In brief: Court sustains Avista rate hike

Olympia – Thurston County Superior Court has largely upheld a 2008 rate hike that allowed Avista Corp. to collect $37.3 million in additional electric and natural gas charges from its Eastern Washington customers.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office of Public Counsel, which advocates on behalf of consumers, argued for a rate hike in the $21 million range. Last January, the AG’s office petitioned for a judicial review of the rate hike, which was granted by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

In a decision last week, the court disallowed approximately $94,000 in miscellaneous expenses that Avista included in the rate hike, but allowed the remainder of the costs to be passed on to ratepayers.

Staff report

Apple shares at record level

New York – Apple Inc. shares hit an all-time high Thursday after a published report suggested the intensely scrutinized yet secretive company may be getting ready for a major product announcement.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the preparations, the Financial Times reported on its Web site Wednesday that Apple has rented space for several days in late January at an arts center in San Francisco.

Apple shares hit an all-time high of $209.35 at one point on Thursday, topping the previous record of $208.71, set Oct. 21.

Associated Press

Pineapple crop is company’s last

Wailuku, Hawaii – Fieldworkers at Hawaii’s last major pineapple plantation have picked their last crop.

Maui Land and Pineapple Co. shut down its century-old agricultural operation Wednesday to focus on real estate development. The company is laying off about 285 employees.

Hawaii’s major pineapple producers have shifted growing operations to countries such as the Philippines, where labor is cheaper.

Associated Press

Security breach settlement OK’d

Louisville, Ky. – A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp. and millions of customers whose detailed financial information was exposed in a security breach.

Under the terms of the settlement, Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America, would give up to 17 million people whose information was exposed during the security breach free credit monitoring.

The settlement entitles a person up to $50,000 in reimbursements from Countrywide per instance of identity theft, provided they actually lost something of value, were not reimbursed and it is more likely than not the theft stemmed from Countrywide.

Associated Press