Week in review

TUESDAY

After a hiatus in Reno, the Northwest Mining Association is back in Spokane next week for its 113th annual meeting. Last year, the longstanding event took place in Reno – the conference’s first time away from its headquarters’ city.

“ Bush Administration plans to boost logging in Northwest national forests have collided with low timber prices blamed on the housing slump. The U.S. Forest Service is running short of money to draw up new timber sales.

WEDNESDAY

In a tougher real estate market, a new Sandpoint company is banking on its 3-D online mapping tool that gives agents a technological edge. GeoData Technologies recently unveiled its SiteSeer3D product at a national Realtor convention.

“ Dr. J. Robert Cade, who invented the sports drink Gatorade and launched a multibillion-dollar industry that the beverage continues to dominate, died Tuesday of kidney failure. He was 80.

THURSDAY

Spokane high-tech entrepreneur Bernard Daines was inducted into the Utah Technology Council’s hall of fame – an honor acknowledging his role in developing and advancing Ethernet technologies.

“ Wall Street barreled higher Wednesday for the second day in a row, giving the Dow Jones industrial average its biggest two-day point gain in five years after a Federal Reserve official hinted that the central bank may lower interest rates again.

FRIDAY

Businesses have a chance to own a piece of the historic Flour Mill along the Spokane River following recent renovations. Building owners spent close to $2 million over the last couple years to fashion office condos, a newer commercial real estate option in Spokane, and to update the electrical and heating systems.

“ Ski season in the Inland Northwest opened Thursday at Lookout Pass Ski Area, on the Idaho/Montana border. Lookout was the first of the region’s five ski areas to open, with 24 inches of snow on the mountaintop.