Fewer Spokane and Kootenai county homeowners received foreclosure notices last month compared with April, but the numbers remained double those of a year ago.RealtyTrac today reported 136 Spokane and 216 Kootenai county homeowners were in foreclosure in May. In Kootenai County, one in every 279…
We'd guess the total number of active, managed websites for Inland Northwest businesses must be climbing somewhere in the several thousand range.Today the SR Office Hours blog will begin featuring business sites worth discovering or revisiting. Our criteria will include novelty, design, news value or…
British Columbia visitors will become eligible July 1 for a non-resident sales tax exemption on goods purchased in Washington but intended for use outside the state.The province recently changed its tax structure in a way that allows residents to claim the exemption. Ontario also made…
Home sales in Spokane County rose for the eighth consecutive month compared with 2009 levels, according to May statistics from the Spokane Association of Realtors.The May total of 519 was up almost 33 percent compared with May 2009. Sales were also marginally ahead of the…
Washington state pipeline safety regulators recommend penalties against Avista Corp. that could exceed $1.1 million. The proposed penalties are for actions that resulted in a natural gas explosion and fire in December 2008 that destroyed part of an Odessa home and injured two people. Investigators…
One World Spokane, the innovative non-profit restaurant at 1804 E. Sprague Ave., picked up a little attention in a recent story in the New York Times. The Times story was headlined "Pay-What-You-Want Has Patrons Perplexed," and examined what happens when restaurants offer meals at whatever…
Job openings jumped in April to the highest level in 16 months, a sign that private employers may boost hiring in coming months, according to the Associated Press.The number of jobs advertised at the end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in…
Shares of Spokane-based Gold Reserve Inc. soared Monday on news of a partnership between another mining company with claims in Venezuela and China Railway Resources Co. Ltd.The stock price jumped almost 18 cents to 90 cents, a 24 percent gain for the day. Volume, at…
Are you ready for the gamepocalypse? Or is this much ado about nothing?A number of lifestyle experts say we're moving in the direction of the transformation of much of our everyday activity into some form of online game environment. Some don't like it, and call…
View Larger MapSpokane Triumph Composite Systems Machinists have approved a new three-year contract that gives them job security in exchange for accepting no pay hikes. Of 335 machinists at the West Plains manufacturing site, 81 percent of those voting approved the contract this week, union…
Insurance provider Aetna is using online virtual-assistant technology developed in Spokane on its secure member website. Developed by Spokane tech firm Next IT, the virtual assistant “Ann” replies to questions with on-screen text answers and with audio responses in a perky female voice.It’s been in…
Digilent Inc., a Pullman company started by Washington State University faculty member an an alumnus was named manufacturer of the year by Seattle Business magazine.Digilent was the winner in the small company category of the magazine's top manufacturers.Clint Cole, a lecturer at WSU's School of…
The Bonneville Power Administration’s top official will retain his politically appointed job U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday. Steve Wright is BPA’s second-longest tenured CEO and administrator, taking office on the eve of the 2000-2001 West Coast energy crisis. He was named…
Digilent Inc., a Pullman company started by a Washington State University faculty member, was named small manufacturer of the year by Seattle Business magazine.Clint Cole, a lecturer at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, founded Digilent in 2000 to manufacture and market circuit…
Spokane-based Potlatch Corp. has named Lorrie D. Scott vice president and general counsel for the company. Scott, notably, holds a doctor of law degree from Harvard and a master's degree in Old World Archaeology from the University of Chicago, plus a B.A. in anthropology from…
View Larger MapIf you have a passion for Spokane railroad history, you'll celebrate recent plans by a Seattle firm to restore one of the area's historic train sites.Seattle energy-efficiency building company, McKinstry, has bought the early 1900s-era electric train shop and yards once used by…
Seven area organizations on Wednesday were given Agora Awards during an annual ceremony hosted by Greater Spokane Incorporated. Winners were:Small Nonprofit: Spokane Humane SocietyLarge Nonprofit: YMCA of the Inland NorthwestLarge Business: Advantage IQSmall Business: Catered for YouMedium Business: Nystrom Olson Collins, Inc. Entrepreneurial Spirit Award:…
Seattle blogger, author and social media maven Chris Pirillo will hold forth during a June 15 visit and session in Spokane.Sponsored by LaunchPad Inland Northwest, the event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Red Lion Skyline Ballroom in downtown Spokane. The topic is…
A UBS Financial Services manager, Mike Ryan, will be guest speaker for tomorrow's (June 3) Gonzaga University Business Dean's Breakfast Forum.Ryan (shown in photo) will cover the impact of two major market collapses over the last decade on the investment environment. Breakfast starts at 7…