Becky Kramer

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News >  Spokane

Spokane Tribe betting on new casino that opens Monday

Sun., Jan. 7, 2018

The Spokane Tribe Casino opens Monday in Airway Heights. Beyond the flash of Vegas-style slot machines and table games lie tribal leaders’ aspirations for a better future for the 2,900-member tribe.

News >  Spokane

Spokane Tribe Casino honors tribe’s past with historic photos, Salish names

Sun., Jan. 7, 2018

The Spokane Tribe Casino’s decor includes geometric designs, historic photographs and Salish names amid the flashing lights of 450 slot machines. The casino opens Monday evening.

News >  Business

Itron finalizes purchase of Silver Spring Networks for $830 million

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 5, 2018

Itron Inc. has finalized the $830 million purchase of competitor Silver Spring Networks, of San Jose, California, company officials announced Friday.

News >  Business

Avista filing request to lower natural gas prices

Thu., Jan. 4, 2018

If the recent cold snap has your furnace running constantly, take heart. Local residents could get a modest break on their heating bills this winter from lower natural gas prices.

News >  Spokane

INB increases wages, hands out bonuses due to tax reform bill

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 2, 2018

A Spokane bank raised its starting wage to $15 per hour and gave out year-end bonuses in reaction to federal tax reform. INB officials say the raises benefit the community bank’s employees and shareholders.

News >  Spokane

‘I’m driven to make the world a better place’: Antony Chiang, president of Empire Health Foundation, uses bold thinking to drive social change

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 3, 2018

Under Antony Chiang’s leadership, Empire Health Foundation has developed a reputation for big-picture thinking. The foundation is tackling issues such as childhood obesity and access to health care.

News >  Spokane

Next IT Corp., a Spokane Valley artificial intelligence company, sold for $30 million

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 21, 2017

The Spokane Valley company that created “Ask Jenn,” Alaska Airlines’ virtual assistant, was sold this week for $30 million.

News >  Education

$650,000 grant helps Spokane Falls Community College attract women, minorities to engineering program

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 20, 2017

Spokane Falls Community College will use a $650,000 National Science Foundation grant to attract women, minorities and students from rural areas to its engineering program.

News >  Business

Spokane Tribe announces opening date for Airway Heights casino

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 20, 2017

The Spokane Tribe’s new casino in Airway Heights will open at 7 p.m. Jan. 8, the tribe announced Wednesday.

News >  Business

HiTest Sand offers to pay $1 million for studies on electrical impact of proposed Newport smelter

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 18, 2017

The company proposing to build a silicon smelter near Newport will pay $1 million for studies about the smelter’s effect on the electrical grid.

News >  Business

State figures show trains carried 56 million barrels of crude across state in a year

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 18, 2017

Railroads shipped nearly 56 million barrels of crude oil across Washington in 82,000 rail cars, according to information from October 2016 through September of this year. That represents about 2.5 trillion gallons of oil.

News >  Business

New Post Falls distribution center receives grant for worker training

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 14, 2017

A Post Falls distribution center will receive a $151,000 grant from the state of Idaho for training 167 workers.

News >  Business

Skiers can take advantage of December deals at area resorts

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 13, 2017

With a little advance planning, skiers and snowboarders can save on lift ticket prices at Inland Northwest resorts. The five area resorts are offering December deals on multiple-day packs of lift tickets and lesson and equipment rentals.

News >  Spokane

Kalispel Tribe launches electric utility to serve Northern Quest complex in Airway Heights

Wed., Dec. 13, 2017

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians has created its own electric utility to serve its expanding casino-hotel complex in Airway Heights.

News >  Health

Providence St. Joseph in merger talks with St. Louis-based hospital chain

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 12, 2017

Providence St. Joseph Health, the Renton-based owner of Spokane-area hospitals and clinics, is in talks with Ascension Health of St. Louis about a possible merger, the Wall Street Journal has reported. A decision could be reached by late December, a source told The Spokesman-Review.

News >  Business

Spokane-area’s strong home-buying streak continues in November

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 12, 2017

Spokane-area home sales continued at a strong pace in November, benefiting from mild temperatures and the lack of significant snowfall. Strong demand for homes and inventory shortages will continue in 2018, a Spokane Association of Realtors spokeswoman said.

News >  Pacific NW

Negotiations to start next year on updating the Columbia River Treaty

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 12, 2017

Negotiations over the future of the Columbia River Treaty will start early next year between the U.S. and Canada. Changes to the treaty could impact Northwest electric rates, salmon survival and flood control.

A&E >  Books

Author Nate Blakeslee explores value of one wolf’s life

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 7, 2017

“American Wolf,” the nonfiction story of an alpha female in Yellowstone, drew about 150 people to the December meeting of The Spokesman-Review’s Northwest Passages Book Club.

News >  Business

New magazine gives loft to region’s aerospace manufacturers

Wed., Dec. 6, 2017

The Northwest is home to more than 2,000 such manufacturers, which make up a critical but behind-the-scenes part of the region’s economy. A new trade magazine, launched from Spokane Valley, will help promote their work to a national audience.

News >  Business

Kalispel Tribe raises concerns about silicon smelter in letter to Gov. Inslee

UPDATED: Thu., Nov. 30, 2017

The Kalispel Tribe wrote a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee opposing a proposed silicon smelter in Newport. The tribe is concerned about smelter emissions and a $300,000 state grant awarded for the project.

News >  Spokane

WSU aims to lower med school debt to help new doctors

Thu., Nov. 30, 2017

Part of the WSU School of Medicine’s mission is training doctors to work in rural and low-income urban areas. One of the best ways to do that is helping students reduce their medical school debt, said Dr. John Tomkowiak, the school’s dean.

News >  Business

Hundreds turn out for public hearing on proposed Newport silicon smelter

UPDATED: Thu., Nov. 30, 2017

Plans to build a $325 million dollar silicon smelter south of town drew a large crowd to the Newport High School gym Wednesday night.

News >  Business

Grocery Outlet will open Colville store

UPDATED: Wed., Nov. 29, 2017

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market will open a Colville store in early December.

News >  Business

Small Business Saturday draws focus on hand-crafted items, Spokane-area merchants

Thu., Nov. 23, 2017

U.S. consumers will spend billions of dollars on holiday gifts this year. When some of that money trickles into small retail establishments, it has an outsized effect on the local economy, business leaders say.

News >  Business

Avista shareholders approve utility’s sale to Canadian utility Hydro One

UPDATED: Tue., Nov. 21, 2017

With little fanfare, Avista Corp.’s shareholders approved the sale of the 128-year-old company to Hydro One Ltd. on Tuesday. The sale is expected to be final in August.