Avista Foundation grants announced

The Avista Foundation has approved another round of grants that will provide money to Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners and the initial wildfire response in Washington and Oregon.

The donations include $30,000 for SNAP and $15,000 in grants to the firefighting efforts.

“This is an unprecedented time for our communities and we recognize that the needs are evolving every day,” Avista president and CEO Dennis Vermillion said in a news release.

Together, Avista and the Avista Foundation have given more than $2 million in charitable gifts this year and the foundation has given $8 million since 2002.

Yelp introduces ‘racist’ warnings

SAN FRANCISCO – Yelp is introducing a new feature to let people know when a business might be discriminating against customers – a warning that will top a company’s page on the review site that notes it has been “accused of racist behavior.”

The San Francisco-based online review company said it has a “zero tolerance policy to racism” in a blog post announcing the new label from vice president of user operations Noorie Malik.

“Communities have always turned to Yelp in reaction to current events at the local level,” As the nation reckons with issues of systemic racism, we’ve seen in the last few months that there is a clear need to warn consumers about businesses associated with egregious, racially-charged actions to help people make more informed spending decisions,” Malik wrote.

But some people are concerned that the Yelp label could be misused.

From staff and wire reports