Bert Caldwell

Pete Mayer believes the device being handed to him is becoming obsolete. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Overextended Washington and Idaho consumers surrendered to bankruptcy last year in record numbers despite healthy economic growth in both states. Statistics from U.S. Bankruptcy courts in Spokane, Seattle and Boise show filings jumped by one-third over 1995, with the overwhelming share of the increase due to filings by individuals.

John Klobucher Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Washington and Idaho regulators have extended for three years a Washington Water Power Co. conservation program that could become a model for the region and country. The company finances home and business conservation efforts with a "tariff rider" that costs the average customer about 80 cents per month.

Loletta Ward

Counterfeiting is good business for New Light Industries Ltd. Not that the West Plains company runs off its own $20 bills.

Olivetti North America technicians in 200 offices around the U.S. will provide hardware installation and maintenance for hundreds of hospitality outlets under a contract announced Thursday by the Spokane-based company. The pact with Remanco International covers such outlets as Renaissance Hotels and California Pizza Kitchens.

Proposed legislation aimed at telecommunications industriy issues is nearly as complex as the maze of phone lines that U S West technician John Phelps works on underneath Spokane streets. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Jalan Inc. Monday reported the first-ever $1 million sale of its justice system software. Coupled with the release of a fiscal 1996 financial statement showing $1.5 million in revenues and $267,000 in net income, the report gave encouragement to shareholders whose holdings have dwindled in value almost from the time the Spokane company went public in 1988.

A simmering battle over the future of telephone service in Washington surfaced Friday in Seattle with the filing of a GTE Corp. lawsuit against the Utilities and Transportation Commission. The suit in U.S. District Court challenges the findings of a commission arbitrator who, according to GTE, would let AT&T; Corp. lease its lines, switches and other equipment at prices below cost.

The collapse of a Spokane Valley company may cost investors millions, and federal officials have been called in to investigate. D.L. Ward & Associates Inc. filed bankruptcy last Tuesday. A telephone recording at the company's East Broadway offices says the business has been shut down and its records given to officials of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane.

Jon Mummy examines a new PCS digital phone at Sprint's service store at Sprague and Progress on Monday. Spring is using Spokane as one of two markets where the company is launching its local PCS service. Photo by Associated Press

Ric Odegard has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Farmers & Merchants Bank. He replaces Duane Brandenburg, who left Farmers & Merchants last month to join United Security Bank. Odegard, who retired as divisional manager for Seafirst Bank in August 1995, said he has been filling the position on a temporary basis. After talking over the bank's options with President Jerry Lehman, he said, "I just decided to work a little more." Odegard said he committed to his new post for at least two years.

A ruling Monday by a judge in Washington, D.C., could deprive the Washington Water Power Co. of some of the cheapest electricity in the country, but give four North Idaho cooperatives a share for the first time.

A vote in Seattle Wednesday night moved Group Health in Seattle and Spokane a step closer to merging with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. of Portland. The joint venture would serve more than 1 million Northwest residents. Discussions toward a possible merger were announced in September.

1. Gov. Mike Lowry, right, joined other Northwest governors in Spokane Thursday to review a plan that will become the guide book for the region's power system. Photo by Associated Press (Photo ran only in Spokane) 2. Idaho's Phil Batt, far left, joined other Northwest governors in Spokane Thursday to review a plan that will become the guidebook for the region's power system. Photo by Associated Press (Photo ran only in Idaho)

Washington Water Power Co. Chairman Paul Redmond predicts the Spokane utility will be among the leading providers of energy and energy services in the United States within a few years. The company already is among the leading wholesalers of electricity, he said Wednesday, based almost entirely on its activity in western states.

Washington Water Power Co. is allowing customers to negotiate bills for electricity service disrupted by last month's ice storm, spokeswoman Dana Anderson said Wednesday. Although the utility has mailed bills for periods that include days when there were widespread outages, officials have allowed adjustments sought by consumers who did not have power, she said.

Many Washington Water Power Co. customers are learning that November's massive power outage won't mean lower utility bills in December. Thousands of bills going out this month are based on estimates of energy usage because meter readers were kept out of areas where downed power lines and other hazards raised safety concerns, said WWP spokeswoman Dana Anderson. In all, 17,891 electricity and natural gas meters in Spokane and Deer Park that would have been read between Nov. 19 - the day the storm hit - and Nov. 27 were bypassed, she said. Anderson said those customers are receiving bills with the explanation that eheir energy usage is based on use in the same period a year ago, adjusted for warmer or cooler temperatures.

Founder and president of ICM Asset Management, Jim Simmons' company handles more than one billion dollars in pension and other funds. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Donors bombarded with requests for money can get a free guide to charitable organizations from the Better Business Bureau of the Inland Northwest. The Holiday Edition of the "Give But Give Wisely" newsletter lists the most asked-about charities and how well they comply with 23 standards for charitable solicitations established by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. A large print edition is available. Lisa Stephens, president of the Spokane-based bureau, said donations could be unusually important this year because government support for low-income programs has slipped. Also, damage from the recent ice storm has created additional needs, she said. In addition to the guide the bureau offers these tips: Do not surrender to a high-pressure pitch to give on the spot.

The ice storm's punch to Washington Water Power Co.'s bottom line follows an earnings blow earlier this year from the company's aborted merger with Sierra Pacific Resources. Together, the left-right jabs will cost company shareholders about $28 million in 1996. That's a painful cut, but one analysts said should heal rather quickly with help from new wholesale revenues.

A proposed switch from old, left to new lock boxes has some Spokane real estate agents upset. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Ameriflo Inc., a Spokane maker of ducting, conveyors and other industrial equipment, plans to build a new factory on North Dollar Road with the help of $750,000 in revenue bonds from Spokane County. Owner Roger Storey said the project will increase Ameriflo's manufacturing space by about 50 percent - to almost 13,000 square feet - and allow the company to add to its work force of 16.