Bert Caldwell

Itron Inc. Thursday announced an agreement to buy Design Concepts Inc., a Boise supplier of telephone-based devices for remote reading of electric meters. Terms call for Itron to issue 759,000 unregistered shares of common stock to DCI shareholders in exchange for all their shares. Based on the Thursday closing price for Itron stock - $22 - the deal would be valued at $16.7 million. The merger will be accounted for as a pooling of interests treated as a tax-free reorganization. Closure is expected within a few days.

Bill Papesh enjoys collecting Western Americana. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Boeing Co. stock has not peaked, and the shares of suppliers and other Northwest companies should still gain altitude, the manager of a regional mutual fund said Thursday. David Simpson, of Seattle, who was on a panel of regional stock analysts and money managers at the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference, handles $220 million at the Composite Northwest Fund.

The former president of United Security Bank is suing his old employer, alleging the Spokane-based institution denied him promised options and incentive bonuses. The complaint filed Wednesday in Spokane County Superior Court by Robert McKean also claims William "Bud" Dashiell, president of United Security Bancorp, made defamatory statements in an interim review that were partly to blame for his firing in November.

Utility deregulation leaves some consumers cold. Despite years of choice in telecommunications and natural gas, speakers said Thursday, most residential customers have stuck with their traditional provider, be it AT&T; or their local utility.

American companies hoping to increase sales in Japan will encounter consumers shouldering heavy new tax burdens, consultant Philip Jones said Tuesday.

When California deregulates its immense electricity market next Jan. 1, Itron Inc. will be reading the meter. The Spokane company Monday announced that a North Carolina-based subsidiary, Utility Translation Systems Inc., outbid several competitors to provide software that will monitor the flow of electricity into and out of a central power pool in the Golden State.

Washington regulators have issued a generally favorable report card on Washington Water Power Co.'s performance during last year's ice storm. But that emergency and others around the state this winter, plus the looming deregulation of the electricity industry, prompted the Washington Utility and Transportation Commission to authorize a study of operations by all utilities during periods of crisis.

Itron Inc. reported a loss for the first quarter, but tempered the bad news with positive cash flow and record backlogs. Revenues for the Spokane-based maker of automated meter-reading equipment for the utility industry declined to $40.6 million from $48.1 million for the same period last year.

Washington Water Power Co. energized a company Monday that will take its energy marketing and trading operations national. And officers of the new company, Avista Energy, announced formation of a unique partnership with the Chelan County Public Utility District that will help boost business immediately. WWP has become one of the largest sellers of wholesale power in recent years, with operations last year producing $230 million in revenues. Avista Vice President Alan Meyers said the company will take over all WWP wholesale marketing activity except that associated with selling the Spokane utility's own surplus.

Standing on principle. June Petersen, a Pend Oreille County tax resister who has waged a long-running battle with the IRS, says she doesn't want her taxes used "to kill other people." Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Suspected embezzlement by an official of Home Security Bank will force its Spokane-based parent to take a $525,000 charge against 1996 earnings. United Security Bancorporation officials were notified of possible improprieties at its Sunnyside subsidiary late last summer, said Chief Executive Officer William "Bud" Dashiell. An internal investigation began immediately, he said, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was summoned.

At Wells Fargo, Garrett is on a fast-moving stagecoach. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The first quarter was mostly small change for investors in Inland Northwest companies. Percentage gains or losses mostly ranged in the single digits, although five companies had losses exceeding that range.

Workers at Omak Wood Products Inc. Saturday approved contract concessions that will roll wages back 12 percent, cut paid vacation and slash company pension contributions. The alternative was a ruling in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that could have stripped away the pension contributions entirely, said Lloyd Groomes, business agent for the local that represents the plant's 475 hourly workers.

Washington Water Power Co. has renamed its energy services subsidiary, designated a president and announced the opening of an office in Las Vegas. Known as WP Energy Solutions for the last 15 months, the company Monday became Avista Advantage, with Gerry Crooks as president.

The announcement that First Bank System Inc. would buy U.S. Bancorp likely marks an end to big bank consolidation in Washington, says Dain Bosworth analyst R. Jay Tejera. When the $9 billion deal is completed, the state will have five major banks and several dozen community banks, Tejera said.

Michihiro Matsumoto, of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, addresses a meeting of the Spokane Regional International Trade Alliance on Friday. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

1. Kelly 2. Jewell

Money talks, and next Saturday you can hear all about it at a first-time personal finance expo, "MoneyTalk '97." The day-long event at the Spokane Convention Center will feature Andrew Tobias, noted commentator and author of the best-seller, "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need."

Strategic Resources, a Spokane consulting firm, will survey 350 companies in the next few weeks to determine what they need to start or grow their export sales operations. The Spokane Regional International Trade Alliance is sponsoring the project, which will cover nine counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

Health insurance executives in Eastern Washington earn considerably less than their counterparts on the West Side of the state, according to figures released Friday by Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn. Dr. Henry Berman, chief executive officer of Group Health Northwest, earned $244,410 in 1996. He received $295,000 in 1995, when his compensation package was boosted by a $60,500 bonus.

A new caucus of U.S. House of Representatives members has told Northwest governors they must quickly recommend changes in federal law that will help maintain the region's energy system. Legislation that will restructure the nation's electricity industry could be out of committee by year-end, they say in a letter dated Monday.

Residents of Odessa and Harrington may soon have a choice of electricity providers, but dinner-time calls from kilowatt salesmen are a less-than-glowing prospect to some. Washington Water Power Co. has added the two Lincoln County communities to a proposed test of deregulated energy markets. When announced last month, the plan called for participation by 2,500 randomly selected homeowners in Washington and Idaho, plus another 300 small-business customers.