Business in brief: Gingrich to speak at health conference

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is scheduled to give a keynote address today at a health care and information technology conference in Spokane.

Gingrich, founder of Washington, D.C.-based Center for Health Transformation, will be one of several speakers at the fourth-annual Northwest Medical Informatics Symposium, presented by Inland Northwest Health Services. Organizers expect 200 attendees, including physicians, community leaders and consumers, said INHS spokeswoman Nicole Stewart.

The conference aims to “provide a national context for regional health information technology initiatives,” according to promotional material.

Today’s session of the two-day conference at the Davenport Hotel is open to the public. Admission is $100.

Gingrich is scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m. Go to www.nmis.info for more information.

Coeur d’Alene

Construction hit peak last year

New housing construction in Idaho jumped 3.4 percent from 2005 to 2006 to peak at a record 20,000 units, new Census Bureau estimates show.

It was the third-fastest growth rate in the nation and a major reason for the state’s strong economic expansion last year.

Two of every three new units built last year were in the Boise and Coeur d’Alene metropolitan areas, which accounted for just over two-thirds of the state’s population growth from 2005 to 2006.

Kootenai County added 2,543 housing units last year, census figures show. Since 2000, more than 10,000 housing units have been built in the county.

Statewide, the number of housing units has grown by 16 percent since 2000.

Census figures indicate that 2006 was Idaho’s peak year for residential construction. Locally, however, the peak appears to have occurred a bit earlier. Post Falls issued the most permits for new dwellings in 2004, and Kootenai County’s permits for single-family residences peaked in 2005.

From staff reports