Week in Review
AVISTA UTILITIES WILL switch on its first test of broadband over power line service later this year in North Idaho, company officials said Wednesday. The site of the test has not been announced, said Avista officials. It will be in one of the urban areas of north Idaho where Avista provides electric power service. How long the trial lasts and how much customers would pay for broadband service are being negotiated with another company, said Dave Heyamoto, the utility’s market solutions manager.
WEDNESDAY
The Spokane Public Facilities District may have found a way out of a $3 million shortfall in its budget for the Convention Center expansion. In its last session, the state Legislature gave public facilities districts the right to sell their ability to refinance bonds. After voters approved additional taxes in May 2002 to pay for the expansion of the Convention Center, the district sold $77 million worth of revenue bonds to finance the project.
• Schweitzer Mountain Resort has a new owner. On Tuesday, Harbor Properties Inc. and its silent partner, Seattle investment group MIG announced that they had split up. Together, the entities had owned two ski resorts, Schweitzer in Sandpoint, and Stevens Pass near Leavenworth. Through the breakup, MIG got Schweitzer. The change of ownership took effect July 1. The change in ownership will be unnoticeable to most of Schweitzer’s guests and employees.
• Ford Motor Co. jumped on the employee-discount bandwagon Tuesday, announcing it will join GM and Chrysler in allowing customers to buy vehicles at employee rates. Ford’s decision follows a huge sales surge General Motors Corp. saw last month because of the heavily promoted discount.
THURSDAY
Don’t be surprised if the minimum payment on your credit card suddenly goes up. Under pressure from federal regulators, credit card issuers are raising the minimum payments consumers must make on their monthly bills. • An office campus with a Northwest flair is being developed at Liberty Lake Corporate Park, close to where Home Depot is being built. Although the project is in its first phase, the business park may eventually have 12 buildings, ranging in size from 3,000 to 7,000 square feet and carry and estimated total value of $13 to $15 million.
Friday
Surprisingly calm investors pushed stocks modestly higher Thursday, helping Wall Street recover from steep early losses after the London terror attacks that killed at least 40 people and injured more than 700.
• Mortgage rates around the country rose this week but remain at a level that should continue to support the buoyant housing market. In its weekly survey, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that for the week ending July 7, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.62 percent, up from last week’s 5.53 percent, which had marked the lowest rate since early April 2004.