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SPOKANE, Wash. -- Mayor Jim West faces recall Tuesday over a sex-tinged abuse-of-office charge that he offered a City Hall internship to an 18-year-old he met in a gay chat room. But the young man West offered a job - allegedly in anticipation of sex - never existed. The Gay.com profile West knew as "motobrock" was a ruse The Spokesman-Review used to track the mayor's online activities. West has acknowledged having relationships with young men but has denied doing anything illegal.

RITZVILLE, Wash. - A judge on Thursday granted a newspaper's request to make public gay-themed material from Spokane Mayor James E. West's City Hall laptop computer, but placed restrictions on the release of images from a gay-oriented Web site. Judge Richard Miller ordered the release of an index showing the dates and times West used the computer to access Gay.com and other Web sites. But the judge said the Web addresses of member profiles West viewed on the site's dating service would be obscured, and images on the mayor's hard drive would not be released, to protect the privacy of...

Spokane Mayor Jim West's city-owned computer contains 1,800 files, at least half of them photos, that he doesn't want the public to see, according to new court filings. "From what I've been told by a city attorney, the mayor's computer contains pornographic pictures and probably very sexually descriptive correspondence with people he met on chat lines with his City Hall computer," City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers told The Spokesman-Review for a Saturday report. West declined to comment Friday on his decision to challenge release of the files. The files apparently include photos of young men the mayor met on gay Web...

Spokane, Wash. (AP) -- Organizers of an effort to recall Mayor James E. West because of a sex scandal delivered more than 17,000 petition signatures to election officials Wednesday. If 12,567 are valid, the recall can go to a special vote-by-mail election ballot Nov. 29. The Spokane County auditor must wait five days before counting the signatures. The petitions were delivered by Shannon Sullivan, a political novice who led the campaign, and attorney Jerry Davis, who beat West's attorneys in a state Supreme Court fight to allow the effort to go forward.

Spokane County Prosecutors are hoping to convict a suspected burglar who allegedly left his naked victim smeared with chocolate frosting. The homeowner had met Michael Kay earlier in the day while the two were drinking beer together. The victim had just been fired and eventually went inside, closed his front door and passed out on the bed. Kay is accused of breaking into the residence several hours later, rummaging through the kitchen and then smearing the sleeping resident with frosting. Kay then allegedly opened the man's dog pen hoping his pets would go after the desert topping. Kay's defense attorney...

SPOKANE -- It's been a year of staggering news for a region that likes to bill itself as a good place to raise a family. The Spokane area seems awash in pedophiles. Local residents were already reeling from months of revelations about pedophile Catholic priests when a judge ruled last week that individual parishes, parochial schools and other church property may be sold to pay off victims and their lawyers. This spring, the local newspaper reported that Mayor Jim West used the Internet to seek dates with young men and allegedly molested boys as a sheriff's deputy decades ago. West...

Diocese to appeal court decision that parishes can be liquidated; claims breach of church/state separation Spokane, Aug. 30, 2005 (CNA) - Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington has announced that his diocese will appeal a federal court ruling which, on Friday, declared all parishes in the diocese assets which can be liquidated to pay for claims by alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests. Bishop Skylstad, who also holds the post of president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement released from Eastern Europe, where he is currently traveling, that"The court's decision has national consequences.” “Its...

SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal bankruptcy judge ruled today that all the parish churches, parochial schools and other property of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane can be liquidated to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests. The decision, expected to have ramifications for dioceses across the nation, was a defeat for Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, who had argued that he did not control individual parishes and thus they were not available to cover settlement costs. "It is not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal bankruptcy law to identify and define property of the bankruptcy estate even though...

Bankruptcy judge rules parish assets available to victims The Associated Press   SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal bankruptcy judge ruled today that all the parish churches, parochial schools and other property of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane can be liquidated to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests. The decision, expected to have ramifications for dioceses across the nation, was a defeat for Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, who had argued that he did not control individual parishes and thus they were not available to cover settlement costs. "It is not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal...

SPOKANE — Nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Laurie Roth was seriously injured while riding a motorcycle that collided with a deer, the Washington State Patrol reports. Roth was in serious condition today at Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she was airlifted after the crash yesterday near the entrance to Mount Spokane State Park about 15 miles northeast of Spokane. She was wearing a helmet, but had head injuries, Trooper Jeff Sevigney said. The conservative Roth, 45, is host of "The Laurie Roth Show," which is produced in Spokane and heard on about 40 stations nationwide. She was riding a 1980...

