The unemployment rate fell in August across North Idaho and statewide, due in part to fewer people seeking jobs. The Idaho rate fell to 7.4 percent, down slightly from July. In Kootenai County, the August jobless rate was 9 percent, down from 9.3 percent the…
File this in the I-Don't-Know-How-Much-This-Matters bucket. Realtor.com keeps track of property searches on its site, and then produces some monthly statistics. For Washington cities, this is the list of the three most-searched metros for August, followed by rank across the U.S.: Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA #55 Portland-Vancouver,…
Liberty Lake-based Itron, Inc. announced recently it's developing and selling energy meters for the solar market. This is an annoucement altogether focused on the growing number of third-party companies that are producing solar power systems for residential or commercial buildings. In that light, what Itron…
We have to say, dang it, we wanted Mean Hamster Software to make it. But, sadly, owner John Swiderski just closed his eight-person software shop, which has operated in Deer Park since 2005. Here's the gist of an article soon to appear on Spokesman.com: JOHN…
This week's big announcement about plans by Walt and Karen Worthy included the likelihood that the new building will be co-branded with a national hotel chain. We asked again today (Friday) if the Worthys have already narrowed down the choices to one or two major…
Seattle-based Nordstrom, like another major US retailier (Walmart) has cast its eyes toward our northern neighbor. A story in today's WSJ lays out the key details: Nordstrom plans to open four stores in Canada, including three in high-profile former Sears Canada locations, as the high-end…
Today's big local business story was the announcement by Walt and Karen Worthy that they're about to begin a plan to build a large headquarter hotel near the Spokane Convention Center. They acknowledged that the plan is for a very big hotel. About 550,000 square…
Red Lion Hotels Corp. managers yesterday (Tuesday) produced some responses to last week's shot by an investor group who felt the company wasn't moving forward fast enough to make some major changes. On Tuesday managers said they’ve contacted more than 70 potential buyers but have…
Red Lion Hotels Corporation said on Wednesday it's signed a franchise agreement for a new location at the Denver airport. "Our new franchise is one of the closest hotels in proximity to the Denver International Airport, a superb location that will gain visibility for our…
The discrimation lawsuit filed by former Sterling Bank CEO Heidi Stanley remains active in Spokane's County Superior Court. Stanley is suing her former employer for wrongful termination, saying she lost her job after being diagnosed with breast cancer in spring 2009. Sterling officials say the…
The Detroit Free Press found a good story in our back yard: Nation's busiest train route plagued by long delays EAST GLACIER PARK, Mont. - Someone needs to help Amtrak's Empire Builder. The train route has been suffering lo these many years from Amtrak's budget…
LaunchPad, aka LaunchPadINW, is back into fall mode. The networking group is sponsoring a "jobseekers lunch on Sept. 21, starting at 11:30 a.m. The session is hosted by Valley staffing firm Humanix and will be at the company's office at 15920 E. Indiana. To take…
Spokane-based hotel chain Red Lion Hotels is on the receiving end of an SEC filing by Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund, the Seattle investor group that owns 19 percent of the company's common shares. The filing is one of a number of requests made by Columbia,…
Who are the state's fastest growing private companies? My guess is that it has to include Spokane's Green Cupboards and at least a few other risers, like Imprezzio Solutions. Not according to a survey produced by Puget Sound Business Journal. We just took a look…
Seahawks fans who rely on DirecTV to see games are getting a break this Sunday. You'd think that the ongoing signal blackout imposed on KAYU-28's local feed to DirecTV subscribers would mean they'd miss this Sunday's game vs. Arizona. The blackout has continued since Aug.…
Time to clarify our earlier post about the number of possible new solo business owners in Spokane County. That post, published here last week, said one study suggests 5,000 new solo businesses started in Spokane since 2006. Today we spoke with Gary Smith, the retired…
Tacoma Screw Products has begun building its first Spokane location and outlet store at 222 S. Howe Road, Spokane Valley. The company has locations across Washington, Idaho and Oregon. It sells up to 45,000 different types of fasteners, tools and industrial supplies. Baker Construction is…
Numbers are supposed to be neutral and generally behave the same, no matter who handles then. But in many instances, including home sale prices, the numbers vary depending on the source. CoreLogic, one of the country's leading real estate data gathering firms, said in its…
Spokane's CFA Society is hosting an annual Northwest Investment Forum Thursday, starting at noon at the Davenport Hotel. The featured guest and speaker is Stephen R. Freedman, the head of investment strategy at UBS. Since joining UBS in 1998, he's become a key member of…
Spokane's Red Lion Hotels Corp. has made another sale. The hospitality company said Tuesday it's sold the Red Lion Hotel Sacramento at Arden Village. Paying $9 million for the hotel is Kumar Sharma, who had been franchising the hotel prior to the sale. As part…
Liberty Lake-based Family Home Care Corp. announced Tuesday that its home health and hospice care services have been acquired by Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a nationwide health and hospice services provider. Without disclosing terms, Gentiva is taking over all Medicare-supported home health and hospice businesses…
The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
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