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Tom Sowa

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News >  Business

Investors demand Red Lion sell hotels

A Seattle investment group critical of Red Lion Hotels has demanded that the Spokane company start selling hotels. Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund, which owns 29 percent of outstanding common shares, wrote in a letter released Friday and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that if change is not undertaken, it will push to replace board members.
News >  Business

Spokane Public Schools district software pays big dividends

Network administrators for the Spokane Public Schools district spent $104,000 in 2009 to slash energy consumption on 10,000 of its 13,000 computers. The money purchased a software installation that shuts down office or classroom computers after a set period of inactivity. Many teachers and staff tend to leave PCs on all the time, said Steve Payne, district tech manager.
News >  Business

Home care and hospice units sold to Gentiva

Liberty Lake-based Family Home Care Corp. announced Tuesday that its home health and hospice care division has been acquired by Gentiva Health Services Inc., an Atlanta firm with more than 10,000 employees. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, and Family Home Care CEO Ryan Fix said he could not disclose the price.
News >  Idaho

Finding work in ‘restructured’ post-recession economy difficult

More than 15,000 jobs were lost in Spokane and Kootenai counties when the housing bubble burst in 2008, and most of those haven’t come back. Labor market economists say jobs are being created, albeit slowly. But in both counties, economists say the jobs being created are mostly the right kind.
News >  Idaho

World-renowned aircraft designer at home in Coeur d’Alene

Burt Rutan is the ultimate fly guy.    After creating innovative and eye-catching aircraft for 40 years, Rutan has amassed enough awards and aerospace trophies to fill two wall bookcases in his Coeur d’Alene home.   Like many pilots and space jockeys who grew up during the 1960s American space program, Rutan lets his deeds do the talking.    But if people get him started on the best way to design new aircraft or why commercial space travel is right around the corner, Rutan has plenty to say. A search for his name on YouTube finds 688 videos showcasing his aircraft or featuring Rutan talking about his projects.Now retired, the 69-year-old aerospace engineer and his wife Tonya bought a home last year overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene.
News >  Business

RiverBank co-founder Utt gives resignation

Steve Utt, who was one of the co-founders of Spokane-based RiverBank, has resigned from the company. RiverBank CEO Chuck Brooks said Utt resigned as executive vice president and chief credit officer.
News >  Spokane

Spokane will lose SWA flights to Portland

Southwest Airlines is planning to drop its Spokane service to Portland starting Jan 6. The airline’s Spokane station manager, J.C. Evans, said the decision follows Southwest’s move to drop service to Seattle at the start of this year.
News >  Business

RiverBank co-founder Utt resigns

Steve Utt, who was one of the co-founders of Spokane-based RiverBank, has resigned from the company. RiverBank CEO Chuck Brooks said Utt resigned as executive vice president and chief credit officer.
News >  Pacific NW

County denied voice on casino

Airway Heights city officials have refused a request by Spokane County to unwind a 2010 agreement that prohibits county officials from taking sides on the Spokane Tribe’s proposed casino. The unanimous vote came at a recent Airway Heights City Council meeting where County Commissioner Al French argued the 2010 agreement illegally keeps the current county commissioners from expressing an opinion on the proposed casino.
News >  Business

KAYU blacked out on DirecTV over fee dispute

A contract fight has unplugged KAYU-TV’s programs from DirecTV subscribers in the Spokane and North Idaho region. A blackout – which began Aug. 13 – leaves DirecTV customers in need of an antenna to watch FOX 28 shows.
News >  Business

Clearwater Paper urged to split, sell by hedge fund

SAC Capital Advisers, an East Coast hedge fund operated by Steven A. Cohen, is pushing directors of Spokane-based Clearwater Paper Corp. to break into two parts and sell off at least one unit. Clearwater has two product categories: private-label tissue and toilet paper; and bleached paperboard used to make folding cartons and food packages.
News >  Business

Construction of apartments at Kendall Yards to begin soon

Work on an 84-unit, 2.2-acre Kendall Yards apartment building will start in 30 days, the head of developer Greenstone Corp. said Tuesday. The project, called The Highline Apartments, will move the mixed-use Kendall Yards area near downtown closer to an urban “town center” character, Greenstone CEO Jim Frank said.
News >  Business

Horizon to base crews here again

Horizon Air is re-establishing Spokane as a crew base for pilots and attendants, changing an 11-year practice of having crews spend a night in area hotels before leaving the next day. The airline, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, is not planning to add more flights in coming months. The changes are cost-saving measures, said Horizon Air spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey.
News >  Business

Downtown buildings change hands

Two of Spokane’s well-known but cash-strapped buildings concluded foreclosure sales Friday, closing the file on separate cases of large commercial properties falling victim to a distressed real estate market. The 17-story Wells Fargo Tower at 601 W. First Ave. and the six-level Holley Mason Building at 157 S. Howard St. both formally changed hands, culminating bank repossessions after the previous owners were unable to pay off loans.
News >  Business

Two major Spokane buildings in foreclosure sold

Two of Spokane’s well-known but cash-strapped buildings concluded foreclosure sales today, shutting the file on separate cases of large commercial properties falling victim to a distressed real estate market.
News >  Business

Washington gains jobs; jobless rate up

Washington gained 5,000 jobs in July, even while the state jobless rate rose to 8.5 percent in July from 8.3 percent the previous month, the Employment Security Department said Wednesday. The U.S. unemployment rate for July was 8.3 percent, up slightly from 8.2 percent in June.
News >  Business

Developer buys old CompUSA building

Spokane developer Jerry Dicker has added the former CompUSA building to his company’s roster of properties. Dicker, the principal manager of Spokane-based GVD Commercial Properties, is paying roughly $3 million for the vacant 25,000-square-foot building at 808 N. Ruby. The seller is the Lyons Family Trust, based in California. The trust has owned the building since 1997; CompUSA leased it until the electronics retail chain declared bankruptcy in 2007.