A new restaurant-pub will be going into the space in Manito Shopping Center last used by Pear Tree Inn. The owner of the new pub wants to lie low just a week or so longer; we'll talk with the owner and provide some of the…
Spokane's economy is recovering, Coeur d'Alene's remains in recession, according to a new analysis of June data released Monday by Moody's Economy.com.But the Kootenai County city's ranking for cost of doing business and cost of living are slightly better than those for Spokane, as is…
Whether or not Cyan Worlds ever gets around to doing another large Myst-style game/online world, the Mead-based software company is turning out a number of quicker, easier-to-build games for the iOS platform.Here's how Cyan's CEO Rand Miller described the focus of Stoneship, the new App…
New Sterling Financial Corp. Chairman Les Biller was paid $1.5 million to accept the position, and will receive a total $4.5 million by Dec. 31, 2012, unless he resigns.Biller's compensation was listed in a Monday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing…
Without being there, it became difficult for Office Hours to track the sales of the numerous parcels auctioned off Thursday at the Deer Park auction. We confirmed that the City of Deer Park paid $850,000 for the 18-hole course. Mayor Robert Whisman said he was…
Numerica Credit Union assets have reached $1 billion, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Cutter said Friday.He said the Spokane-based credit union reached the benchmark because of internal growth, and the merger with the School Employees Federal Credit Union of Richland in May.The merger also helped lift…
We've gotten a few calls from folks who attended the recent Get Motivated event, held on Aug. 17 at the Spokane Arena. The event featured some heavy hitters, like Colin Powell, talking about what helps define success, and how to gain success.The event also included…
The City of Deer Park is the proud new owner of the Deer Park Golf Club.The SR will have a detailed story in Friday's editions. But today's auction, still in progress as of 3:24 p.m. Thursday, did resolve the question: How much is the Deer…
Sterling Financial Corp. has completed the $730 million recapitalization plan announced last week.The money from a mixture of institutional and individual investors will bring the parent of Sterling Savings Bank back into compliance with regulatory capital requirements, Chief Executive Officer Greg Seibly said.Sterling reserves had…
Residents of Kendall Yards may have direct access to Monroe Street by the end of the year, weather-permitting, Wayne Frost said today.The vice president of Greenstone Corp.’s commercial division said Ide Ave., which connects with Monroe just north of the Spokane River bridge, will be…
This marks a first: a program on the Spokane local government TV channel earns a post on the Office Hours business blog. This Thursday's “Council Connection,” the Channel 5 program featuring Spokane City Council members as hosts, will include a session entitled “Enhance Your Assets—A…
View Larger MapLiberty Lake-based data center TierPoint has two announcements this week. First, it's upgraded its network to 50 gigabits per second capacity. Second, it's announced an $8.2 million project to build a third center, TierPoint 3, just down the street from its first and…
You may think we're on vacation here at OfficeHours central, but no. We do work a full shift, even in August.We continue pondering the puzzle that is Trader Joe's, which like Apple, ranks among the most secretive operations on the planet. Many folks in Spokane…
Comcast is rolling out, without fanfare, a much faster broadband service for businesses.Spokane and just about all other Washington Comcast metros can now sign up for 100 Mbps Business Class Internet Service. This is an upgrade that roughly doubles what business customers of Comcast have…
Three Washington businesses -- Amazon, Coinstar and F5 Networks -- have been added to Fortune mag's list of 100 fastest growing companies.All three have headquarters in the Seattle area. F5, which makes network management services and tools, has an engineering office in Liberty Lake.Amazon moved…
Derek Oberholtzer will never again operate a mortgage-modification business, or any other credit-counseling service, in Idaho.Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden Monday announced that the owner of Coeur d'Alene-base Apply 2 Save, which closed last year, has consented to a settlement that will deny him a…
Another surge is taking place just west and south of Spokane County; it's the fast growth in the number of wind turbines going up along the Columbia River and in other plateau areas of central Washington and Oregon.In Sunday's Spokesman-Review business section, columnist Bert Caldwell…
The company doing the construction work at the former Eddie Bauer building, in downtown Spokane, recently painted a plywood sheet black to block views of renovations inside the retail office space, at 710 W. Main.We knew for months that this is the Apple retail store…
The partners developing the Lofts at Joel, at 165 S. Post, in downtown Spokane, have told the previous owner they will take care to preserve some of the building's history.They bought the building from the Ferris family, whose patriarch, Joel Ferris, gave the building the…
This is not exactly big or surprising news. Jos. A. Bank, a menswear retailer, will move from its current 811 W. Main address in downtown Spokane to a new location in River Park Square, opening in November.Jos. A. Bank is taking the spot down the…
Long-time Spokane banker D. Michael Jones has stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of Banner Bank and Banner Corp.He will be succeeded at the Walla Walla bank and holding company by Mark Grescovich, who has been president of both entities since July.Jones, 68,…
Three men who operated a Post Falls mortgage modification business will return $7,000 to clients, and pay $1,000 in fees and costs, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said today.Randy Allen, Clint Paulsen, and Travis Smith did not admit any wrongdoing in a consent agreement that…
Today, the monthly jobless totals came out, and Spokane County’s July unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.6 percent. Notably, the 8.6 percent is identical to what it was in July 2009.Among other notable findings, reported by Washington Employment Security regional labor economist Doug Tweedy:The county’s…
Today's really really big Get Motivated event continues as we write.This photo shows we were there. We heard Krish Dhanam first and then "motivational" salesman Bob Kittell came on stage to pitch his get-rich scheme using stock market analysis. That's Kitell in this photo, shot…
Just call her flash. If you blink, you may miss Jennifer Underwood make your sandwich.Underwood, 25, has been crowned the fastest Subway Sandwich artisan in the world. And she fills orders right here in the Lilac City.The Spokane resident won the the global Sub Jammers’…