The Spokane Symphony is offering groups and businesses an “Orchestrating Greatness” program providing hands-on lessons of teamwork and leadership to their organizations. The same idea has been explored at other cities. The program lets teams or executives lead the orchestra, work with sections of the…
John Stucke reports on Washington state’s new health insurance exchange, which is designed to help upward of 50,000 small businesses attain health insurance for their employees. As with many things linked to the federal Affordable Care Act, the exchange is controversial, untested, and the financial…
Spokane is among cities where Comcast is now offering "Extreme 105 Mbps," making it one of the fastest download Internet options for cable subscribers. The top speed before was roughly 50 megabits per second. If ordered with a bundle, the 12-month cost for users is…
While a large spotlight lately has been focused on hackers getting into the Sony Playstation Network, it's valid to note that the most serious, consistent threats for most companies are phishing attacks that can compromise account passwords. Phishing is the use of false but seemingly…
Subscribers to the Sony Playstation online service should have already received a notice warning that the April 17-19 intrusion by a hacker appears to have led to the loss of personal account information. The message from Sony read: For your security, we encourage you to…
Kobe beef raised in Idaho will take center plate on of the menu of the new steakhouse at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Casino, in Worley. This photo shows the entryway to what's now called Ts'elumsm Steakhouse. The tribal name means "Stand Before the Fire," and…
The Washington Policy Center, a nonprofit, business advocacy group, is holding a "special session" Wake-Up Forum Thursday morning at the Quality Inn, 8923 E. Mission, in Spokane Valley. The 7 a.m. free session will include comments by two area legislators, Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, and…
Spokane world-handcraft retail store Kizuri will hold a hand-crafted rug sale May 19-22 at the Community Building, 35 W. Main, in downtown Spokane. This sale is the first of its kind held in Spokane, said Kim Harmson, Kizuri's director. The event is sponsored by Bunyaad,…
Sirti, the state-funded economic support center for regional tech companies, is hosting an April 29 "Invention to Venture" workshop, at the Spokane Academic Center, WSU Riverpoint Campus. The session runs from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Here's the description offered by Sirti: "A fast-paced workshop…
BookRags.com, an education and book-reference site that is owned by Ambassadors Group, has signed a marketing arrangement with BrainyQuote, a website that provides quotes for students and the public. Ambassadors Group, based in Spokane, provides education travel for students and others. It acquired BookRags in…
The good news in the prolonged dispute between the guys who run the Spokane Fox affiliate (KAYU-TV) and DirecTV is the apparent desire to keep going until the matter is resolved. Again on Friday we learned the two side have set another extension; it seems…
Trying as hard as we can to offer the occasional useful chart or graphic. Today's offering: a recently published graphic on what matters to people when buying a smartphone. Definition first: A smartphone is: a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity…
A month ago we wrote about efforts by some West Plains business owners and others in opposition to a proposed Spokane Indian casino and resort. The group, Citizens Against Casino Expansion, have launched a website to focus their concerns about the project, which they say…
UPDATED 12:40 p.m. April 21: The Camyn's property has been sold to two buyers. Our Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, at 4320 Conklin, has purchased the lot from Garfield to its own parking lot. The second part of the greenhouse parcel, from Garfield westward, was bought…
The state of Washington does its jobless rate announcements differently. It announced the statewide jobless rate of 9.2 percent last week. Then, today, the state released the metro and county numbers. Spokane's rate inched up slightly this March, to 10.5 percent. The interesting data tidbit…
The nominees for the 2011 AGORA Awards were announced Tuesday by Greater Spokane Incorporated. Winners will be announced June 1 at The Davenport Hotel from 7:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. ?Attendees can register at events.greaterspokane.org. The awards recognize area businesses for excellence. Nominees by category are: Small…
With tonight's tax deadline just six hours away, we looked about to see what people are saying they'll do with any refunds they get back from the government. A recent survey by the National Retail Association found 42 percent said they will use refund dollars…
Spokane-based Ambassadors Group will pay a group of investors roughly $7.5 million to settle a class-action suit claiming the company engaged in securities fraud. The suit was originally filed in 2009 in Spokane’s federal district court, with a New Jersey electrical workers pension fund as…
About a year ago the SR published news that Wal-Mart would put another new store in Spokane Valley, about six blocks east of the Costco, about 5601 E. Sprague. There hasn't been a lot of progress so far on that project, which we wrote about…
Earlier this week we called Nick Darveau-Garneau, the CEO of San Francisco-based BigDeal.com. This site is one of the increasingly popular penny-auction sites that invite consumers to hunt down good deals on electronics and household items. We're posting a portion of the interview with Nick,…
Best Buy Co., Inc. says it sees a big bright future in online sales. The Eden, Minn.-based electronics and appliance retailer announced it plans to double web sales to $4 billion in five years. At the same time, it expects to reduce the bricks-and-mortar square…
Silver Mountain Resort will be open Saturday, extending a ski and snow-boarding season cushioned by 400 inches of snow. "We've been blessed with over four feet of snow recently, and the short-term forecast looks promising for more," spokesman John Williams said. He said all 1,600…
Gonzaga University grad Mark Britton, who's CEO of Seattle-based Avvo, has been named to the board of travel site Orbitz. Orbitz is based in Chicago and is one of the top three web-based travel services. Before starting lawyer- and doctor-rating service Avvo, Britton was an…
Today's interesting business-related chart or graphic comes by way of the feds, and from DOE in specific. It's the typical breakdown, based on U.S. averages, for what goes into the cost of a gallon of gas. This was created in winter of 2010 and the…
Washington's unemployment rate climbed in March despite a gain of 1,110 jobs, the Employment Security Department said today. The March unemployment rate was 9.2 percent, a notch higher than the 9.1 percent reported for February. The biggest job gains were in business and professional services,…
The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
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