Week in review

Monday

Forget the office pool; you can now bet on elections online using either real or virtual money.

Tuesday

Federal officials said they’re a month away from completing a $26 million air traffic control tower at Spokane International Airport.

•Visitors to Spokane County shelled out nearly $689 million here last year, up nearly $37 million from 2004.

Wednesday

A Spokane native who has spent the last seven years running an ice-skating facility in California is proposing to build a similar facility in Spokane Valley. The athletic club-style facility would have two rinks, stadium seating and a restaurant.

•Consumer borrowing fell in September by the largest amount since the early 1990s, weakened by a big drop in auto loans.

Thursday

Boise-based Government Training Institute wants to begin offering anti-terrorism training at the Red Horse Mountain Lodge, near Harrison, Idaho.

•Microsoft Corp. finished work on its long-delayed Windows Vista operating system and said the software would be broadly available on Jan. 30.

Friday

Spokane Airport officials are trying to oust an aviation services company from six buildings the firm leases on airport property; a dispute over the matter has ended up with the filing of a $10 million claim and a condemnation lawsuit.

•An auction of Spokane-area properties owned by the Tombari family fetched $5.5 million, with some high-profile parcels changing hands.

•AmericanWest Bancorp. revised its third-quarter earnings downward sharply, saying the bank didn’t expect to collect soon on one troubled loan. The bank said income for the quarter was 8 cents per share, versus the 21 cents per share initially reported.