Scott Maben

Idaho families saw their take-home pay drop nearly 5 percent last year – one of the steepest declines in the nation.

State and federal regulators have lifted the cease-and-desist order placed on Sterling Savings Bank nearly one year ago. Sterling Financial Corp., the bank holding company, said Monday the move reflects Sterling Savings’ strengthened balance sheet and capital position; its progress to reduce the proportion of loans and other assets classified as nonperforming; and measures to realign its credit practices.

State and federal regulators have lifted the cease-and-desist order placed on Sterling Savings Bank nearly one year ago.

Avista customers in Washington could see their electric rates go up 7.2 percent and their natural gas rates rise 3.2 percent starting Dec. 1, according to an agreement pending state approval. Under terms of a rate case settlement agreement announced Wednesday, the rate hikes would boost Avista’s annual electric revenues by $29.5 million and natural gas revenues by $4.6 million.

The theft early today of fiber-optic cable lines left an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 Comcast customers in northeast Spokane without television, high-speed Internet and phone services.

The sale of deeply discounted condominiums in Coeur d’Alene continues Saturday with the second auction of units at the Village at Riverstone. The condos are priced 65 percent less than originally listed, said Edward Durnil, CEO of Tranzon Asset Advisors, a Kentucky-based real estate auction company.

The economic recovery is on the horizon, but it will take four years or longer to erase the stain of the recession, an economist and a marketing professional told business and community leaders Friday in Spokane. “I’m reasonably, vaguely optimistic” the Inland Northwest is headed into a recovery, said Grant Forsyth, professor of economics at Eastern Washington University.

Realtors today reported a burst of home sales in Spokane County during the first three months of the year.

The unemployment rate in Spokane County dropped to 8.2 percent in July, from 8.9 percent in June. But what looks like a sign of recovery mostly just reflects a smaller work force. The numbers of employed and unemployed both decreased last month as the labor force shrank by 2,850 workers, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday. The lower jobless rate mainly reflects fewer workers, not more jobs, explained Doug Tweedy, the agency’s regional labor economist in Spokane. On a positive note, private employment in July was up slightly – the first time that has happened in a long time, Tweedy said. Industries beginning to boost employment are transportation and warehousing; health services; and leisure and hospitality.

The unemployment rate in Spokane County dropped to 8.2 percent in July, from 8.9 percent in June. That looks like a sign of recovery, but that might be wishful thinking.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Idaho rose half a percentage point in June, to 8.3 percent. It’s the highest jobless rate since October 1983, the state Department of Labor said Thursday. The jobless rate in Kootenai County also rose half a percentage point, to 8.6 percent. Unemployment fell in some rural counties in North Idaho as warmer weather and federal stimulus dollars created more work.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Idaho rose half a percentage point in June, to 8.3 percent. It’s the highest jobless rate since October 1983, the state Department of Labor said today.

Idaho’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.8 percent in May, a 22-year high. Nearly 5,600 workers lost their jobs last month, pushing the statewide total to 58,300, the Idaho Department of Labor said today.

Spokandy Chocolatier, the 96-year-old Spokane candy maker, has closed two of its four retail locations. The Northtown Mall and Valley Mall stores closed Monday. Sales will be handled out of Spokandy’s factory headquarters, at 1412 West Third Ave., in Spokane, and at the retail store in Ironwood Center in Coeur d’Alene, the company said.

Steve Barnhart says it’s a miracle his young son survived a gruesome farm accident last week in North Idaho. “We expect a full recovery,” the father said today, adding that the family wants to thank the public for an outpouring of support and prayers.