Spokane-Coeur d'Alene housing market booming, prices rising

High prices may pose little problem for people selling million-dollar homes in California and moving north

Riggs buys Coeur building

COEUR d'ALENE -

COUNTY: Expansion suggestion

Seems like a lot of controversy about the house at 627 Government Way. To use or not to use for expansion of courthouse facilities.

MONEY: A case for capitalism

So you saved little by little so as to have a little nest egg to help when one of those emergencies comes along.

Winter may be the right time to list your home

Neighborhood of the Week

As the temperature drops and snow threatens, many home buyers and sellers think about punting their efforts to Spring 2017.

GAS: Leap into the price debate

Definition: Oligopoly, control over the production and sale of a product or service by a few companies.

Varietal emergence

We have often written that trying new varietals and wine produced by new wineries is great fun for us, and the reason we don't turn down the opportunity to try new things with our distributors. It is rare though when we get to see firsthand a new varietal being embraced with enthusiasm by wine consumers. Over recent months we have tried Mourvedre from two different producers, once in our wine club and last week at a wine tasting and both times despite the wines being very different from each other in style they were both wildly popular.

Is GM really worth as much as Ford right now?

DETROIT - If investors pay what General Motors hopes to get for its stock in a planned IPO, they'll have to buy the logic that the company's stock-market value should be similar to its closest competitor, Ford Motor Co. But Ford is making far more money these days and its U.S. market share is rising while GM's is falling and its new management team has little auto industry experience.

Here's how to exercise

Ask the Propellerheads

Jeannette Carpenter Smith, 95

Jeannette Carpenter Smith passed away Dec. 18, 2010, in blissful peace and harmony at Sullivan Park Care Center in Spokane Valley, Wash. Jeannette was born June 12, 1915, to Faye and Roy Carpenter in Coos Bay, Ore.

Facebook results soar; CFO to step down

NEW YORK - Facebook's earnings nearly tripled and revenue grew sharply in the first quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations thanks to an 82 percent increase in advertising revenue.

Amazon debuts mobile payment app and card reader

NEW YORK - Amazon is taking direct aim at mobile payment systems such as Square by introducing the Amazon Local Register, a credit-card processing device and mobile app designed to help small business owners accept payments through their smartphones and tablets.

From paints to plastics, a chemical shortage ignites prices

Petrochemical companies have been shaken by the pandemic

Chamber hosting lunches with governor candidates

The Coeur d’Alene Chamber Public Policy Committee has extended invitations to three Republican candidates running for Idaho governor. Each candidate will have an opportunity to express their platforms at three separate luncheons: Brad Little on April 6; Tommy Ahlquist on April 17; and Raul Labrador on May 3.

Democrats buy out Lake City Playhouse first performance

The Kootenai County Democrats have bought out the house for Thursday's first performance of Lake City Playhouse's production of "Les Miserables."

The good and the bad

Idaho has some of the tightest state controls on liquor in the Union. The inability of a popular local restaurant to secure a full liquor license, which includes wine beer and spirits, has gotten much press and reaction from our community. Clearly the restrictions on the number of these full licenses and their ties to population count could use some updating, but there are other parts of our state liquor laws that are well thought out and protective of small business. Like most things in life there are the good parts of our laws and the bad parts, much of this judgment depends on perspective but the larger and more difficult issue is do they warrant changes and how do you get at changes that are needed while keeping the good parts intact.

When inches count

New York City extols virtues of tiny apartments

NEW YORK - Sam Neuman jokes that he doesn't casually throw off his coat when he gets home at night - it would take up half his apartment.

Idaho home price growth remains strong

The prices of existing single-family homes in Idaho rose 9.3 percent in the past year, according to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency released Thursday. Idaho had the 11th-highest rate of appreciation from the second quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2013, according to the FHFA's House Price Index. Nationally, home prices jumped 7.2 percent over the same time period.

Fed acknowledges economy is growing more slowly

Sandpoint Film Festival is Saturday