Premera Blue Cross is "stonewalling" a bill that would require disclosure of information supporting health insurance rate hike applications, Washingotn Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler wrote today in a letter to consumers. Washington's other two major medical health insurance carriers are willing to make the information…
View Larger Map St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute has moved it Spokane Valley rehab clinic to a new facility at 9119 E. Broadway. Previously at 1414 N. Houk, the outpatient facility will help meet a growing demand for training and rehabilitation, especially for injured workers. David…
One week ago Office Hours had a post on the continuing decline in video customers felt by cable company Comcast Corp. This week let's be fair and give an update on the tough year Dish Network had in 2010. Dish Network Corp. on Feb. 24…
Stephanie Cates, director of marketing and communications at Sterling International (the Spokane Valley-based makers of the Rescue line of bug traps), filled us in by e-mail on the prevalence of stink bugs .... or the lack of stink bugs in our part of the country.…
UPDATING 2:48 p.m. Friday Feb. 25. We went out and sure enough, on Sterling's Facebook page is the full announcement about the company's plans. A stink bug trap at long last, due to be shipped in July. More than 60 people gathered Friday morning at…
COMING UP IN SUNDAY BUSINESS A year after sweeping credit card regulations upended the industry, banks are showering perks and rewards on big spenders with sterling credit scores. And they’re socking customers with spottier histories with higher interest rates, lower credit limits and new annual…
BOISE — A plan headed to lawmakers in the Idaho House would refinance some $200 million in federal loans the state has used to buttress its unemployment safety net. The House Commerce and Human Resources Committee approved the legislation today, the Associated Press reports. It…
SALEM, Ore. — A former deputy director at Spokane International Airport has been named the new Salem airport manager in Oregon. The Statesman Journal reports the city of Salem’s Urban Development Department recently named Mark Jucht the new airport manager. Salem’s 751-acre airport serves general-aviation…
View Larger Map A U.S. subsidiary of a Dutch tech firm has opened a Spokane Valley office and is working with local firm, Ecolite Manufacturing, to produce innovative heating products. The subsidiary is Prestyl USA LLC. Its Dutch parent firm, Global Future Energy Holdings, has…
Ben Bridge Jeweler, the well-known retailer of rings, gems and pendants, will open a store in River Park Square this summer. RPS is managed by the Cowles Co., which also owns and operates The Spokesman-Review. A release Thursday noted Ben Bridge will move into the…
Spokane County reported total 4th quarter retail sales were up by a tiny 0.66 percent, compared with the year before. That's the first fourth-quarter retail sales gain since 2008. For the full 2010 year, Spokane County retail sales fell 2 percent. Avista Economist Randy Barcus…
Liberty Lake-based TierPoint recently announced it's finished a major backbone upgrade. For businesses and major enterprises, this amounts to fairly major news. The upgrade involves full 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections all across the company's network The privately held data operations center and hosting company upgraded…
The tough economy continues grinding on, based on new data looking at the gross domestic product (GDP) of 366 U.S. metros in 2009. Notably, 80 percent of those cities, Spokane not included, saw an economic decline compared with 2008, according to numbers published Wednesday by…
State and local taxes in 2009 took 9.3 percent of resident incomes in Washington, and 9.4 percent in Idaho, according to figures released today by the Tax Foundation. The shares earned Idaho a ranking of 28th, Washington 29th among the 50 states. Washinton residents paid…
We asked Dry Fly's Don Poffenroth to explain why the Spokane-based craft distillery is adding a full-time worker and three new fermenting machines to boost production capacity. This is a 2-minute, 40 second phone interview in which Poffenroth describes the reason for that investment.
Spokane's Dry Fly Distilling is a few months from adding a swing shift to increase production in its downtown facility. Co-founder Don Poffenroth said much of the increased production will be for whiskeys. Dry Fly is selling a popular all-wheat whiskey, plans to release a…
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner is looking to burnish her relations with the city's business community. Last week her honor released a list of "Seven in Eleven" action steps the city intends to follow this year. Those came from a survey sent to city businesses, followed…
As a follow-up to an earlier Spokesman.com story on the increasing numbers of people cutting the cord from paid TV services, we take note of the fourth quarter earnings reported by Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable operator. As it did over the first three…
View Larger Map Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels Corp. on Friday said it's developed a brand affiliation with the Red Lion Hotel Oakland International Airport in Northern California. That location was formerly independently owned and operated Park Plaza Hotel Oakland. "The sheer power of joining a…
Yes, you're right. Those monthly cell phone bills keep getting pricier. One reason is the gradual upward-sloping rates of federal, state and local taxes added to the monthly charges, a recent report says. That survey of all 50 states also found Washington is the second…
Avista Corp. today reported net income of $92.4 million, or $1.65 per share, for 2010, compared to $87.1 million, or $1.58 per share, for 2009. For the fourth quarter of 2010, Avista’s net income was $25.7 million or 45 cents per share, compared to $22.1…
Today's business story on the timeline and plans involved in building a Trader Joe's store on Spokane's South Hill showed one key factor in the deal: "As part of the deal with Trader Joe’s, the property owner, Lincoln Heights Center, LLC, agreed to renovate the…
Thursday is the occasion of the next Executive Connect Breakfast, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Spokane Club Georgian Room. The keynoter is Tom Tiffany, president and CEO of PAML (Pathology Associates Medical Labs). Tiffany has been in the biomedical business for nearly 40 years…
Spokane's Next IT has developed a text message(SMS)-based version of its interactive virtual agent software and has installed it for Gonzaga University's "Ask Spike" application. Gonzaga has been one of Next IT's early adopters of the virtual agent service, which allows people to chat or…
View Larger Map Seattle-based consumer electronics retailer Video Only has purchased the former Circuit City building on North Division. Plans are underway to open its first Spokane store later this year, city permits show. The company is a competitor of other area retailers such as…
The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
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