In brief: U.S. Silver to pay fine for Coeur d’Alene River pollution

U.S. Silver Inc. has agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty for pollution discharged from its mining operations into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River and a tributary stream.

The company exceeded its permitted discharge limits for copper, mercury and lead at outfalls that flow into Lake Creek and the Coeur d’Alene River’s South Fork at various times between 2011 and 2013, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

U.S. Silver, which owns and operates the Coeur and Galena mines near Wallace, also had an unpermitted discharge into Lake Creek in March from near a pond where mine waste is pumped.

Through a consent decree signed with the federal government, company officials agreed to the fine but didn’t admit to any wrongdoing. U.S. Silver reported the violations and took immediate measures to correct the problems, according to the EPA.

Truck stop company honored

The Spokane-based Broadway Group will receive an award for its corporate philanthropy at a Nov. 5 ceremony in Seattle.

The company, which was founded in Spokane in 1963 and currently owns seven truck stops in Washington, Montana and Nevada, has been named 2014 Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation by the Washington chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, according to a news release.

The company has been a national leader in educating truck drivers and truck stop workers about human trafficking, the release said. “Broadway Group is working to ensure that the nation’s transportation system is not exploited by those who wish to profit from the buying and selling of vulnerable men, women and children,” the release said.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals is an industry group for people who raise money for nonprofits nationwide. About 1,000 people are expected to attend the organization’s National Philanthropy Day lunch in Seattle.

Breach forces card reissues

Some lenders are preparing to reissue credit or debit cards to customers to head off possible losses following the breach of customer data at Home Depot.

Capital One Financial and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Wednesday they are preparing to assign new cards to accountholders due to the data theft at the home-improvement retailer.

Earlier this month, Home Depot confirmed that malicious software lurking in its checkout terminals between April and September affected 56 million debit and credit cards. Target, Michaels and Neiman Marcus also have been attacked by hackers in the past year.

While lenders often will issue customers a card after it’s been lost, stolen or used to make an unauthorized purchase, Capital One and JPMorgan are taking action based merely on whether accounts may be compromised. Capital One, which issues debit cards in addition to its namesake credit card, is preparing to do a proactive, “mass reissue” of credit and debit cards on accounts that it believes are at risk due to the Home Depot data breach, a spokeswoman said.

New-home sales on rebound

WASHINGTON – U.S. sales of new homes surged in August, led by a wave of buying in the West and Northeast.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new-home sales climbed 18 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000. The report also revised upward the July sales rate to 427,000 from 412,000.

Newly constructed homes sold at the fastest clip since May 2008. It’s a clear sign of improvement for a real estate market that has been muddled in recent months, as the rebound in sales following the housing bust began to slow.

Sales of new homes are up 33 percent during the past 12 months. Median prices for new homes have risen nearly 8 percent during the same period to $275,600.

“All is not perfect in the housing market but things are certainly better today than they were about one year ago,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG brokerage.

In the West, August purchases of new homes soared 50 percent compared to the prior month. Off the sharp August increase, sales in the West have nearly doubled in the past 12 months.

Between August and July, sales grew 29.2 percent in the Northeast. Buying increased 7.8 percent in the South and remained flat in the Midwest.