Southwest adding Oakland round-trip

Starting in March Southwest Airlines will add a second round-trip flight between Spokane and Oakland, Calif.

The new flight will depart at 9:40 a.m., arriving in Oakland at 11:35 a.m.

Southwest has one other non-stop between Spokane and Oakland, leaving at 7:40 p.m. The airline said the added service provides more options for passengers with travel plans taking them through Northern California.

Dallas-based Southwest carries the second-largest number of passengers into and out of the Spokane airport. Alaska Airlines and sister company Horizon Air carry the most passengers.

Attorney not part of lawsuit scam

Spokane attorney Bruce Kaiser isn’t doling out checks for $133,000. But he’s received calls from people across the country wanting to collect on a phony class-action settlement in that amount.

A letter purporting to be from a Spokane law firm, “Kaiser & Steinway,” states that recipient is a victim of an unspecified scam, and that a settlement netted $133,000 for each victim. The letter comes with a $2,907 check and a warning that “court costs may be required in order to release the settlement.”

Kaiser, who has a sole practice in Spokane, received six or seven calls from people inquiring about the letter and asked one caller to fax him a copy of it, he said. He then reported the matter to the Better Business Bureau locally.

“I don’t want somebody calling the bar association and saying ‘Bruce Kaiser is a scum bucket,’ ” he said. Beyond that, he said there could potentially be thousands of letters circulating and he doesn’t want to field those phone calls. Callers apparently are finding his office number by searching online for “Kaiser” and “attorney,” since the phone number listed on the letter is for a voice-mail box that’s full.

Business group will launch in ‘07

Board members of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council and Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce will finish melding their two organizations into one by the end of the year, according to a statement jointly issued by the groups Thursday.

A launch date for the new organization will be sometime in the first three months of 2007, the statement said.

“This new organization will be better positioned to not only compete with peer communities here in the United States, but, more importantly in the global economy,” the release said.

Architecture firms finish merger

Spokane-based Northwest Architectural Co. announced it has merged with Jubany Architecture, of Los Angeles, creating a firm with offices in three states and a staff of more than 150.

The new firm, called NAC Architecture, will have offices in Spokane, Los Angeles, Seattle and Coeur d’Alene. In Southern California the firm will provide services under the name Jubany-NAC Architecture.

Northwest Architectural co.’s president and CEO, Bruce Blackmer, will retain those positions in the merged firm. Helena Jubany, founder of the Los Angeles firm, will be managing principal.