Tom Sowa
Tom Sowa is a reporter for The Spokesman-Review in the Business department. He is a tech fanatic who covers technology, retail and small business.
Contact Tom
- Email: toms@spokesman.com
- Phone: 509-459-5492
- Fax: 509-459-5482
Recent stories by Tom
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Ex-Bulldog bar seeks renaming
February 10, 2012 in News, Business on Page A5 The popular tavern in Spokane’s Gonzaga neighborhood is still there, but the name keeps changing. For most of its 65 years, it was the Bulldog Tavern. In 2005, the partnership … 9
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Popular watering hole plays the name game
February 9, 2012 in News The popular tavern in Spokane’s Gonzaga neighborhood is still there, but the name keeps changing. For most of its 65 years, it was the Bulldog Tavern. In 2005, the partnership … 8
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Spokane home sales on rise; prices declining
February 9, 2012 in Business on Page A7 Over the past seven months, Spokane County home sales have been increasing compared to the year before, indicating the area may have made the first step toward a housing rebound. …
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Organizers build city’s event résumé
February 8, 2012 in Business on Page A1 Organizers of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s women’s boxing trials that start Monday in Spokane say this will be both a historic occasion and another chance to add to the region’s … 1
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Ritzville taps roots to cultivate tourism
February 6, 2012 in City on Page A1 More than 10,000 cars and trucks whiz past Ritzville on Interstate 90 each day. Some in the town of roughly 1,700 residents hope a wheat-themed interpretive center could lure some … 2
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Yoke’s ad showing on Super Sunday
February 3, 2012 in Business on Page A10 Spokane ad agency Magner Sanborn is ready for its second shot at Super Bowl advertising fame. This year’s game will include a 60-second spot built around the secret life of …
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Survey finds more residents support tribe’s casino plan
January 31, 2012 in Business on Page A7 About 40 percent of Spokane County residents surveyed last fall said they favor plans by the Spokane Tribe to build a casino near Airway Heights. Another 34 percent of the … 2
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Liquor superstores scope out Washington sites
January 27, 2012 in Business on Page A1 An East Coast company calling itself a “wine superstore” has announced plans to open two stores in the Spokane area. Representatives of the company, Total Wine, said those plans are … 34
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Servatron to move this spring
January 25, 2012 in Business on Page A10 After a sluggish 2010 and 2011, Spokane Valley contract manufacturing firm Servatron Inc. hopes to boost annual sales to the $30 million mark, in part by moving to a newer …
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County permit values increase
January 21, 2012 in Business on Page A8 Kootenai County and Spokane County both saw bumps in total building permit values for 2011. Spokane County’s total permit value grew the fastest, rising from $185 million in 2010 to …
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Survey shows support for selling Boy Scouts camp
January 20, 2012 in Business on Page A5 A majority of people answering a Boy Scouts survey on the future of Camp Easton say they think selling it to build a new camp is a good idea. Earlier … 4
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Rock Pointe owners file for bankruptcy
January 20, 2012 in Business on Page A8 The Tacoma-based owner of the Rock Pointe Corporate Center has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, forestalling a foreclosure effort by creditors who say they’re owed more than $65 million. …
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Jensen-Byrd eligible for historic preservation
January 19, 2012 in City on Page A6 The company buying the 102-year-old Jensen-Byrd building in downtown Spokane told the city-county Historic Landmarks Commission it still intends to tear it down to make way for new student housing. … 2
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Website owners sort out rights
January 19, 2012 in Business on Page A1 Until November last year, John Janzen had no idea what Getty Images was. The awakening came in a letter sent from Getty’s Seattle headquarters to Maplewood Software’s Spokane office. Getty … 1
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Turnout nearly double for Spokane’s MLK march
January 17, 2012 in Business on Page A1 As they began the downtown Unity March during Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration, tears overcame the two men who’ve led the annual event for more than 20 years. …
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March organizers say last year’s threat strengthened resolve
January 15, 2012 in City on Page B1 Spokane civic leaders have taken part in Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations since 1984. The King celebration in downtown Spokane Monday will carry extra meaning for many taking part. Authorities …
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Scout council sends out Camp Easton survey
January 12, 2012 in City on Page A5 The Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts has sent out 10,000 emails asking supporters, Scout families and volunteers their views on selling Camp Easton. The goal, said Tim McCandless, … 1
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Avista outages zap customers
January 10, 2012 in Business on Page A6 A theft of copper wire from an Avista Utilities substation early Monday morning caused a power outage for 5,800 Coeur d’Alene customers. And Monday afternoon a brief downtown Spokane power …
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Pacinian hopes new technology leads to keyboard evolution
January 8, 2012 in Business on Page E1 In the 1970s and 1980s three local firms – General Instrument and Key Tronic, both in Spokane, and Coeur d’Alene’s Advanced Input Devices – were the worldwide leaders in the … 5
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Social media sobriety test helped local digital ad agency
December 27, 2011 in City on Page A1 About a year ago the developers at Spokane digital ad agency 14Four had fun making a “social media sobriety kit” to help stop people from drunkenly posting on Facebook or …
Recent photos by Tom
Recent videos by Tom
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Restoration by the river
November 4, 2011 in Business, City McKinstry’s Spokane offices pull together railroad history, energy innovations.
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Steve McGrew, impassioned blacksmith
July 15, 2011 in Business, Region, DTE Other News Spokane business owner and inventor Steve McGrew hopes to help start an area blacksmithing collective. McGrew has become a teacher and mentor to others wanting to learn how to work … 2
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Michael Baumgartner at GOP party
November 2, 2010 in City Michael Baumgartner celebrates with supporters at the Spokane County Republic Party’s election night event at the Davenport Hotel on Tuesday night, Nov. 2, 2010. Baumgartner was leading state Sen. Chris …
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Cathy McMorris Rodgers speaks to Republicans
November 2, 2010 in City Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers speaks to supporters at the Davenport after cruising to re-election to Congress on Nov. 2, 2010.
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Launchpad opens co-working space
February 26, 2010 in Business Spokane’s Launchpad Inland Northwest has turned the fifth floor of the downtown Holley Mason Building into a space for business owners to work away from home and share facilities with … 3

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