Week in Review
John Morrison, the executive director of Spokane International Airport for the past dozen years, said he will step down from the job at the end of 2005. Airport board members accepted Morrison’s resignation during a special meeting Tuesday. The board also announced that Morrison would receive a one-year, $115,000 consulting contract next year, and the airport will cover part of his medical insurance premiums until age 65.
Tuesday
Spokane area economic development agency Connect Northwest will be looking for funding to sustain its activities after spinning off from its former parent agency, the Inland Northwest Technology Education Center (INTEC). Funding for INTEC wasn’t included in the state budget.
Wednesday
The Federal Reserve nudged up a key interest rate by a quarter-point on Tuesday. It was the eighth increase in the rate banks charge each other on overnight loans since the central bank began its credit-tightening campaign last June.
Thursday
Another gated golf community is coming to the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. A Las Vegas development company has submitted plans for the $150 million Chateau De Loire Golf and Lake Club, an 18-hole golf course and 475 luxury homes and condos overlooking Moscow Bay. The development will be built on 578 acres of meadow and forest land known locally as the Flying Arrow Ranch.
• Executives of area nonprofits convened to discuss ways to fight a Congressional proposal that they fear would decrease the amount of goods people contribute to charity. People can claim donations of used clothing and household items on their tax returns, but some lawmakers believe the practice represents a $1.9 billion tax fraud.
• Two new businesses are moving in to the former Luminaria building in downtown Spokane and apartments are being planned for the second floor.
Friday
Hill’s Someplace Else, a popular downtown Spokane restaurant that closed a year ago when its building was demolished, will reopen as Hill’s Restaurant and Lounge. The restaurant is expected to open this summer in a former pawnshop located on the southwest corner of Main and Washington, across from Auntie’s bookstore.