Idaho employment count at record high
More than 700,000 Idaho residents were working in June – a state record – and Kootenai County shared in the prosperity with a 4.3 percent unemployment rate.
The low numbers of people seeking work here reflects the ongoing growth in the job market, said Kathryn Tacke, regional economist with the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor. In June 2004, Kootenai County’s unemployment was 5.4 percent.
In North Idaho, three other counties also reported decreases in unemployment rates. Bonner County, with 5.2 percent unemployment; Benewah at 8.5 percent; and Shoshone at 7.9 percent; all reported declines in unemployment since June 2004.
Boundary County’s 8.2 percent unemployment reflected an increase of 1 percent. The county lost its largest private employer when CEDU schools closed earlier this year.
Statewide, Idaho’s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent last month.
Motorcycle gear firm moves to Spokane Valley
An import company that sells leather clothing to motorcyclists has moved from Post Falls to Spokane Valley and plans to expand.
Susanna International LLC moved from Riverbend Avenue in Post Falls to the Spokane Business and Industrial Park for more space and lower rent, said Shakeel Butt, who owns the business with his wife, Heidi Butt.
The company moved from 7,800 square feet in Post Falls to 9,600 square feet in the industrial park, Butt said. In addition, the company plans to build a 30,000 square foot warehouse in the park within the next two years, he said.
Susanna also plans to open three retail shops — in Spokane Valley, Portland and the Tri-Cities, Butt said. The company has not decided on its Spokane Valley location yet, but is looking at several locations near Sprague and Pines, said Butt, who anticipates that 3,000 square foot shop will be open by the fall.
The company imports and wholesales leather jackets, vests, chaps, and accessories. Motorcyclists make up 98 percent of the clientele, Butt said.
Last year, the company topped $1 million in sales for the first time, he added. With the move and expansion, Butt said, the company will need to hire two additional employees.
New technology institute started
Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have launched the Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship in the Tri-Cities, a joint venture to foster the creation of stronger start-up firms in Eastern Washington.
The new center will be based at WSU’s Richland campus.
It will sponsor collaborations between WSU faculty and PNNL researchers to boost the creation of tech businesses in the area.
The institute expects to place up to 40 WSU graduate students in internships every year in the Tri-Cities and at other Washington locations. “The internship component of our master’s in business administration program is a requirement, and the ITE provides a perfect way for students from the Pullman campus to get that hands-on experience,” said Richard Reed, who holds the James Huber Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at WSU.
A press release said the goal is for the ITE to be self supporting within a year.
Spokane software firm moves headquarters
Spokane software firm PacifiCAD has moved its headquarters from the Flour Mill to the Steam Plant Square.
The company develops software tools for engineering and architecture firms using CAD — computer assisted design — products.
The move allows the creation of an expanded training center, said company owner and Chief Executive Ron Reed.
The center will be inside the old suspended 1,200-ton coal bunker in the lower level of the Steam Plant Square. The center will have two training rooms with tiered seating, LCD projectors and workstation PCs with large flat screen monitors, said Jeff Gately, the company’s director of technical services.
The company has been in the Flour Mill for 15 years.
The 15-person firm has a satellite office in Boise and plans to open another in Helena later this year.
Teenage virus writer avoids jail
Verden, Germany The teen creator of the “Sasser” Internet worm, which caused millions of dollars in damage worldwide, won’t be going to jail despite his conviction Friday on charges including computer sabotage.
Sven Jaschan, 19, who was fingered with the help of reward money from Microsoft Corp., instead got a 21-month suspended sentence and was ordered to do community service, court spokeswoman Katharina Kruetzfeld said.
Jaschan could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison. But, because he was a minor when arrested, prosecutors had only sought a two-year suspended sentence.
Enron exec’s wife completes prison term
Houston The wife of former Enron Corp. finance chief Andrew Fastow was released Friday from a halfway house, ending a year’s prison term for failing to declare her husband’s illegal kickbacks as income, her attorney said.
Lea Fastow left the center shortly after midnight and was greeted by her husband and sister. She did not comment before she was driven away.
“She is home with the kids, who were allowed to stay up to greet her,” said her attorney, Mike DeGeurin, referring to the couple’s young sons. “She made no statement and wants some private, quiet time with her family.”
Lea Fastow pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor tax crime for failing to report on joint tax returns the gains from kickbacks the couple pocketed from Andrew Fastow’s illegal dealings at Enron, an energy company that collapsed in late 2001.