Dressed in an ape suit, initiative pitchman Tim Eyman on Wednesday turned in thousands of signatures supporting his "900-pound gorilla" idea: performance audits of state and local government agencies, according to Rich Roesler/SR, here.

1. Cartoonists Northwest has selected its top 'toon by a Northwest artist here.

2. On the Jim West front, the embattled Spokane mayor is trying to block a recall effort here, and Spokane Mayor Mike Connelly plans to release thousands of West's office e-mails soon here.

3. The ripe stench of human excrement in downtown Vancouver, B.C., is getting stronger in downtown alleys, curling the stomachs of workers who no longer want to relax by the back door for smoke breaks here.

4. Grizzlies have been awake only 6 weeks and already the official list of bear dead has officially reached 6. That's too many, too soon, according to an grizzly expert, here.

5. The Idaho Department of F&G is offering a free fishing day Saturday here.

6. IMHO-NW: Bill Virgin/PI (Trying to sell Spokane amid scandal), Joni Balter/Seattle Times (Rossi's great positioning), Chris Peterson/Hungry Horse News (The thing about owls), Columbian (Let felons vote), and Doug Clark/Spokesman-Review (A golfing miracle).

*A Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) High student won first place honors in a national art contest with her drawing of a young Marine and his gun here.

*In Coeur d'Alene, hopes remain high for the two children who have been missing since a triple murder at Wolf Lodge Bay here.

*The sister of a Seattle Seahawk RB is going to prison for pouring hot oil over her boyfriend's face here.

*225,014 signatures could trash Washington's gas tax here.

Orbusmax presents the rest of the Northwest here.

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