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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Week in Review

TOP STORY The Spokesman-Review

A federal bankruptcy court judge approved United Airlines’ plan to terminate its employees’ pension plans, clearing the way for the largest corporate-pension default in American history. The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will guarantee $5 billion of United’s pension plans, which are underfunded by $9.8 billion. That means employees will lose thousands of dollars annually off their expected pensions.

Tuesday

Admirers recalled the contributions to Spokane business made by Lewis G. Zirkle, founder of the pioneering Spokane technology company Key Tronic Corp., who died on April 30. Zirkle started Key Tronic in 1969 and it became the world’s largest manufacturer of computer keyboards, employing 2,800 people at its peak. Changes in the computer industry took most of that kind of manufacturing offshore, however, and Zirkle retired from Key Tronic in 1993.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Justice Department is threatening to sue the National Association of Realtors over policies that allegedly restrict discounting of sales commissions. The NAR is in discussions with the Justice Department over a bylaw adopted by the group in 2003, but not yet put into practice, that the government agency charges could stifle Internet competition.

Wednesday

Harry Sladich Jr. has been selected to be the new president of the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. The longtime Spokane resident has worked in the hotel industry for 26 years and has served on the board of the CVB as well as the board of the Spokane Hotel/Motel Association.

Thursday

Two Spokane beverage distribution companies are clashing over the right to use the words “Real Soda” in their business names. The owners of Real Soda-Spokane LLC have filed a lawsuit against the owner of a competing company launched earlier this year with the name Real Soda of Spokane.

Friday

An environmental activist criticized Avista Corp. during the company’s annual meeting for the harm he said Avista’s five dams cause the Spokane River. The activist, Dr. John Osborne, called on company executives to provide a range of economic and environmental reports on the dams. Some of those reports are being completed as part of Avista’s application to relicense the dams, company officials said.

• Washington state’s real estate market set records for the number of houses sold and median price in the first quarter of the year, a Washington State University study said. Spokane’s median home price rose 14.5 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, to $136,300.