SEATTLE — Starting next month, a group of five hospitals in the south Puget Sound area will no longer hire smokers. The Franciscan Health System says it will screen applicants for nicotine. Chief operating officer Cliff Robertson says it’s going to "walk the talk" about…
Washington State. Sen. Maralyn Chase of Shoreline has introduced a bill in the Legislature that would require that all drink containers sold in Washington have a 5-cent recycling deposit. The bill, SB5778, aims to reduce the number of glass and plastic bottles and metal cans…
The Daily Beast, a generally helpful commentary and news blog, tossed Spokane into the food-industry upper, or lower, echelons in a recent list of the 10 most fast-food saturated cities in the land. Yay, Spokane. We ranked No. 9, just after Cincinnatti and ahead of…
Reversing a trend that began in the mid-1990s, big banks are imposing new fees on their least-profitable customers — those who want just a bare-bones checking account. Those who can’t maintain fat balances, or who don’t use other services that would make them more lucrative…