Government

Deer Park business park clears key funding hurdle

City approves bond to help fund launch of first phase

January 16, 2014

The first phase of a long-envisioned Deer Park Business & Industrial Center project finally is moving forward after the Deer Park City Council approved a $1.3 million local improvement district bond last month. Bob Lee, owner of Deer Park-based Centennia

Foreclosures climbed in Spokane County last year

County tallies record defaults despite gains in home sales

January 16, 2014

Mike McLean

Foreclosure actions completed in Spokane County swelled to a record level in 2013 following a four-year low in 2012, despite other indicators of improving real estate market trends. Last year, the Spokane County Auditor's Office recorded 1,211 foreclos

Bankruptcies in Eastern Washington, North Idaho fall for third straight year

Spokane, Cd'A attorneys expect trend to continue

January 16, 2014

Katie Ross

Bankruptcy filings fell again in Eastern Washington and North Idaho last year, marking the third year in a row that they've declined. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court's Eastern District of Washington reported 5,057 cases filed in 2013, down 7 percent from

Spokane Transit Authority eyes big West Plains project

$12 million transit center aimed at boosting capacity, efficiency

January 16, 2014

Katie Ross

Spokane Transit Authority is in the early stages of planning for a $12 million West Plains transit center aimed at increasing passenger capacity and better connecting small cities west of Spokane. STA is seeking outside engineering and design consultants

Jobs to continue to grow here, though possibly at slower rate

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December 19, 2013

Linn Parish

The rate of growth, however, might not keep pace with this year, says Grant Forsyth, regional labor economist for Spokane-based Avista Corp. He's projecting a 1.5 percent increase in employment next year in Spokane and Kootenai counties, which would be

Inland Northwest economy continues to make positive strides

While some industries face challenges, others report return to prerecession levels

December 19, 2013

Linn Parish

In some sectors of the Inland Northwest economy, activity levels are returning to prerecession levels, welcome news that comes none too soon for economic observers. In overall employment, Spokane-area economists are expecting job growth next year, though

Country Homes Boulevard stormwater project to begin next year

Pipe and soil will replace current asphalt channel, lower treatment volume

December 19, 2013

Katie Ross

The Spokane County stormwater utility department is in the design stages of an estimated $2.5 million restoration project that will remove a longtime asphalt drainage channel that serves as a median separating the traffic lanes on Country Homes Boulevard,

Spokane Public Schools eyes shuffling facility uses

District looks to expand programs, reduce some student-teacher ratios

December 19, 2013

Treva Lind

Spokane Public Schools plans to shuffle facility uses by next fall to expand some programs and address a state-required reduction of class sizes for certain elementary grades. Assistant Superintendent Mark Anderson says the district also has started a s

Future of downtown Spokane's IMAX theater grows cloudier

Planning advisory group might consider other uses for Riverfront Park facility

December 19, 2013

Treva Lind

The future of the IMAX theater in downtown Spokane appears more clouded in the wake of a Riverfront Park advisory committee's recent recommendation to stop showing movies there. The group's recommendation is part of an overall report on current plann

Economic pessimism lingers in Eastern Washington

Survey shows that most still give fair, poor marks to current conditions

December 19, 2013

Linn Parish

While the state as a whole has become relatively more optimistic about the state of the economy, Eastern Washington businesses are just as pessimistic about it as they were in 2012, says the findings of a survey by the Spokane office of Portland-based Gal