Nationally syndicated talk-show host Laurie Roth was critically injured in a motorcycle crash on highway 206 Thursday near Mount Spokane High School. Roth, who lives in the Spokane area and is heard locally on AM 590, hit a deer while riding her motorcycle just before 4 p.m. She was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Thursday night she remained in critical condition. State Troopers say Roth was wearing her helmet at the time of the accident.

Spokane -- A personal computer and related records were seized in an FBI search of embattled Mayor James E. West's home as part of a federal investigation into public corruption allegations, The Spokesman-Review reported Friday on its Web page. West, who is fighting allegations that he used his office to offer City Hall jobs to young men he met in a gay online chat room, was present with an attorney when FBI agents searched his West Spokane home July 26, the newspaper reported. West and his attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon. The warrant is based...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- After a panel of legal experts and scholars resigned, the Spokane City Council voted to take over an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power against Mayor James E. West. The unanimous 7-0 vote came after the fifth and final member of an independent commission resigned Monday, saying "Spokane continues to burn while the mayor fiddles." The council, which previously voted to ask West to resign, will hire a lawyer or human resources expert to review whether the mayor's hiring practices and use of e-mail to seek personal relationships violated city policies. West, a...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Lawyers for Mayor James E. West, accused of offering city jobs to men he met in a gay online chat room, are appealing a judge's ruling allowing a recall petition drive to proceed. West, former state Senate leader and opponent of gay rights, has denied any criminal or unethical conduct and has rejected calls to resign. "The citizens of Spokane deserve to know why I have decided to appeal," West wrote in a letter submitted to The Spokesman-Review newspaper. "Simply put, it is because the charges are false, and the ballot statement they would vote on was...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- People wrote vicious messages to Mayor James E. West after a newspaper outed him as a closeted homosexual with a fondness for young men, according to a first batch of e-mails released by the mayor's office on Tuesday. More than 2,000 pages of e-mails to and from West's office were released after news organizations made public records requests. Many more pages will be released in coming weeks after they are cleared by the city attorney. A scan of the e-mails released Tuesday showed that most were relatively routine, until The Spokesman-Review on May 5 began a series...

An embattled Mayor Jim West, facing Spokane media for the first time in the month-long sexual misconduct scandal at City Hall, vowed not to resign and to pay for his own legal defense – even borrowing money from his elderly father if necessary. "I can still continue to be an effective mayor … . I never violated my oath of office, and I never used my office in violation of the law or for any personal gain," West said. West singled out two powerful Democrats – former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry and ex-President Bill Clinton – for surviving sex scandals...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The Spokane City Council unanimously asked Mayor James E. West to resign over allegations he misused his office and molested two children - claims the mayor vowed to fight from his post. The seven-member council's vote Tuesday evening was advisory. West can only be ousted by a citywide recall vote. "The city of Spokane is consumed by this issue, both inside and outside of City Hall," council president Dennis Hession said in explaining his vote. Hours before the vote, West, 55, appeared on NBC's "Today" show in New York and denied any misuse of his office...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Mayor Jim West yesterday apologized for using "poor judgment," but rejected a demand by local business leaders to resign amid charges that he offered city jobs to men he met in homosexual chat rooms. Mr. West, 55, apologized for using "poor judgment in my private life." He didn't elaborate, but has previously said he visited the Internet site Gay.com and had relations with adult men. It was his first press conference since returning from a brief leave of absence.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Prosecutors have rejected an effort to recall Mayor James West, who has been accused of offering city jobs to men he met in gay online chat rooms, officials said Monday. The petition request, filed by resident Shannon Sullivan, was ruled incomplete because it didn't include a complete sworn statement from Sullivan, the Spokane County prosecutor's office said in a statement. Sullivan has the option of completing the statement and submitting it again, said Paul Brandt, Spokane County elections manager. A successful petition would also require more than 12,000 signatures before it could be placed on the municipal...

West faces allegations of molestation, misuse of office. SPOKANE, Wash. - Mayor James West, the subject of an FBI probe into accusations he offered municipal jobs to men he met in gay online chat rooms, is complaining he is the victim of a “brutal outing.” In an e-mail sent to nearly 140 people affiliated with a race relations task force, West wrote that the group is responsible for making Spokane a community where “harassment, intimidation, discrimination” are unacceptable.