Week in Review
Top Story
The parent company of Columbia Lighting said it will move 78 administrative and office jobs from Columbia’s Spokane Valley plant to a new headquarters complex in Spartanburg, S.C. Some Spokane employees may relocate, but most of the jobs will be filled in South Carolina, said the parent company, Hubbell Inc. Once the jobs are transferred, Columbia Lighting will employ about 220 people in the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, down from more than 800 workers several years ago. Columbia Lighting was founded in Spokane 108 years ago.
Tuesday
Schweitzer Mountain Resort is teaming up with North Idaho College to offer an accredited class on terrain park management. The class is the first offered through NIC’s resort management degree, which will debut in the fall.
Wednesday
Kootenai County’s housing market had a standout year in 2005, with the average home price soaring 29 percent to $210,913. The number of homes sold was up 2.1 percent from the previous year. The waterfront market in the county was especially hot, with the average price of a waterfront listing up 55.5 percent, to $644,764.
“ Mervyns LLC announced that all 13 of its stores in Washington will close, including its NorthTown Mall store. The Hayward, Calif.-based retailer has struggled financially in recent years. About 65 people work at the Spokane store, most of them part-time, a Mervyns spokeswoman said.
“ Wheat farmers could have a good year on their hands in 2005, at least weather-wise, a noted atmospheric scientist said at the annual Spokane Ag Expo show.
“ Washington State University has selected two finalists from among a group of four applicants vying for the chance to develop five acres of land just east of downtown Spokane. The university said American Campus Communities, a national student-housing builder, and Northwest Architectural Co., of Spokane, were the finalists to develop what’s known as the Jensen-Byrd property.
Thursday
A week after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it wants to open a Sam’s Club warehouse store on Spokane’s north side, the company announced plans to build a 186,000-square-foot supercenter on the city’s South Hill. Wal-Mart said the store would be a new concept for the company, with underground parking. The company is eyeing a 7.8-acre parcel at the northeast corner of 44th Avenue and Regal Street that’s owned by developer Harlan Douglass.
“ Record prices for gasoline and other fuels sent inflation rising in 2005 at the fastest pace in five years. Consumer prices rose by 3.4 percent, with 40 percent of that increase blamed on the biggest jump in energy costs since 1990.
Friday
Computer problems at the Nasdaq Stock Market led to erroneous stock quotes on a number of major online financial news sites and brokerages, potentially leading individual investors around the world to believe that a stock was up when it was really down, or vice versa.