Spokane (pronounced /spoʊˈkæn/) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, and is the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest. It is located along the Spokane River in Eastern Washington about 20 miles (32 km) from the Washington-Idaho border.The city was settled in 1871 as "Spokan Falls" (without an 'e' at the end), drawing on the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun.” The city's name is often mispronounced "Spo-CANE", while the correct pronunciation is "Spo-CAN". Spokane's official nickname is the 'Lilac City', named after the flowers that have flourished since their introduction to the area in the early 20th century.According to 2006 census estimates, Spokane has a population of 198,081, making it the second most populous city in the State of Washington, and the third largest in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, after Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. 446,706 residents live in Spokane's official metropolitan area, Spokane County, as recognized by the U.S. Census). With neighboring Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the city is unofficially a part of the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area, which accounts for a population of nearly 600,000 people.

Mexico has cheap food and housing, warm weather, and lots of beaches. Find out what you need to know if you are planning on retiring in Mexico.

Let's be realistic: In this modern electronic day and age we all depend on convenience in some way. Honestly, food processors and online banking wouldn't have been invented if there wasn't a need, right?

Add up $700 game tickets to airfare, hotel, food and souvenirs, and a trip to the Super Bowl this year could cost more than $5,000. And that's just the beginning. You might also want to start shoring up that bank account, maybe put the rest of your 2008 vacation plans on hold. This journey to the center of the sports universe will take its toll...

The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) and StormFisher Biogas, an Ontario-based renewable energy utility, have joined forces to launch Plan Zero, a province-wide social enterprise that will generate renewable electricity from food industry surplus and by-products that are destined for landfills.

Business Journal Prediction: Only 3 industry sectors, Technology, AD/PR, and Health Care are predicted to have a good outlook for 2008. Will the dour predictions prove true for the other sectors – airlines, banking, energy, food, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, med tech, media nonprofits, real estate, retail, and sports business?