Bert Caldwell

The Washington Senate Monday passed a measure that would bar the state's largest banks from imposing surcharges on automatic teller machine transactions until next April 1. The 32-15 vote follows a month of intense debate on the issue, which has split the state's financial community and put a Republican, Senate Majority Leader Dan McDonald, in the unlikely role of consumer advocate. The McDonald-sponsored measure applies only to banks with more than $1 billion in deposits and ATM numbers out of proportion to their share of deposits.

A stock portfolio managed by two Washington State University classes last year earned an eye-popping 71 percent rate of return. The performance was the best ever recorded in a 12-year-old program sponsored by the Great Falls, Mont., -based D.A. Davidson & Co. brokerage firm.

A proposal to integrate much of the West's vast transmission grid could be submitted to federal regulators by mid-July, but the plan may have a sizeable hole. Randy Hardy, administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, said Thursday several legal and policy considerations may prevent the agency from immediately joining a new entity that would coordinate control of wires stretching from Colorado to Canada.

Prudential Insurance Co. of America has agreed to pay in full a $700,000 fine to Washington, in the process ending a standoff between the state's insurance commissioner and a leading legislator from Spokane. Commissioner Deborah Senn announced the settlement Wednesday, three weeks after an earlier version provoked a dust-up with Sen. Jim West that eventually involved Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

Two of the Inland Northwest's independent banks have reported significantly higher earnings for 1996. Net income at Spokane-based Inland Northwest Bank rose 16 percent to $568,000, or $1.12 per share, compared with 1995 results. Loans receivable also were up 16 percent. Assets rose 18 percent to $99.5 million.

United Security Bancorporation Friday announced the proposed purchase of five Eastern Washington branches from Wells Fargo Bank. If the deal is completed this summer, as expected, Spokane-based United Security will have increased its branch network by 50 percent in one stroke.

Federal regulators have spiked a Washington Water Power Co. program that allows its 30 largest customers to buy a portion of their power from other suppliers. But company officials said Thursday they hope to submit a modified plan by the end of next week that would allow Direct Access Delivery Service ("DADS") to continue.

CompuTech, the oldest and one of the largest providers of Internet service in Spokane, has become part of a national network launched Wednesday by Denver-based Verio Inc. Verio also made a substantial equity investment in CompuTech, said Jeff Presley, president of the Spokane company.

Omak Wood Products Inc., Okanogan County's largest employer, Monday filed for reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The action follows a union vote last Thursday rejecting a package of wage, vacation, and pension concessions that, along with cuts to salaried employees, would have reduced the company's annual operating expenses by $3 million.

Oh, what a tangled web. More than 30 million Americans now use the Internet, a three-fold increase in just the last year.

The city of Seattle wants no part of a $3.2 million judgment rendered against the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District in 1995. The PUD last month asked the Superior Court in Pend Oreille County to hold Seattle responsible for 76 percent of the judgment imposed in a case won by the Kalispel Tribe. The tribe sued the PUD in 1980 for trespass of land inundated by Box Canyon Dam on the Pend Oreille River.

Spokane Sen. Jim West said Friday the Ways and Means Committee he chairs will try to deduct $600,000 from the budget of Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn to offset fine money she did not deposit in the general fund. Senn said that deduction would hamper a department already working with limited resources compared with those enjoyed by insurance commissioners in other states.

Spokane Sen. Jim West has questioned the propriety of a settlement Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn negotiated in a case that could affect 100,000 Washington consumers. The agreement with Prudential Insurance Co. of America called for a $700,000 fine, of which $600,000 was suspended pending fulfillment of other conditions.

Two local banks Washington Trust and United Security - have reported solid financial results for 1996. United Security Bancorporation will reward investors with a 10 percent stock dividend. United will issue the stock Feb. 25 to holders of record Feb. 10. A similar dividend was paid last February.

Major users of natural gas in the Inland Northwest are scrambling a bit, but getting by, in the aftermath of two pipeline explosions in Western Washington. As a result of the blasts at Everson and Kalama, the Northwest Pipeline Co. shut down its 26-inch line late Wednesday.

Members of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission listen to testimony Thursday night in Spokane about response to last year's ice storm. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

The energy supermarket is open, or could be if Washington and Idaho regulators approve a proposal from Washington Water Power Co. The Spokane company wants to give 2,500 of its residential customers, and 300 of its small business customers the chance to buy electricity from other utilities during a two-year test.

A settlement agreement will give Washington customers of Smith's Home Furnishings who bought warranties on purchases from the defunct chain most of their money back. General Electric Credit Corp., which underwrote Smith's revolving credit plan, agreed last week to provide repair services or coupons good for purchases from other stores.

Napier

Last November's ice storm was a cruel teacher, but lessons learned during that 13-day period may be just an introductory class for local officials. Dave Byrnes, director of Spokane city-county Emergency Operations Center, is preparing an application for a federal emergency management course.

Tim Re is among several victims of a fugitive named Tony Napier, who is charged with equity skimming. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Efforts to regulate the travel industry in Washington have encountered turbulence barely a year after legislation intended to curb abuses took effect. While officials pursue civil and criminal charges against businesses accused of defrauding consumers, the industry is preparing a bill representatives say will fine-tune existing statutes.

One of the top stock market strategists for Smith Barney Inc. expects bonds to outperform stocks this year. John Connallon, whose was in Spokane to meet with investors, said 1997 will be difficult for stocks, although the first quarter should continue to be strong.

Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound will receive a cash infusion of as much as $35 million if members approve a joint-venture agreement with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest. The money, according to a Group Health summary of the pact, would help the cooperative meet its needs for short-term capital.