Short Reports

Don Kopczynski, a 20-year Avista Corp. employee, has been named president and general manager of Avista Fiber.

Avista Fiber, which installs high-capacity fiber optic lines, plans to enter new markets during the next three years, the company said in a statement.

Kopczynski will replace Warren Miller, who will become vice president of technical operations.

The bidding war between timber rivals Boise Cascade Corp. and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. for a Canadian oriented strandboard manufacturer is escalating. Le Groupe Forex Inc. of Montreal reported that it received an increased takeover offer from Louisiana-Pacific that it considers superior to the earlier $470 million bid from Boise Cascade, according to Dow Jones News Service.

About 71,000 dolls that come with bathtub accessories were recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission because the toys pose a choking risk to young children. Bathtub Baby - a vinyl doll that comes with a blue plastic bathtub, a fish-shaped strainer and a small pink ball - was sold at Toys R Us stores from October 1998 until last month. Owners should return the toys.

Two Michigan men have been charged with committing old-fashioned shoplifting with a high-tech twist - fencing thousands of dollars in stolen goods through the Internet auction site eBay. Police said the pair shoplifted $40,000 in merchandise from Meijer discount stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, then sold about half of it on eBay to buyers around the world.

ExciteAtHome Corp. denied a report that the company is in merger talks with Yahoo!, though it acknowledged Tuesday the two Internet companies have talked about a partnership.