Week in review
MONDAY
ExpressJet Airlines announced its plan to launch daily nonstop flights from Spokane to Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego in April and June. The Spokane flights are part of the Houston-based air carrier’s new service to 24 cities.
TUESDAY
Schweitzer Mountain Resort is planning a $10 million expansion with details to be released Thursday at a news conference.
• Potlatch Corp. finished 2006 with net earnings of $139 million, up from $33 million in 2005.
WEDNESDAY
Expert weather forecaster Art Douglas said at the Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum that the next two years should be wet and warm enough to deliver a good wheat crop. However, he also noted that global warming is creating havoc on long-range forecasts.
• A new report highlighted the plight of the working poor by showing that thousands of jobs in both Washington and Idaho don’t pay enough for families to make ends meet.
THURSDAY
A day before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held hearings on Avista Corp.’s proposed license renewal for its five Spokane River dams, the Sierra Club held a news conference in downtown Spokane to pressure the utility to release more flows over the Spokane Falls.
• Sterling Financial Corp. is suing the former chief executive of a bank it acquired last spring, leveling charges of securities fraud and violation of a noncompete clause.
• Longtime observer of the Spokane economy Shaun O’L. Higgins predicted the Inland Northwest’s economy will keep pace with the state and outperform the nation in 2007.
FRIDAY
The Lewiston Wal-Mart store agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As part of the settlement, the store will also train employees about federal law prohibiting racial harassment.
• Kohl’s Department Stores and G.I. Joe’s, a sporting good retailer, were issued building permits for a NorthTown Mall site and a Spokane Valley site, respectively. Neither company released information about potential store opening dates.