Do you or anyone you know work as a civilian at Fairchild Air Force Base? It may be a tough week ahead if Congress doesn't come up with a solution to the "fiscal cliff" deficit deadline. A Wall Street Journal article notes that the Pentagon…
Jon Eliassen, the current CEO of Red Lion Hotel Corp., sent us this afternoon his impressions of H. Norman Schwarzkopf's contributions on the Washington Water Power board, from 1993 to 1997. To counter any who might have thought an Army general was just window dressing…
It was probably one of 2012's high points for me to have the chance to meet up with Bernard Daines this past month, and include him in our end-of-year "Catching Up With" series at Spokesman.com. This collage shows four file photos, On top left, Daines…
As just a little footnote to the obituary of former U.S. Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, we'll mention that the guy served for more than three years on the board of Washington Water Power, now Avista. In 1997 SR business writer Bert Caldwell took note of…
We ran this story today in print and online, about Madrona Venture Group leading an investment round of $4.2 million for 2nd Watch, a cloud services company with its HQ in Liberty Lake. The press release made a major deal out of 2nd Watch having…
The minimum wage in Washington will go up to $9.19 an hour on Jan. 1, keeping the state ahead of all others and nearly $2 above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Idaho’s minimum wage will remain unchanged at $7.25 an hour, which is just…
Liberty Lake cloud service company 2nd Watch, Inc. announced it's received $4.2 million funding primarily led by Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, with participation from other private investors. Launched in 2010, 2nd Watch helps large and midsized companies move IT applications and manage company business processes…
View Larger Map For some reason we were unsucessful yesterday in getting an accurate headcount for the story on the acquisition of Cascade Windows. Cascade, based in the Valley, is a fairly large area manufacturer. Its vinyl windows are sold across the western United States…
To read the complete story, go to Spokesman.com later Monday evening or read it in Tuesday's printed editions. Spokane’s Sterling Savings Bank has purchased the Puget Sound operations of publicly traded Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. Boston Private, a national financial services group that owns…
A year to the day after Mary Livingston opened her University Bar and Grill in the former Bulldog hangout, the business closed its doors. The business, at 1305 N. Hamilton Street, has a long history going back decades, when it was primarily the Bulldog Tavern…
If you're a big fan of LTE (long term evolution) mobile data, AT&T has news. The wireless provider announced it's deployed true LTE service in the Moscow-Pullman area. So, to confuse things, the way mobile connectivity works, LTE is considered important because it qualifies as…
If you're a big fan of LTE (long term evolution) mobile data, AT&T has news. The wireless provider announced it's deployed true LTE service in the Moscow-Pullman area. So, to confuse things, the way mobile connectivity works, LTE is considered important because it qualifies as…
Charlie Schmidt, one of Spokane's most viral artists, got a nice little early present from Google this year. The search giant and software company used Schmidt's legendary web-craze Keyboard Cat in an online promo for the JAM app used with the Google Chrome browser. See…
We spent some time trying to describe the reactions of local retailers to the trend called showrooming. Today's news story touches on that trend, describing showrooming as the use of smartphone by consumers to shop a store and find the best price (either in-store or…
Kootenai Health, the company that runs Kootenai Medical Center, has joined deal with a New Mexico company to build a 30-bed rehabilitation hospital in Post Falls. Called the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Northwest, the $11 million center is expected to open in fall 2013 and…
There's Kevin Parker the state legislator. There's Keven Parker the business owner. That second guy is the featured speaker at Thursday's Numerica and Whitworth Small Business Support Center (SBSC) discussion, running 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It's at the Numerica Credit Union at 405 E.…
View Larger Map The downtown Saad's Shore Repair store at 215 N. Wall closed at the end of November. A note on the door directs customers to the Saad's store at NorthTown Mall. Owner Larry Alfano wrote that the recent untimely deaths of longtime Saad…
Spokane's ReliOn has landed on a notable industry list: the AlwaysOn Going Green Silicon Valley Global 200 listing of notable tech firms. Basically, it's a checklist of major firms that are moving the ball forward in green technology. The list was compiled from U.S. and…
Not widely seen as a source of economic development is the appeal this area has for folks 65-and-over. A number of publications have recognized Spokane is considered is a good place to retire. At least if you don't mind winter (or can get away until…
OK, ladies and gentlemen, you're about to read OfficeHour's commemorative first-but-maybe-not-last pot entry. Now that Washington has legalized indoor smoking of marijuana, we just had to find something to add to the discussion. Here it is: A classic Penguin paperback book, The Strange Case of…
Former Hillyard bar owner and Spokane city councilman Bob Apple plans to open a sports bar on the city’s South Hill. Apple, who served on the council from 2004 through 2011, has applied for a liquor license for a new business at 5620 S. Regal.…
Spokane's Pitney Bowes call center is losing 36 jobs, the company announced on Thursday. Of those jobs, 24 are relocting to another call center Pitney Bowes operates in Appleton, Wis. The Spokane site, at 1313 N. Atlantic, has employed more than 400 workers in the…
Washington State University has created a new VP position, vice president of the Global Campus. Yes, WSU likes to capitalize the idea -- Global Campus. They've chosen WSU veteran David Cillay to take on the job. The goal is to find key ways for the…
Holiday Gift Cards, anew. We posted yesterday about federal efforts to eliminate expiration dates on gift cards. Today, we list the top 20 favorite gift cards, by retailer. This list comes by way of GiftCardRescue. You can see the list yourself in this graphic, from…
Yesterday's Officehours post about Wednesday's GSI Meet Your Legislators has to be updated. GSI this morning confirmed that Gov-Elect Jay Inslee will join the event, which starts at 3 p.m. at the Davenport Hotel. Yesterday's entry described who else will be there. Key details: It's…