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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Alaska Airlines to offer nonstop flights between Boise, Spokane

From Staff And Wire Reports

Alaska Airlines will begin offering daily nonstop service between Spokane and Boise starting in August, company CEO Brad Tilden announced Wednesday in Idaho.

Daily flights begin Aug. 24, according to a news release from the company. The service will be offered through Horizon Air using a 76-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft.

Flights will leave from both locations in the morning and evening, the release said. A flight for Boise will leave Spokane at 3:20 p.m. local time and arrive at 5:28 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time; a flight from Boise to Spokane will leave at 7:25 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time and arrive at Spokane International Airport at 7:34 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Morning flights will leave both locations for the other at 6:20 a.m. local time.

To promote the new service, Alaska will be offering one-way fares starting at $69 through March 26. Travel must be completed by Nov. 18 to take advantage of the discounted fares.

West Coast imports drop amid labor dispute

LOS ANGELES – Months of congestion at West Coast ports – the result of a labor dispute and other logistical problems – led to major shifts in U.S. trade patterns.

Import data for the first two months of this year show that the volume of container cargo coming into West Coast ports plummeted nearly 18 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the trade research firm Zepol. At the same time, the amount of cargo coming into East and Gulf coast ports grew by 10 percent.

Microsoft plans to offer alternative Web browser

SAN FRANCISCO – Look out, Internet Explorer. After 20 years of competing against rival Web browsers, Microsoft is gearing up to launch its own alternative to its once-dominant Internet surfing program.

Microsoft has built a new Web browser designed for the modern Web and mobile devices to go with its new Windows 10 operating system that’s coming later this year. Explorer will still be available, but Microsoft hinted this week that its new – and as-yet unnamed – browser will get top billing in the future.

Target allowing one-year returns for private brands

MINNEAPOLIS –Target announced Wednesday that it is extending its return policy on select items to one year, effective immediately.

The new policy applies to all of Target’s 32 private label brands such as Archer Farms, Liz Lange, Merona, Mossimo and Threshold. Items purchased for wedding, baby and college gift registries also are included.

Herbalife pyramid scheme suit dismissed

LOS ANGELES – A judge dismissed a lawsuit by Herbalife shareholders who claimed that the business structure and marketing practices of the weight loss and nutritional supplements company violated the law and that they lost money because it amounts to a pyramid scheme.

Plaintiffs did not show that accusations by activist investor Bill Ackman proved fraud by Herbalife, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles wrote in his ruling Tuesday.