Bert Caldwell

Shibli Bayyuk (left) and Bill Fuglevand are working on fuel cell development. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Officials at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation say they expect to conclude negotiations by the end of the month with two consortiums that will take over cleanup of the site's leaky storage tanks. And like the contract awarded earlier this week for management of the reservation, the pending agreements would force the operators to perform or face withheld payments, said William Taylor, the director of the U.S. Department of Energy Waste Disposal Division at Hanford. The teams are led by Lockheed Martin and British Nuclear Fuel Ltd. Both include members with nuclear waste remediation experience.

Washington Trust Bank has received grants worth $182,411 to help finance two Spokane housing projects intended for low-income residents who are physically disabled or with a history of mental illness or substance abuse. The funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank in Seattle bring to $3 million the sum provided through its Affordable Housing Program to 30 projects around Washington so far in 1996. The larger of the grants - $97,411 - will reduce the principal due on a permanent loan for the recently-completed refurbishing of a former nursing home at 518 S. Browne.

Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources parted company amicably last week, a month after WWP abruptly pulled the plug on their planned merger. WWP Chairman Paul Redmond and Sierra Chairman Walter Higgins signed a memorandum in which Sierra agreed WWP had the right to terminate the deal. In return, WWP sought and obtained the dismissal of a lawsuit it filed last month that asked a Spokane County Superior Court judge to make the same call.

Dennis Cutter moved to Spokane in 1971 to take over the Spokane Railway Credit Union. He's kept it going strong despite a downturn in the rail industry. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The Bonneville Power Administration Wednesday announced 900 employees and contractors would be cut from its work force over the next three years. The reductions are expected to trim $70 million from the federal power-marketing agency's $2.4 billion budget, said spokesman Perry Gruber.

GTE customers could be choosing a new carrier for long-distance calls within Eastern Washington or North Idaho this fall if state regulators approve plans filed this spring. Customers can reach other carriers now, but only by dialing an access code. The simplified service is another result of legislation enacted earlier this year that allows providers of local telephone service to enter the long-distance market, and long-distance companies to enter local markets, said spokeswoman Melissa Barran.

Washington Water Power Co. will be doing almost $40 million in business with Clark Public Utilities by this time next year, but it didn't come cheap. As part of a complex legal settlement, WWP will pay the Bonneville Power Administration $9 million in compensation for load its contracts will take away from the federal power-marketing agency. Portland-based PacifiCorp is contributing another $11 million for access to Clark, which has moved aggressively to remove almost all its load from Bonneville.

Altus Corp. is dead. Long live ... Washington Water Power Co.? When the Spokane utility called off its proposed marriage to Sierra Pacific Resources a week ago, the search for a path into the future did not end. Even as he discussed the reasons WWP directors decided not to go through

Pacific Gas Transmission Co. has finished the first phase of $400,000 in repairs to its pipeline right-of-way near Valleyford. Spokeswoman Susan Meyers said soil around the 36-inch and 42-inch pipelines was eroded when Rock Creek flooded last winter. The stream channel shifted, exposing some pipe that had been underground, she said. The lines cross the creek downstream from Cottonwood Creek.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday clears the way for Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane to seek $90 million in damages from the federal government. The 7-2 decision by the nation's highest court in a case involving three other savings and loans could ultimately cost the Treasury as much as $20 billion. More than 100 thrifts have sued the government for changing the way they could account for assets taken over from failed institutions with the assistance of federal regulators.

Paul Redmond, chairman of WWP, offers details of the utility company's decision to abandon merger plans. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Bankruptcy filings in the Inland Northwest have reached record levels, and many experts blame easy credit for the problem. New cases in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Eastern Washington for the first five months of this year ran 53 percent ahead of last year's pace, said data quality analyst Jo Jennings.

Washington Water Power Co., in a stunning turnabout, late Friday terminated its merger agreement with Sierra Pacific Resources. The announcement came after a meeting of WWP directors on the second anniversary of the merger agreement between the Spokane- and Reno-based utilities.

A proposed Washington Water Power Co. test of new rates for its largest customers has drawn a passing grade in Washington, an incomplete in Idaho. The staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Monday recommended the plan be approved. But in Idaho, questions raised by Potlatch Corp. and Idaho Power Co. may delay implementation until hearings can be held.

Ever pull out an extension cord, only to find you're still six inches short of the socket? That should give you a pretty good feel for the position Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources find themselves in on the eve of a critical hearing before an administrative law judge in Washington, D.C. The Spokane- and Reno-based companies have tried for two years to merge as a new company - Altus Corp. Each would retain its identity as an operating division of the new corporation. Altus would sell electricity, natural gas and water to roughly 500,000 customers.

A proposed natural gas-fired generating plant at Creston cleared critical state and federal hurdles this week, but construction of the huge facility is unlikely anytime soon. The Northwest Regional Power Facility would produce 838 mega-watts of electricity for sale to utilities and other large customers around the West. Alan Fiksdal, an official with the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, said a surplus of power has delayed the development of other projects like Creston.

Northern Technologies Inc. of Liberty Lake has landed a contract with Sprint Spectrum that will generate "tens of millions" in sales, Vice President Steve Smith said Tuesday. The company will supply what Smith described as mini-power protection cabinets at every site where Sprint Spectrum locates a personal communications system antenna. PCS is a second-generation cellular telephone technology capable of carrying more traffic on smaller but more closely-spaced antennas.

Competition has drained The Intercompany Pool. Once a planning and trading mechanism sponsored by seven private utilities in the Northwest, the pool will be disbanded in part because members are ever more frequently trying to sell power to the same customers.

It would take a giant showroom to accommodate every customer of the defunct Smith's Home Furnishings chain who could recover money spent on warranties as a result of a ruling in Spokane Superior Court Friday. Judge Harold Clarke converted a lawsuit filed by a handful of shoppers last November into a class action on behalf of 27,000 people who purchased $9 million worth of warranties on a wide range of appliances. The retired jurist said he has never handled a case covering so many plaintiffs.

Washington regulators have been asked to mediate a dispute between AT&T; and US West Communications over access to local telephone markets in eight Western and Midwestern states. AT&T;'s request, filed Friday with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, triggered a "put-up-or-shut up" response from US West Monday.

Dennis Halsey is the regional vice president of Trinity Universal Insurance Companies. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Mima Scarpelli has held a lot of hands this week. The treasurer of Itron Inc. said she has talked to more than 100 investors since last Thursday, when the Spokane maker of automatic meter-reading equipment disclosed flat earnings projections for the second and third quarters of this year. Last Friday, Itron's stock plummeted in response to the news. A share worth $50.25 at the close of trading on Thursday fetched only $34 at the end of Friday.

Sara Wardrip, background in apron and gloves, talks with a Polish delegation touring the Airport Business Park Kitchen Center to learn about business incubators. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review