Bert Caldwell

A Spokane County Superior Court judge Wednesday made final a $3.5 million verdict in a condemnation case that may be the most expensive ever resolved by an Eastern Washington jury. With interest and attorneys' fees, the total cost to the Washington Department of Transportation will be almost $5 million, 10 times the final offer made on property taken for construction of the U.S. Highway 395 bridge over the Little Spokane River. When completed a year ago, cost of the project was estimated at $10.7 million, but department attorney John Hurley said that assumed only $900,000 in land costs.

The managers of U.S. Bancorp's Qualivest mutual fund group say they are approaching 1996 cautiously despite confidence about the nation's economic fundamentals. Qualivest's nine funds will remain fully invested, said Tim Leach and Jeff Grubb, but they will watch for signs of weakness in such areas as technology and interest-related issues. "There are some areas where the economy could slip," said Leach, who is president and chief investment officer for Qualivest.

November home sales in Spokane County increased in comparison with 1994, but prices dropped by 3 percent despite lower mortgage rates. According to the Multiple Listing Service of the Spokane Association of Realtors, 463 homes sold last month, five more than a year ago. The value of all sales slipped to $51.1 million from $52.2 million, reflecting a decrease in average price of a little more than $3,000.

John and Mary Bell stand along the proposed power line corridor. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

The Bonneville Power Administration has Larry Weis boxed in. The feeling is familiar. The general manager of the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District has faced challenges from several quarters since moving over from the Snohomish County PUD in 1991. Now, he and other district officials are on the threshold of committing the utility district to the biggest expenditure in its 60-year history - $22.5 million for a new power line and substations that will largely wean the system from what Weis calls "Mother Bonneville."

Omak Wood Products Inc. has completed a reorganization that wipes almost $50 million in debt off the books and preserves 475 jobs in hard-pressed Okanogan County. The plan also perpetuates a cooperative relationship among creditors, workers and management that drew national attention when employees first bought a majority interest in the sawmill and plywood plant in 1988. "At least this gives the company an opportunity to go forward," Spokane attorney Shaun Cross said Thursday, the day new incorporation documents were filed.

FOR THE RECORD: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 CORRECTION: The disciplinary history of Spokane securities dealer David M. Black shows only one complaint with the National Association of Security Dealers in Black's 26 years of investment counseling. That 1986 complaint, based on low net capital requirements, did not involve a customer. A Dec. 5 story implied Black had a history of disciplinary problems with NASD.

Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources officials were regrouping Thursday after a surprise decision by federal regulators to delay their proposed merger by as much as a year. Members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Wednesday they are unconvinced a combination of the two utilities is in the public's best interest. The commission questioned the validity of claims the union would produce $450 million in savings over the next 10 years. It ordered hearings to review major sticking points in the deal, which has been in the works for almost two years.

Final regulatory approval of the proposed merger of Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources could come as soon as the end of the week with favorable action in Olympia and Washington, D.C. If the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission give their consents, said WWP spokesman Pat Lynch, the deal could close Dec. 15, almost a year and a half after the companies disclosed their plans. "We would like to get it done," he said.

Four customers of Smith's Home Furnishings have filed a class-action lawsuit against General Electric Credit Corp., backer of the defunct chain's revolving credit and extended-warranty plans. The four, residents of Spokane and Kitsap counties, claim GECC has not only failed to fulfill the warranty terms, but also continues to bill and collect on items backed by the warranties. Portland-based Smith's filed bankruptcy in August. All its Washington stores, including two in Spokane, were closed within a week. Hundreds lost their jobs.

U.S. Coast Guard officials Tuesday said inspection of a Spokane-made boat involved in a fatal Michigan accident did not turn up any defects that would compromise seaworthiness. The Outlaw 18 manufactured by Outlaw Marine Inc. was recovered Monday by Michigan Marine Ltd. The craft had beached 22 miles from the point on Saginaw Bay where the bodies of four duck hunters were found Nov. 13.

Don Bennett, owner of Watches by Gosh, has en eye for the timepiece business with the addition of his tenth store. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane Realtors sold 465 homes in October, just one short of the number for the same month a year ago and an improvement on September. Prices continued to run slightly above last year's levels. But that is more than offset by the decrease in mortgage rates since last year. Spokane Association of Realtors President Bev Gates said local market activity does not reflect those attractive interest rates.

In a final push to complete a proposed merger before the end of the year, Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources have accepted slightly more risk that a pie six states across can be sliced evenly. The companies Thursday agreed to language written by Washington officials that will increase safeguards protecting the split of merger benefits to be shared by Washington ratepayers.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. Monday disclosed the signing of precedent-setting agreements with the Bonneville Power Administration and Washington Water Power Co. Together, the pacts should enhance prospects for continued full-scale production at the Mead smelter, which last month began restarting capacity idled since January 1993. They also expand an alliance between two or Spokane County's largest employers.

Gloria Cooper, administrator of Mt. Carmel Hospital in Colville, has earned acclaim from the state hospital association. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Haters of cell phones, beware. Son of Cellular is on the horizon. Personal communications services will likely be introduced into the Spokane market by late next year or early 1997.

Washington Water Power Co. had some warming news Wednesday for Inland Northwest residents who in recent days got a taste of the winter to come - heating costs for those who use natural gas are going down. The Spokane utility has asked utility regulators in Washington to approve an 11.1 percent rate cut for residential customers. The average homeowner's monthly bill would drop about $4.23.

Clarification clearly has become a big issue in the proposed merger of Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources. Wednesday, the two utilities asked the Nevada Public Service Commission to clarify language in its Oct. 6 order approving the deal between Spokane-based WWP and Reno-based Sierra Pacific. Their petition followed by only a day a similar request to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission made by its staff and a state assistant attorney general who represents consumers.

The slipping timetable for closure of the merger between Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources could skid into next year, officials with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission said Tuesday. Alan Buckley, a program manager for the commission, said a second regulatory review of the merger could even lead to rejection of the deal if additional consumer safeguards are not included. Washington commission staff and the assistant attorney general representing ratepayers asked the commissioners Tuesday to clarify language in last month's order approving the merger or to reopen the record in the case.

Sterling Financial Corp. has dramatically increased consumer, business and private lending as it prepares for conversion to a commercial bank, officials of the Spokane thrift said Tuesday. President William Zuppe said consumer lending climbed 47 percent to $101.4 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, while business and private banking more than doubled to $103.6 million. "That's what the future is," Zuppe said following Sterling's annual meeting of shareholders.

Kenneth Cameron has launched a trade magazine for real estate brokers and agents in the SpokaneCoeur d'Alene area. Broker*Agent Magazine will not be a listings publication, he said. Instead, the feature article will focus on an individual in the industry. Other material will address legal, financial and insurance issues, as well as the latest in technology.

(From For the Record of Saturday, October 21, 1995): A draft permit for the proposed power plant at Creston applies only to its air emissions, not the project as a whole, as implied in Friday's Spokesman-Review.

The good news for Washington Water Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Resources was approval Wednesday of their proposed merger by the California Public Utilities Commission. The bad news was a decision Tuesday by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to shelve temporarily an earlier ruling in favor of the deal. But officials of the utilities were downplaying the impact of the delay, which had been sought by the Washington commission's staff and state attorneys representing the public.