Week in Review
Farmers Insurance has filed a lawsuit against a Spokane man and his “gripe site,” claiming his online attacks have violated the company’s legal rights and damaged its business. The Web site was created by Rene Guerrero to air his grievances about what he viewed as inadequate compensation from Farmers. Guerrero’s wife was involved in a car accident in which the other driver was insured by the company. A trial in U.S. District Court is scheduled for next February.
Tuesday
The Farm Service Agency shelved a plan to close hundreds of county offices nationwide, just hours after the agency’s Washington state director had announced which counties in the state would be affected. The “FSA Tomorrow” plan was to have streamlined operations by consolidating offices; FSA locations in Asotin and Ferry counties were to have been affected in Washington, and in Kootenai County in Idaho.
• Aegis Biosciences LLC, a two-person biomedical-materials firm based in Spokane, won a $197,000 federal grant to develop an improved wound-dressing product.
Wednesday
Analysts expect major oil companies to report a 43 percent jump in their combined third-quarter profits because of energy price spikes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Spokane Valley-based World Wide Packets has added an engineering office in San Jose, Calif., to hire software programmers who can develop products for large customers. The office will open with five or six workers and could grow to as many as 15 people, the company said.
• Spokane County’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in September, a five-year low. Spokane has added about 6,500 jobs in the last 12 months, state data show.
Thursday
An Atlanta company has won a 12-year contract to operate the retail concession at Spokane International Airport. The company, Paradies Shops, says it will expand the number of retail locations at the airport to eight following a planned remodeling project. Currently, the airport has one main retail store and two combined retail-and-food shops.
• The YMCA in downtown Spokane has put a price of $5.75 million on its riverfront property and building and has expanded its search for a buyer. The YMCA and YWCA, across the Spokane River, want to sell their properties and use the money to jointly develop a new campus somewhere downtown.
Friday
Ford Motor Co. reported a third-quarter loss of $284 million, dragged down more than $1 billion in losses at its North American division, and said it is developing a restructuring plan that will include “significant” U.S. plant closings and staff reductions.
• Google Inc.’s rapidly rising profits soared to new heights in the third quarter as its Internet-leading search engine churned out a sevenfold earnings improvement that blew past analyst expectations.