Addy Hatch

In the space of just a week, two century-old Spokane companies that have been run by succeeding generations of the same families have been bought by Illinois corporations. First, Jensen Distribution, now Fidelity Associates.

Next IT, the brains behind Alaska Airlines' "Ask Jenn" virtual assistant, will move to the Pinecroft Business Park next fall.

Jensen Distribution, founded in Spokane about 130 years ago, has been sold to Ace Hardware.

"Antiques Roadshow," the popular PBS series, will come back to Spokane in June to film three new episodes.

Downtown Spokane is more colorful this Christmas, with the tall smokestacks at Steam Plant Square glowing green and red and new exterior lights on the Macy’s and Nordstrom stores. They echo the Lincoln Building, which has sported holiday and special event lighting on the top floor since 2007.

Spokane’s science museum may find a new home in a building overlooking the Spokane Falls offered by Avista Corp. Mobius Science Center has been looking for new space for more than a year.

Patrick Jacobs, a North Idaho blogger and bartender who previously wrote for The Spokesman-Review’s Handle Extra section, died this weekend after experiencing a “cardiac event” on Friday.

“You may have noticed that your Vera bill has been lower recently or over the past several years,” read a letter sent to Jeff and Diane Kipp last month from their electric provider, Vera Water & Power. They hadn’t, Diane Kipp said. But no matter – the letter went on to tell the Spokane Valley couple that they owe $3,140.85 for electricity used, but under-billed by Vera.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a Spokane audience Thursday that the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq wasn’t a mistake. “What we did I would do again,” she said in response to a question by Whitworth University President Beck Taylor.

Gonzaga University will hand out a $1 million gift in October on behalf of a foundation that recognizes faith-based humanitarian work. The Opus Prize Foundation partners with Catholic universities to recognize people and organizations doing “very difficult work in very difficult places,” said Michael Herzog, an English professor and chief of staff for Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh. Gonzaga staff, faculty and students, with the help of contacts all over the world, have spent more than a year identifying nominees, then narrowing the list to three finalists.