Briefcase

Verizon 4G network to include Spokane

Spokane will get its first 4G network later this year, Verizon Wireless announced Tuesday.

The company began rolling out the faster-speed Long Term Evolution network to 40 cities, including Seattle, last year. Spokane will be one of 145 cities seeing that upgrade this year. Verizon did not say when the rollout will occur.

Customers who consume huge amounts of data, such as streaming video or videoconferencing, benefit most from 4G, or “fourth generation.” Current 3G phones and modems will have to be upgraded to use the new service.

Other wireless carriers are expected to follow suit.

Verizon’s rollout will cover from Mead to the South Hill and from Airway Heights to Otis Orchards. Spokesman Scott Charlston said service will eventually include Kootenai County.

Tom Sowa

InCyte will buy lab in Walla Walla

Spokane-based InCyte Pathology, PS has announced it will acquire Davis-Sameh-Meeker Laboratories, which has operated for more than 60 years in Walla Walla.

The deal will help InCyte expand its reach as a regional anatomic pathology reference lab serving physicians and hospitals throughout the Northwest. DSM has been a clinical and anatomic pathology lab serving area doctors and hospitals.

The deal is expected to close on April 1. No terms were announced.

InCyte entered into purchase discussions with Dr. Abbas Semeh, the owner of DSM, who plans to retire this year. As part of the deal, InCyte will continue to operate DSM in Walla Walla.

Tom Sowa

Delta again cuts global flying plans

NEW YORK – Delta Air Lines Inc. won’t fly as much as originally planned in the second half of this year because of the crisis in Japan and rising fuel costs.

That includes suspending flights to Tokyo and less flying this year in the U.S. and across the Atlantic. The nation’s No. 2 airline said Tuesday that 2011 profit will be reduced by $250 million to $400 million because of a sharp drop in demand for flights to Tokyo.

Delta posted a profit of $593 million last year, its first since 2007.

Associated Press

NYC judge rejects Google settlement

NEW YORK – Saying Google Inc. had overstretched, a federal judge on Tuesday rejected a deal between the giant search engine and lawyers for authors and publishers that would have let the company make money presiding over the world’s largest digital library.

U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan said the creation of a universal library would benefit many but would “simply go too far.” He rejected a $125 million settlement that was opposed by Google rivals, consumer watchdogs, academic experts, literary agents and even foreign governments.

Google has scanned more than 15 million books for the project.

Associated Press