BUSINESS NEWS AND FUNDING

Big Sky Airlines seeks more riders

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Ticket sales for Big Sky Airlines continue to be about a third of what the company wants. "We’re still seeing good response to our schedules. However, we’re still not meeting budget…

Business Recruitment tax breaks still alive and well despite Washington’s budget woes

"The difference between corporate welfare and an actual tax incentive is whether you can prove that it works," said Morris, whose proposal would require more proof that employees were using the breaks as lawmakers intended.

"If you don’t ask this question, you don’t know whether it’s better to give $80 million in tax credits or $80 million to the University of Washington."

Business Recruitment Tax Incentives Don’t Ensure Jobs in Nebraska

Union Pacific Corp.’s plan to cut between 300 and 400 jobs in Omaha this year has employees asking a question. How can the railroad trim workers at the same time it seeks state tax incentives…

Council pushing high-tech stimulus in Oregon

The sky may be falling in Salem, but a group of high-tech executives, educators and politicians say they are optimistic they can convince legislators to spend $76 million in the 2003-2005 biennium on programs to…

Innovations That Reinvent The Wheel

"The next big thing is all the little things that make the big things work."

Avista happy to be out of this dam mess-Spokane company, Avista Utilities, works to remain under the radar in Montana dispute

Avista Utilities and PPL Montana fought arm-in-arm against a dam-condemnation initiative on last fall’s Montana ballot. Bert Caldwell The Spokesman-Review Arm’s length better describes their relationship today, although that may understate the distance the Spokane…

Cash to Recruit Companies Low in Utah

"When corporate site selectors speak with us, they want to know if the state has a fund like the IAF and then they want to know about job-training dollars," he said. "Not replenishing those funds sends a message that we’re not open for business. Companies aren’t interested in the reasons we don’t have the money, just that we don’t have it . . . it puts us at a real competitive disadvantage."

Denver dangles unconventional lure – Trip, gifts offered for visitor referrals

"We have to outwork other cities and states to help build our economy," said Denver Mayor Wellington Webb as he announced a bevy of gifts for residents who refer potential convention groups.

Winemaking sustains allure-Starting a winery is pricey, but industry statewide has tripled; 10 in Spokane

Statewide in Washington, the number of wineries has tripled in the last six years, from 80 in 1996 to 240 today.

Gourmet food business workshops- "How to Start and Grow a Specialty Foods Business in Idaho" set for cities throughout Idaho

"How to Start and Grow a Specialty Foods Business in Idaho" is the topic of a series of five one-day workshops set for March 3-7 throughout Idaho. The workshops in Twin Falls and elsewhere, sponsored…

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