas

The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries is starting to look into updating wage requirements for salaried employees.

Stantec awarded contract to assess state rest areas

Project starts this month, to be finished in mid-2019

October 11, 2018

LeAnn Bjerken

The Spokane office of Stantec Inc., an international design firm with headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, is one of three others that will be working on a recently awarded $575,000 contract to lead a statewide evaluation of 33 rest areas

Spokane Transit Authority, Greenstone team up on pilot project

Effort is bus system's first with private partner

October 11, 2018

LeAnn Bjerken

Liberty Lake-based real estate development company Greenstone Corp. has announced a new partnership with Spokane Transit Authority that will enable residents, business owners, and employees in the Kendall Yards neighborhood access to free transit.

Spokane Valley launches new infrastructure reporting system

SVexpress application employs GPS mapping

October 11, 2018

Virginia Thomas

Since launching a citizen infrastructure reporting app last month, the City of Spokane Valley has received more than a dozen reports through the app, says Elisha Heath, executive assistant to the city manager.

New statute modifies mammogram results notification

Law requires providers to inform women of dense tissue following screening

October 11, 2018

Samantha Peone

A new Washington state law takes effect within a few months that will require health care facilities, following a mammogram, to inform patients if they have dense breast tissue, says Dr. Rachel O'Connor

New text service aims to keep defendants out of jail

While reducing failure to appear rates, tool cuts costs

September 27, 2018

LeAnn Bjerken

A newly implemented text-messaging service designed to remind defendants of upcoming court dates has the potential to reduce failure-to-appear rates and save money in Spokane County courtrooms as well as space in its jails, says a Spokane public defender