Comcast this year is setting up demonstrations of the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament using 3-D television. The easiest place to see it, in and around Spokane, is at the downtown Huppin's HiFi, Photo and Video store, 421 W. Main.The when: Thursday and Friday, 1 to…
The era of record-low mortgage rates is over, reports The Associated Press today. The average rate on a 30-year loan has jumped from about 5 percent to more than 5.3 percent in just the past week. As mortgages get more expensive, more would-be homeowners are…
North Idaho College has landed a $625,000 grant to train 300 health information technology professionals statewide. The funds are part of a $6.2 million grant awarded to eight community colleges in a 10-state region. The colleges will be responsible for training 2,400 students over a…
Coldwater Creek is looking to sublease an empty office building it constructed in 2007 at 745 Hanley in Coeur d'Alene. Originally meant as a second call center for the Sandpoint-based women's clothing retailer, Coldwater Creek never occupied the building as the economy slipped off the…
In a move that’s expected to save $7 million, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare will lay-off 126 employees and close nine of its 29 offices.“Hopefully things will recover,” said Tom Shanahan, a spokesman. “We’re worried about future cuts more than anything. We just…
The federal government plans to spend about $31.3 million to upgrade the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse in Spokane, making it a “high-performance green building,” the U.S. General Services Administration announced today. Lydig Construction Inc. of Spokane and McKinstry of Seattle were awarded the design-build…
California communications company Tropos Networks has signed a $1.7 million contract to provide wireless services for Avista Utilities' smart grid energy network.A press release today said Avista selected Tropos' "GridCom" mesh network system for full, two-way communications from substations to "smart" devices being installed across…
Washington state troopers and agents with the Internal Revenue Service raided the Spokane offices today of Team Spirit America, which has been fined by state regulators for operating what clients have alleged in court is a Ponzi scheme.The troopers and IRS agents, identified with their…
Last month a California property company announced plans to buy land in Pullman to build a Hilton-branded hotel and convention center.Something must be happening in Pullman. Now a Louisiana company, InterMountain Management, LLC, has plans to build a 100-room, $11.5-million Hampton Inn & Suites in…
SEATTLE — The companies planning to build a parts plant for lightweight BMW cars have selected a site at Moses Lake in central Washington because of the availability of hydroelectric power, The Associated Press reports.The decision by SGL Group and BMW AG was announced today…
Tate Technology Inc. of Spokane will receive the U.S. Small Business Administration Family-Owned Business Award for Washington and Region 10 at a Seattle banquet Thursday.The custom manufacturer of electrical components employs 32 at its Trent Avenue plant. Annual sales are about $4 million.Lee Tate founded…
Fewer Washington employers are offering health insurance, according to the state Employment Security Department.An annual department survey determined the share fell 1.6 percentage points in 2009, from 56.5 percent to 54.9 percent. The drop in 2008 was almost 10 percent, which followed smaller declines in…
Energy Northwest has joined other utilities in a lawsuit challenging continued imposition of a surcharge on electricity generated from nuclear power plants.The operator of the Columbia Generating Station and other plaintiffs want the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia to stop U.S.…
The Washington Department of Revenue is encouraging everyone to take another look at its online database of unclaimed cash, because the agency recently added another $87 million owed to 410,000 individuals. "Even if you didn't find any unclaimed property at http://claimyourcash.org the last time you…
Idaho employers boosted employment by 2,700 in March, the best monthly gain in six years.The increase was enough to trim the state unemployment rate by .1 percent, to 9.4 percent. The number had not fallen for 32 months.The rate in Coeur d'Alene dropped .6 percent…
Spokane Valley's Walmart store at 15727 E. Broadway has begun a facelift, company officials announced today. Walmart moved into the store in 2002. A press release said the new design will feature a clean and brighter interior with wider aisles, low-profile shelves and easy to…
Boardings at Spokane International Airport declined slightly in February, but numbers for the first two months of 2010 remain above 2009 totals.In February, 106,314 passengers embarked at SIA, off 2.71 percent from February 2009. The total for January and February was 441,092, up less than…
The Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Montana has noticed a rash of spam efforts directed at people who might be members of the Bank of Whitman.The BBB said, in an announcement, that people are getting message purportedly from the bank.The messages…
The Spokane Regional Health District has begun its own kind of emphasis patrol, seeking to find, educate and if necessary, punish businesses that violate the state's Smoking in Public Places law. The health district is adding a part-time staffer to investigate an additional 40 complaints…
Office Hours, this blog, is The Spokesman-Review's newest effort at ongoing daily business news coverage. But it's not the only way to get your business news.You can still, if you choose, receive a daily dose of local business news in your e-mail inbox, or on…
Sterling Financial Corp. has extended the expiration date for its effort to buy back $238 million in trust-preferred securities.The deadline was today. April 12 is the new date.The Spokane-based parent of Sterling Savings Bank and Golf Savings Bank is offering 20 cents on the dollar…
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, through the site www.whenworksworks.com, is seeking company applications for its Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility awards.Even the White House is on the bandwagon. The executive department is hosting a live session today on the topic of helping workers and companies…
The newly launched blog you're reading now, Office Hours, will try to keep you connected to what's happening in the region's business environment.We welcome suggestions, comments and ideas. Just post them here or e-mail messages to Tom Sowa toms@spokesman.com or Scott Maben scottm@spokesman.com or Bert…
Three northeast Washington companies have been awarded stimulus grants and loans worth $3.2 million.Demand Energy Networks of Spokane will receive a $1.5 million grant to commercialize its electricity storage and network management software. The money will help the company retain or create 93 jobs, according…
Spokane-based Pearson Packaging Systems has signed a co-marketing agreement with global service provider CT Pack. Pearson will be the supplier of CT Pack's Vortex Systems Multipacking equipment in North America and will sell the system as part of a complete end-of-line solution for customers. "Multipacking"…
The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
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