The president of a company that had sought to develop Spokane River property owned by Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities said Wal-Mart is exploring building a store on the site. Officials from the city and Wal-Mart categorically deny it.
When the 450 students and 50 staff members at ITT Technical Institute return from Christmas break, they'll move into a brand-new building just west of the Spokane Valley Mall. The 28,000-square-foot structure will allow ITT to keep staff and students together in one building, an improvement over the two buildings they currently use on Argonne Road, said the school's director, Bill King.
The Spokane Public Facilities District paid $3 million Monday for property that allows work to begin on the 100,000-square-foot expansion of the Spokane Convention Center. Construction was supposed to start a month ago, but was put off due to delays in acquiring the DoubleTree Hotel's parking lot. The project's general contractor had warned that delays past today would cause costs to begin to pile up.
Letters went out Monday to 13,000 Washington State Employees Credit Union members whose names, addresses and Social Security numbers were stored on a computer that was stolen in Southern California. The letters advised the members to register with consumer protection bureaus for fraud alert, which notifies people when credit applications are submitted in their name.
Dave DuPree and Heather Black-DuPree have left a mark on Spokane's entertainment scene. They're musicians who play in local bands. They deliver singing telegrams for birthdays and other occasions. And Heather is an actress with movie and commercial credits.
By 4 p.m., about half the dogs are snoozing. Many are young dogs, and high-energy breeds, like golden retrievers and Labradors, in peak condition. But Choco, a 2-year-old German shorthair, is lying on the rubber mat, trying to keep his eyes open and gradually failing. When 5-year-old Darby the Dalmatian's owner comes to get him, the pooch lies right down in the lobby with a big grin on his black-and-white spotted face.
Avista Corp. announced Wednesday it plans to buy back a half-share in a power plant it sold three years ago to Mirant Corp., which recently filed for bankruptcy. "Our decision to seek to acquire full ownership of the plant is driven by a potentially attractive price, together with Avista's familiarity and experience with the facility," CEO Gary Ely said in a news release announcing the company's second-quarter earnings.
Two new tenants will move into the Spokane Business and Industrial Park in Spokane Valley this fall, occupying a total of 50,000 square feet and creating about 40 new jobs. Timberlake Forest Products will move into 40,000 square feet in October, hiring about 36 people, said company owner David Thompson. And the Book and Game Co., which operates Uncle's games shops, will lease space for its warehouse and on-line operations in September, moving from the basement of the Liberty Building in downtown Spokane. Company President Hans Isaacson said the expansion likely will result in five new hires.
When Frank and Claudia Frago moved to Pinehurst from Northern California six years ago, the rates the couple paid to Avista Utilities for natural gas seemed reasonable. That quickly changed, the Fragos told the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on Monday. "I find this ludicrous," Frank Frago said. "How high is it gonna go?"
If state regulators approve, Avista Corp. will cease operations in the state of California, where it has been serving natural gas customers since 1991. Avista plans to sell its South Lake Tahoe, Calif., natural gas distribution properties to Southwest Gas for $15 million, the two companies announced Wednesday. If the deal is approved, Avista's more than 18,000 South Lake Tahoe area customers would be served by Southwest Gas's Carson City, Nev., office.
The man who some describe as the internal whistle-blower at Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Inc. has resigned to accept a job closer to home in California. Metropolitan gave him no hint of the company's impending financial troubles when he was hired Aug. 4, 2003.
Itron's earnings dropped off sharply in the second quarter of 2004, with the company attributing the decline to costs from an acquisition, compliance with government regulations and a utility industry that's in the "doldrums." The Spokane-based company, which makes automatic meter-reading equipment and software for the utility industry, just completed a $248 million acquisition of one of the biggest meter manufacturers in the country. The acquisition of Schlumberger's electricity metering products division closed July 1.
When Rob Brewster was in fifth grade, he stood sadly beside his principal and watched a bulldozer knock down the old Roosevelt Elementary School on the South Hill. He didn't like the new school that replaced it — it lacked the personality and character of that 70-year-old brick building with its creaky floors. As a child at his family's Spirit Lake cabin, Brewster, the eldest of three, was much more interested in building a little town in the woods than goofing around in the water. He put his younger sisters in charge of the grocery store and the bank, where they printed play money. Brewster, however, ran the make-believe real estate office.
