Boise residents riding high on motorcycles

BOISE (AP) - Just as flowers begin to bloom each spring, motorcycles pop up again on Idaho roads. In more ways than one, Idaho is motorcycle country.

Who's who in music streaming: Tidal, Spotify, Pandora and more

RV industry rebounding, led by smaller trailers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - American families are ready to hitch up their trailers and tow the RV industry out of its worst stretch in nearly two decades.

Private label good or bad?

I typically write my column on the Saturday prior to its printing on Wednesday. We are heartbroken at the scenes playing out across Napa and Sonoma counties. We have received requests for information from many of you regarding the damage to wineries and vineyards. The information coming out of “the valleys” is at best sketchy right now. We will have further updates next week. Please keep all of our friends and wine industry colleagues in your thoughts and prayers.

Zero-percent financing turns heads, but may not be best deal

DETROIT - When a car dealer offers to loan you the money to buy a car at zero interest, it gets your attention. Yet that cheap money might not be the best deal you can get.

Consistency and Wine Production

Ultimately the wineries that become our favorites as retailers and consumers are the ones that year after year produce wine that we really like, and feel is worth the money we spend on it. The challenge then is to determine which producers those are, and how to discover that they do produce with consistency.

Neighborhood of the week: Downtown Coeur d'Alene

When you're alone and life is making you lonely / You can always go downtown / You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares / So go downtown / Things will be great when you're downtown / Don't wait a minute more / Downtown, everything is waiting for you. ("Downtown," written by Tony Hatch, performed by Petula Clark)

The most challenging varietal

Perhaps the most fascinating part of our own and many consumers’ wine journey is exploring the wines and growing regions of the “Old World.” Whether you are traveling the appellations of Europe or just tasting through the wines that come from different European areas that you buy here at home, it becomes clear that different varietals grow in different areas for the simplest of reasons. It is because each varietal is more suited to the growing area it comes from.

The winery distributor shuffle

Every year between December and January a "dance" goes on between wineries and distributors resulting from successes and failures of distributors in selling wine. At times distributors will drop winery brands from their "books" that have not sold well but more frequently wineries change their distributors to increase sales of their wines in an area. This annual exercise takes on more ferocity when we have a tough wine market with a lot of extra juice to be sold. Sometimes it works sometimes not so much, but it can have real effects on the wine consumer.

There's more to Cd'A schools story

At the Monday School Board meeting, Trustee Dave Eubanks, speaking to the Board and the community, called for the disposal of district assets. His goal, apparently, is to replenish the district's contingency fund after some of those funds were used to ensure sufficient funding for completion of Winton Elementary School.

Post Falls Police offer safe places to meet

POST FALLS - The Post Falls Police Department encourages citizens to utilize its parking lot for meetings with strangers, especially for purchases of goods advertised online.

Black Friday barrage

Millions of Americans turned out as the holiday buying season started earlier this year on Thanksgiving Day. But there's still a lot of shopping left.

Silencing the hatred

Throngs of counter-protestors provide peaceful reply to Westboro Church

COEUR d'ALENE - All you need is love.

Albert C. Pistorius, 92

Albert C. Pistorius, 92, passed away peacefully at his Hayden Lake home

Raffle tickets on sale

The North Idaho College Foundation's Really BIG Raffle will kick off ticket sales this week as regional outlets begin selling tickets for the drawing to win a brand new $250,000 home in Coeur d'Alene.

Farewell FAO Schwarz: Last day of business at NYC toy store

Possibility remains for reopening in midtown Manhattan

NEW YORK - Tom Hanks danced on a large floor piano there in the movie "Big." Multitudes of children wandered through the aisles over the years, hopped up on sugar from the candy store and wide-eyed with delight at the giant stuffed animals and other toys. And a fair number of parents winced at some of the price tags.

Insurers Sank Connecticut's 'Public Option.' Would A National Version Survive?

Health care costs were rising. People couldn’t afford coverage. So, in Connecticut, state lawmakers took action.

H2O prices run hot

Wait and see

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve is edging closer to raising interest rates from record lows given a strengthening U.S. economy. But it will be "patient" in deciding when to do so.

World's biggest airline

Government reaches agreement to allow merger