Briefcase

Rockwood Clinic buys WomanHealth

The Rockwood Clinic has purchased WomanHealth, an obstetrics and gynecology practice.

The deal was announced in a letter to WomanHealth patients and became effective July 1. The offices will now be branded Rockwood Ob-Gyn, yet remain on the fifth floor of the Deaconess Health and Education Center and the providers, including Drs. Pam Silverstein, Lewis Meline, Miguel Bermeo, and nurse practitioners Val Ewert and Leanne Zilar, will remain on staff along with other office personnel.

Rockwood is financially tied to Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital and Medical Center under the common ownership of Community Health Systems Inc., the nation’s largest publically traded hospital company.

John Stucke

Scientists check spread of European wheat pest

A midge that infests wheat fields has migrated to Washington.

Called the orange wheat blossom midge due to its color and appetite for wheat during flowering, the midge has been costing farmers money in North Idaho, some of whom spray insecticides on their crops.

However, bug scientists from Washington State University are not recommending widespread chemical spraying unless they are sure of an infestation.

The insect, about half the size of a mosquito, is a European import. It has an orange body, conspicuous black eyes, three pairs of long legs and one pair of wings.

The females lay eggs on the awns and heads of wheat. After the hatch, the larvae crawl into the flower and feed on the developing grain.

WSU researchers are setting traps to check how far the midge has spread. It is especially prevalent in spring wheat crops.

John Stucke

WaMu seeks approval of reorganization plan

WILMINGTON, Del. – Bank holding company Washington Mutual Inc. is asking a Delaware judge to approve its revised reorganization plan.

The judge convened a three-day hearing Wednesday to consider the plan, which centers on the settlement of lawsuits pitting Washington Mutual, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and JPMorgan against one another. The lawsuits were filed after the FDIC seized WaMu’s flagship bank in 2008 and sold its assets to JPMorgan in the largest bank failure in U.S. history.

The judge ruled in January that the proposed settlement was reasonable but refused to confirm WaMu’s plan until changes were made.

Washington Mutual shareholders oppose the new plan, saying it favors hedge funds who dominated negotiations with JPMorgan for their own gain and used inside information from the bankruptcy to trade in Washington Mutual securities.

Associated Press