Becky Kramer

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News >  Business

Idaho senator makes another run at relaxing child labor laws for family-owned logging operations

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2017

U.S. Sen. Jim Risch wants to relax child labor laws to allow 16-year-olds to run logging equipment under parental supervision in family-owned businesses.

News >  Spokane

Dr. Richard Stacey, the Spokane doctor who shut down the city after Mount St. Helens erupted, dies

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2017

When volcanic ash blanketed Spokane after Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption, Dr. Richard Stacey was instrumental in shutting down Spokane to protect people’s lungs. The longtime Rockwood Clinic physician and civic volunteer died Sunday at his home. He was 80.

News >  Spokane

CHAS fears new GOP plan would unravel years of Spokane health progress

UPDATED: Mon., March 13, 2017

CHAS Health saw its patient load grow by 50 percent as low-income Spokane residents gained health insurance under Obamacare. The proposed GOP replacement would require CHAS to cut back services, said CEO Aaron Wilson.

News >  Spokane

Spokane County home sales experience slight drop during February

UPDATED: Fri., March 10, 2017

The snowy month of February was also a slightly sluggish one for home sales in Spokane County. Sales were down about 2 percent, with a total of 335 homes sold, the Spokane Association of Realtors said.

News >  Business

Silverwood Theme Park raises wage to keep pace with competitive labor market

UPDATED: Tue., March 7, 2017

Silverwood Theme Park will raise its wages this year as a result of a competitive labor market and higher minimum wage in Washington. The amusement park north of Coeur d’Alene is one of the region’s largest seasonal employers, hiring about 1,200 workers to staff the park from May through September.

News >  Spokane

Washington insurance commissioner calls GOP plan to replace Obamacare ‘a step backward for millions’

UPDATED: Tue., March 7, 2017

Healthcare providers, state regulators and insurance companies were busy Tuesday analyzing the GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

News

Sale of PAML likely to bring loss of high-paying jobs in Spokane, former official says

Sun., March 5, 2017

Spokane is likely to lose high-paying medical laboratory jobs when PAML is purchased by a North Carolina company, a former PAML official says.

News >  Business

Avista CEO Scott Morris earns $4.5 million in 2016

UPDATED: Fri., March 3, 2017

Avista Corp. paid its top executive about $4.5 million in total compensation last year.

News >  Business

SmartRecruiters plans sales office in downtown Spokane

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 24, 2017

SmartRecruiters is opening a Spokane sales office in March that will employ about 10 people.

News >  Spokane

Northern Quest Casino unveils plans for family-friendly expansion

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 22, 2017

The Kalispel Tribe has announced a $20 million expansion at Northern Quest Resort and Casino designed to increase the resort’s family appeal.

News >  Business

Avista reports 11 percent increase in profits for 2016

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 22, 2017

Avista Corp.’s profits rose 11 percent in 2016, the company reported Wednesday. The Spokane-based utility is projecting lower earnings for 2017 as a result of having its request for higher rates turned down by Washington regulators.

News >  Business

Remington label will help Buck Knives expand its reach in sportsmen’s market

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 21, 2017

Buck Knives’ new licensing agreement with Remington Outdoor Co. could create a “signficant revenue stream” for the Post Falls manufacturer, a company official said.

News >  Business

Lone Star envy: Spokane business group takes a peek to see what it takes to look like Austin

Tue., Feb. 21, 2017

Austin often tops lists of “Coolest American cities.” It’s residents are young, educated and trend-setting and they’re reshaping how Americans think about urban areas.

News >  Business

Tech sector contributes to Washington’s gender gap in earnings

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 17, 2017

Washington has a bigger wage gap between women’s and men’s earnings than surrounding states. The state’s tech sector is partly to blame for the disparity.

News >  Business

Coeur d’Alene plans downtown garage to ease summer parking shortages

Fri., Feb. 17, 2017

A proposed $5.9 million parking garage would make it easier to find parking in Coeur d’Alene during the summer.

News >  Spokane

Kootenai National Forest will provide the 2017 Capitol Christmas tree

Thu., Feb. 16, 2017

The Kootenai National Forest in Western Montana will provide the 2017 Capitol Christmas tree.

News >  Business

Evolution always wins: University of Idaho video game uses mutating aliens to teach science concepts

Tue., Feb. 14, 2017

“Darwin’s Demons,” a video game created at the University of Idaho, uses mutating aliens to teach students about natural selection and evolution.

News >  Spokane

Spokane-area economy is creating higher-wage jobs

Mon., Feb. 13, 2017

More than 20,000 new jobs have been created in Spokane County since 2010. Most pay more than the average wage in the county, which is $21.17 per hour, or $44,035 per year.

News >  Spokane

Partnership will bring two dental clinics, new dental residencies, to serve low-income people in Spokane

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 20, 2017

Many of Spokane County’s low-income adults are visiting emergency rooms with dental pain. Providence Health Care is launching a new initiative to better serve those patients through a partnership with CHAS Health and the Spokane District Dental Society.

News >  Business

Spokane home sales off to a strong start in January

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 8, 2017

Homes sales in Spokane County got off to a brisk start in January, with 378 sales of single-family homes and condos.

News >  Business

Interested in a road trip? New app encourages Washington residents to explore their state

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 8, 2017

Scenic Washington, a Bellingham company, has launched a free app that encourages Washington residents to explore their state with a road trip.

News >  Spokane

Spokane VA starts taking appointments for veterans and their spouses seeking in vitro fertilization

Sun., Feb. 5, 2017

Local veterans with service-related injuries can begin making appointments at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane to be evaluated for in vitro fertilization.

News >  Spokane

Push to turn over federal lands to the states may be losing steam

Sun., Feb. 5, 2017

A Utah congressman’s abrupt reversal on a proposal to sell 3.3 million acres of public land across the West is significant, and may be part of a shift in the Republican Party’s thinking on federal land ownership, conservation groups say.

News >  Spokane

WSU-Spokane agreement with private university creates pipeline for pharmacy students in the Yakima Valley

Wed., Feb. 1, 2017

Students from Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington, which has a large Latino population, will be able to apply for early admission to WSU-Spokane’s College of Pharmacy. The early admission program is designed to address shortages of health care workers in the Yakima Valley.

News >  Business

‘Trump bump’ spurs refinance of downtown landmark

Thu., Jan. 26, 2017

The owners of Spokane’s U.S. Bank Building, a 15-story downtown landmark, recently refinanced the building’s $13.8 million loan. The building is owned by Burleson Road Investments, a Northwest commercial property investment group.