Business in brief: Clausen to serve on facilities board

Spokane hotelier Cal Clausen has been chosen by Spokane’s hotel and motel association to serve out Rick LaFleur’s term on the Spokane Public Facilities District board of directors.

LaFleur recently resigned as board chairman to take a new job managing hotels in El Paso, Texas.

Clausen is president of Sterling Hospitality Management LLC. The company owns 10 hotels in three Western states. Locally, its properties include the Holiday Inn Express, north of downtown, and the Quality Inn Valley Suites and Holiday Inn Express, both in Spokane Valley.

His term expires Nov. 1, 2009, after which he will be eligible for two additional appointments of four years each.

The PFD board is made up of five members. The Spokane City Council and Spokane County Board of Commissioners each appoint two members, and one is appointed by the lodging industry.

Coeur d’Alene

CdA Mines says Q1 income off

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. reported net income of $14 million during the first quarter of this year, down slightly from a net income of $14.3 million during the first quarter of 2006.

Dennis Wheeler, the company’s chairman and CEO, attributed the change to higher income taxes paid during the first quarter of this year.

In other news, Wheeler said the company’s San Bartolome silver mine in Bolivia is on track to open in early 2008, adding about 9 million ounces of silver to Coeur d’Alene Mines’ annual production.

Detroit

GM joins group fighting warming

General Motors may be only the first major automaker to join a coalition that wants to reduce greenhouse gases tied to global warming.

General Motors Corp. on Tuesday joined the United States Climate Action Partnership, along with 13 other newcomers that included Dow Chemical Co. and PepsiCo Inc.

At Ford Motor Co., spokesman Mike Moran said the automaker was “strongly considering” joining the organization. DaimlerChrysler AG also said it also was interested.