A downtown sports bar and restaurant wants to add a sidewalk café with four tables along Riverside Avenue, just east of its intersection with Lincoln Street. Heroes and Legends has applied to the city of Spokane for a permit to build an enclosure stretching out from the restaurant at 825 W. Riverside.
Confining Martha Stewart to her home as punishment for lying about a stock sale is like "sending a kid to his room that's equipped with a TV, computer and all his toys. Not very punitive," wrote Spokane's Jessie Wuerst when asked what she thought about the domestic diva's Friday sentencing. The Spokesman-Review e-mailed hundreds of readers Friday, asking for feedback about Stewart's sentencing, which included five months in prison, a $30,000 fine and five months of home confinement. Stewart was found guilty of lying about a 2001 sale of ImClone stock that saved her $51,000 when news accounts the following day sent the stock price plunging.
Spokane County's taxable retail sales increased 6.7 percent during the first quarter of 2004, slightly outpacing growth statewide, the Washington State Department of Revenue reported Thursday. Statewide, retail sales increased 6.3 percent during the first quarter of 2004, compared with the same time period last year.
The Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau eliminated the position of chief communication officer this week, dismissing Nancy Goodspeed, who's held that job for two and a half years. Goodspeed is well-known in the business community, having worked in public relations for numerous Spokane companies, including World Wide Packets, Avista Corp. and The Rockey Co.
The law firm that bought the Patsy Clark Mansion moved in last month, and lawyers are working amid $1 million worth of construction at the eclectic Spokane landmark. A new roof's been put on. All the rugs were removed, and the original hardwood floors were refinished. The electrical wiring, plumbing and irrigation systems were replaced. All the woodwork has been painstakingly refinished or replaced with historically accurate duplicates.
Homes sold at a record-setting pace during the first six months of the year. Nearly 5,000 homes changed hands in Spokane and Kootenai counties through the end of June, generating $690 million worth of residential real estate sales. Average sales prices rose on both sides of the state line.
A California investment group with more than $100 million in real estate holdings recently purchased a Spokane company that offers apartment-style living to business travelers. DYI Properties LLC, based in Monterey, Calif., paid $6.4 million for Solar World Estates, said Galen Ishii, vice president of DYI. The investment group has 15 members and has been investing in apartment buildings, storage facilities and shopping centers for more than 40 years, Ishii said.
One of the numerous charges leveled against ex-Enron executives, including former CEO Kenneth Lay, hits a little too close to home for Spokane-based Avista Corp. In 2000, Avista bought a gas-fired combustion turbine in Oregon from Enron for $59.5 million. Due to the way Enron structured the deal, the transaction is one of many listed by prosecutors as examples of how Enron attempted to falsely beef up earnings and conceal debt from auditors and the public.
Coming out of a downtown movie a couple of weeks ago, Kelly Knight stumbled onto a marketing opportunity. He and his wife were strolling through the Pottery Barn in River Park Square when they came upon a married couple who were examining the countertops, wondering if they were really concrete.
Someone stole two 100-year-old bronze shields off Avista Corp.'s Mission Avenue headquarters, and though the Spokane energy company tracked one down at a local salvage yard, the other is still missing. Avista is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the 4-foot-high ornate corporate shield adorned with the company's original name, Washington Water Power. Cast in 1906, and weighing more than 250 pounds each, the shields were reported stolen on June 25.
The first ceremonial shovel will be thrust into the ground Thursday to officially launch construction of the $80 million Spokane Convention Center expansion project, but officials are still scrambling to finalize land sale and contractor agreements. At a special meeting Monday, Spokane Public Facilities District board members worked to iron out the final details of an agreement with the DoubleTree Hotel to pay $3 million for the hotel's parking lot and grant the DoubleTree 285 parking spaces in the soon-to-be-built convention center. The district's $4 million purchase of Azteca Mexican Restaurant's property is complete but has not closed yet. Both pieces of property are needed for the planned new exhibit hall.
Putting a roof on a house in Spokane is about to get more expensive for some people. The International Building Code, which takes effect in the city on July 1, only permits homes to have two layers of roofing, as opposed to the three currently allowed. In addition, people can't remove just one layer of roofing and replace it with a new one — they have to strip everything off, roofers and city officials say. In some cases, they'll also have to add new sheathing.
