Seattle-based McKinstry, a major company in the design, build and management of energy efficient facilities, said it's purchased the Enterprise Energy Management Suite of software services from Spokane's Itron Inc.The goal is using the technology to help integrate smart-grid planning into the other services McKinstry…
AmericanWest Bancorporation today reported a net loss for the first quarter of $8.5 million, or 50 cents per share, down significantly from prior quarter and prior year levels.The Spokane parent of AmericanWest Bank lost $17.7 million, or $1.03 per share during the fourth quarter of…
Nearly a third of Washington residents are concerned about job security amid signs of a slow recovery, according to a new survey for Everest College.When asked about the high unemployment rate, 29 percent of workers in the state said they were concerned about losing their…
Last Sunday The Spokesman-Review business section carried a story about the growing number of cyber crimes directed at small and midsized firms. This week we find the FDIC (Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation) is concerned about the same growing problem.It's hosting a day long symposium…
A Boston private equity firm will invest $134.7 million in struggling Sterling Financial Corp. as part of the Spokane company’s ongoing efforts to raise enough money to meet requirements imposed by federal regulators.As part of that recapitalization effort, Sterling also said it entered into an…
Potlatch Corp. posted lower first quarter earnings of $1.2 million today, compared to $24.8 million during the first quarter of 2009.Last year's earnings included $43 million in revenues from the sale of timber land in Arkansas.Highlights from this quarter included a strengthening in the Spokane-based…
The Pend Oreille Public Utility District is the recipient of $27 million in federal stimulus money.Announced today by Wash. Sen. Patty Murray, the money will be used to create last-mile fiber to businesses and residents in the service area of the Pend Oreille PUD, which…
The value of permits for future construction in Spokane County more than doubled in March, but was flat for the first three months of the year, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, an industry publication.Activity in Kootenai County increased in March and during the quarter.Although non-residential construction…
Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its charitable foundation contributed more than $5 million to Washington state programs during the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2010.The Eastern Washington area got some of the love. The Second Harvest Inland Northwest food bank, based in Spokane,…
Shares of Sterling Financial Corp. climbed more than 65 percent Friday on trading volume 15 times normal.The stock, which closed at 87 cents Thursday, finished the Friday trading day at $1.45, and advanced another seven cents in after-hours trading.The 16.2 million shares traded represent almost…
Northwest Bancorporation Thursday reported its first profitable quarter in more than a year.The parent of Inland Northwest Bank earned $586,000 in the quarter ended March 31, a reversal from a loss of $256,000 for the first quarter of 2009. After allowing for preferred stock dividends…
With the planting of a tree, developer Jim Frank today revived the Kendall Yards development on the north bank of the Spokane River.The first 18 units of the $25 million residential and commercial project, stalled by the financial problems of the previous developer, should be…
Gonzaga University's master's of business administration program ranked No. 58 in the most recent rankings for "part-time MBA programs" prepared by U.S. News & World Report.In the specialty rankings, GU's accounting program scored No. 31. Its entrepreneurship program was No. 24 (see item below on…
Gonzaga University undergraduate and graduate students swept the 10th Annual Business Plan Competition Tuesday.A team led by Stratton Shook won the $7,500 Telect Entrepreneurial Venture Award for Community-Based business. The team developed a plan for Good Greetings LLC, an online greeting card company co-founded by…
Last year, when General Motors went through bankruptcy, only one Spokane car dealer paid the price. That was the downtown Spokane Saturn dealership, which closed its doors earlier this year after GM stopped making Saturns.Now it's clear another Spokane dealer, Camp Chevrolet Cadillac, was on…
On Feb. 22 this year The Spokesman-Review reported that Apple Inc. was interested in launching -- and hiring for -- a Spokane downtown Apple Store.The retail community got very excited, the Apple fan base got very enthusiastic. But Apple's spokespeople never would say when the…
Spokane County hotels have sold substantially more rooms so far in 2010, and bookings for future business are up dramatically, the president of the Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau said today.Harry Sladich said a survey by Smith Travel Research Inc. showed increased business has also…
A clinic, a cellar, and a caterer are among the finalists for the 2010 Agora Awards announced today by Greater Spokane Incorporated.For small non-profits, the finalists are Christ Clinic, Spokane Humane Society, and Tincan.Among the large non-profits, Catholic Charities of Spokane, The Salvation Army of…
SiteCrafting, a Web development company with headquarters in Tacoma, will move its Spokane office to 152 S. Jefferson, in downtown Spokane. Company President Brian Forth said the move is expected to be done by May 1.For the past year it’s occupied leased space in the…
As part of Earth Day 2010 celebrations, downtown Spokane's Main Market Cooperative will host store tours on Saturday and offer store demonstrations throughout the day. The coop is at 44 W. Main in downtown. Executive Director Jennifer Hall said tours of the building and market…
Spokane-based Magnuson Hotels, which represents more than 1,500 independent hotels and lodges, reports that its affiliate businesses saw reservation revenue increase by 65 percent, comparing April 2010 with one year earlier.The growth occurred in large part due to an increase of 444 hotels joining the…
Sterling Financial Corp. has implemented a shareholder rights plan to protect tax assets accumulated as it reported substantial operating and capital losses in recent quarters.The assets, $269 million, can be used to offset an equal amount of future profits. But, said Vice President Dave Brukardt,…
The March real estate foreclosure rate in Spokane County jumped 81 percent compared with February. The rate in Kootenai County also climbed.According to RealtyTrac, 107 homes were foreclosed in Spokane last month, or one in every 1,844 homes. Only 59 homes were foreclosed in February,…
The city of Spokane recently gave out SMART -- sustainable management of assets, resources and technology -- awards to 47 businesses for their efforts in cutting waste and reducing energy use.This is the second SMART group getting the recognition (and window stickers, shown above) for…
The electricity supply in the Northwest will remain adequate this spring and summer despite low runoff levels in the Columbia River Basin, where hydroelectric dams provide more than half of the region’s electricity, an analysis by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council shows.“Low flows will…
The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
