Tom Sowa

A flurry of copyright lawsuits filed in Washington state has given added publicity to BitTorrent, a popular Internet method of downloading TV shows, movies and pop music. An East Coast company that produced a made-for-video movie, “Elf-Man,” is suing dozens of Washington residents, alleging they downloaded illegal copies of the film over the Internet.

The region’s hospitals barely had enough rooms, drugs and equipment to handle an influx of influenza patients and other people sick with winter illnesses last week. At different points during the week of Jan. 12-18, Spokane’s four hospitals, as well as Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, had to turn away potential patients to another hospital with available space.

Providence Health & Services Washington has purchased the Mount St. Joseph building in Spokane from the Sisters of Providence, buying back a property it sold to the Catholic women’s order in the 1950s. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The building, at 9 W. Ninth Ave., will be used as offices by Providence Health, according to a news release.

A private Texas firm has acquired IT-Lifeline, a fast-growing Liberty Lake tech company that provides backup and disaster recovery services for corporations and institutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition closed Dec. 31.

Spokane-based homegrown Auntie's Bookstore announced it's closing its River Park Square shop, after three years of not being able to grab enough shoppers in the downtown mall. The final day is Jan. 31.

The region’s real estate and construction industries continued rebounding in 2013, with home sales topping $1 billion for the first time since 2008 in Spokane. New construction, both for residential and commercial projects, jumped 50 percent in Spokane for the year compared to 2012, according to McGraw-Hill, which collects construction data for the counties. In Kootenai County, new construction was 52 percent higher than the year before.

Gregory T. Mount, a veteran of more than 25 years in the hospitality business, was named the new CEO of Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels Corp.

A Spokane businessman convicted in 1994 for selling cocaine in a widely reported federal case has complied with all legal requirements to apply for a license to run a marijuana business, state officials say. Clarence “Cip” Paulsen and a partner are applying for licenses to grow and process marijuana under provisions of the pot legalization law approved by voters in 2012.

A Spokane businessman convicted in 1994 for selling cocaine in a widely reported federal case has complied with all legal requirements to apply for a license to run a marijuana business, state officials say.

Among more than 500 applications by people wanting to grow, process or sell legal pot in Spokane are those submitted by a former Republican state senator and a high-profile developer of homes and apartments. One of the largest proposals is an indoor grow operation proposed for the former Costco store on East Third Avenue. The venture would be led by Clarence “Cip” Paulsen III and his business associate, former state legislator Brian Murray.

Writer Hal Lancaster observed: “Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.” OK, but what do you do after that?

Citing the federal Affordable Care Act, national food-service provider Sodexo is cutting health care benefits for more than 30 of its Spokane-area workers. The national company, which has more than 120,000 workers nationwide at hospitals, colleges, military bases, clinics, nursing facilities and other locations, has roughly 270 workers in Spokane.

Spokane County’s jobless rate rose to 7 percent in November, an increase of three-tenths of a percentage point from the month before, the state Employment Security Department said Monday. This is the second straight year that Spokane’s jobless rate increased in November; last year it went to 7.6 percent, up from 7.3 percent the month before.

Spokane County’s jobless rate edged up to 7.0 percent in November, an increase of three-tenths of a percent from the month before, the state Employment Security Department said.

A federal grant announced Friday will expand the number of medical residents in Spokane and help create a medical-training clinic in Spokane’s University District, where students and educators will work in teams to find better ways to deliver health care to area residents. The $900,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services will cover the cost of adding six more medical residents in Spokane. Some of the money will also cover the cost of adding faculty and outfitting the new clinic, said Mike Wilson, senior adviser for Providence Health Care’s Spokane operations.

Federal regulators have issued a warning letter to Spokane’s Jubilant HollisterStier, saying an audit this year found significant problems, including a failure to ensure its pharmaceutical production line is germ-free. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letter is a notification to a manufacturer of a “significant” violation of production guidelines. The FDA letter sent last month requires HollisterStier to identify and adopt corrective actions to ensure it can guarantee sanitized conditions at its plant, at 3525 N. Regal St.

A Spokane health consortium has received $900,000 from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to add six more physician residency slots and to create a downtown clinic where students will administer patient care as part of their medical training.