Week in Review
Premera Blue Cross is planning a $12 million construction project that the insurer said could result in 250 new family-wage jobs in Spokane. Premera, based in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., will build a 135,000-square-foot addition and 250-stall parking garage on its East Sprague Avenue campus. The state of Washington sweetened the pot for Premera with a pledge of $700,000 from the newly created Economic Development Strategic Reserve Account, which is funded from unclaimed lottery winnings. Only the governor may authorize expenditures from that fund. Construction is expected to get under way in September. The jobs created will pay an average of $35,000 a year plus benefits.
Tuesday
WAM Enterprises, Inc., of Spokane, broke ground recently on a 10,000-square-foot business complex on a portion of land that for years has been the Deer Park Fairgrounds. WAM bought the 12-acre fairgrounds site in November, but will use just one of those acres for its project. The rest of the property will be sold after this year’s fair is over.
“ The first new shipment of Canadian cattle rolled into the United States, four days after a federal appeals court ended a two-year-old ban originally instituted because of mad cow disease.
Wednesday
Hollister-Stier Laboratories said it has sold the rights to its next-generation epinephrine injector to a San Diego company, although Hollister-Stier has exclusive rights to manufacture the device. Hollister-Stier didn’t disclose the value of the licensing transaction, but said the manufacturing contract could be “extremely large.”
“ Hewlett-Packard Co. said it would cut 14,500 jobs and overhaul its retirement plan in an effort to catch up to the efficiency of Dell Inc.
“ Consumers should get ready for an onslaught of advertising by pharmaceutical companies that make sleep aids, rivaling the saturation campaign for erectile dysfunction drugs. Several new medications to treat insomnia have received FDA approval or are expected to be approved soon.
Thursday
The 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and other bike trails in Idaho’s Silver Valley are bringing new economic vitality to the region. As many as 100,000 people rode the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes last year, its first official year of operation, and business owners in the Silver Valley say it’s beginning to rival the area’s ski hills in terms of economic impact.
“ Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan delivered an upbeat assessment of the economy, saying he expects sustained growth with low inflation in coming months.
Friday
China dropped its politically volatile policy of linking its currency to the U.S. dollar, adopting a more flexible system based on a basket of foreign currencies that could push up the price of Chinese exports to the United States and Europe.
“ Spokane-based Potlatch Corp. said it’s launching a new quick-dissolving toilet paper, called SepticSure, targeted toward boat and RV owners and people whose homes have septic systems.