Bert Caldwell

Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq. The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university’s Center for Reproductive Biology.

Northwest Bancorporation Inc., parent of Inland Northwest Bank, Tuesday reported lower second-quarter earnings but double-digit growth in assets and loans compared with 2007 levels. For the quarter ended June 30, the $498,000 in net income was off 24 percent from $657,000 for the 2007 period. Per share, the Spokane company earned 21 cents compared with 28 cents a year ago.

Sterling Financial Corp. on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings off substantially from 2007 but an improvement on first-quarter numbers. In a report issued after markets closed, the Spokane-based bank said it earned $11.7 million, or 23 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with $27 million, or 52 cents per share, for the 2007 period. During the 2008 first quarter, earnings had slumped to $2.9 million, just 6 cents per share.

100 Years of Motorcycles begins its first year in Spokane next week with promoter Josh Bryan hoping he can attract 50,000 two-wheel enthusiasts to the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. But first, 30 miles down Highway 195, the Rosalia Motorcycle Association will debut its Rosalia Rally this weekend.

A slowdown last month in construction and related services dropped employment numbers in Spokane County below those for June 2007. The year-over-year decrease was the first since April 2002, when the area was working its way out of a national economic downturn.

Developer Dick Vandervert, his plans to expand a West Plains apartment complex frustrated by Spokane County, on Thursday petitioned for annexation into the city of Airway Heights. He said Airway Heights officials have assured him they will approve multifamily zoning that will allow him to proceed with the second phase of the Deer Creek Apartments on Flight Drive, a spur off U.S. Highway 2. Spokane County Hearing Examiner Mike Dempsey last week denied Vandervert a conditional use permit for construction.

Room-tax collections in Spokane County have increased more than 7 percent this year, defying expectations that tourism driven by the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2007 would be hard to top. The total through June exceeded $1 million, compared with about $932,000 for the same period last year.

The second phase of a West Plains apartment project opposed by Spokane International Airport, Fairchild Air Force Base and local economic development officials has been blocked by Spokane County Hearing Examiner Mike Dempsey. In a ruling issued Thursday, Dempsey agreed with arguments the new construction could further jeopardize operations at both airfields, potentially endangering two of Spokane County's most valued economic assets.

Spokane County's population grew over the last three years at the strongest rate since 1990-1992. Meanwhile, a slowdown in the northward migration of Californians contributed to a slight decline in Washington's population growth in the 12-month period that ended April 1, according to the state Office of Financial Management.

Avista Utilities warned consumers Wednesday that the pain they're suffering at the pumps could spread to their parlors next winter. Although the Spokane utility will not file rate-increase applications with Washington, Idaho and Oregon regulators until fall, spokeswoman Debbie Simock said rising wholesale natural gas costs will likely translate into percentage increases in the double digits after two years of relative stability.

Red Lion Hotels Corp. has retained an investment banking firm to meet with a potential buyer. Chief Financial Officer Tony Dombrowik said Red Lion has a long-standing relationship with JMP Securities, which underwrote its last common stock offering.

A Seattle investment company has offered $9.50 per share for Red Lion Hotels Corp. in a proposal that would take the Spokane hospitality company private. The bid, worth $173 million, came in a letter sent Friday to Red Lion Chairman Don Barbieri by Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund. The letter signed by Principal Daniel Baty said the offer was nonbinding and subject to a 60-day due diligence review.

Investors understand well the concept of buying low and selling high, yet constantly violate that most basic of Wall Street rules because emotion overrules intellect, Washington State University Professor John Nofsinger said Friday. The author of "The Psychology of Investing," speaking at the end of a disastrous week for stocks, said people project into the future what they have experienced in the present and immediate past because that is what they know. This "extrapolation bias" causes them to throw money into a surging market, and pull out when the trend reverses, he said.

In a report that might comfort investors discouraged by their own personal losses, the Washington State Investment Board Thursday reported its first quarterly loss in five years – a little matter of $2.7 billion. The loss for the three-month period that ended March 31 dragged returns for the current fiscal year to a negative $788 million.

Slowing home construction and a weakened retail sector last month pushed Washington's unemployment rate above 5 percent for the first time since October 2005. The 0.6 percent increase to 5.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, was also worse than the 0.5 percent jump to 5.5 percent reported earlier this month for the nation as a whole. Much of the damage was done in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, where the rate climbed 0.7 percent to 4.1 percent.

A Canadian aircraft maintenance company could employ almost 140 next February if the state of Washington comes through with $2 million to modernize a Spokane International Airport hangar. Within three years, the Cascade Aerospace payroll could expand to 383, with an average wage of $43,238, according to airport officials.