Tax-protesting Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart, who lost his bid for a fifth term in the GOP primary two weeks ago, has filed for bankruptcy. In Hart’s petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, he lists just three creditors: The IRS, the Idaho State Tax Commission, and Anderson & Krieger, a construction defect law firm in Sacramento, Calif. Hart also is facing a foreclosure lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department seeking to foreclose on his Athol home for more than $500,000 in back federal income taxes, penalties and interest, and a state order to pay more than $53,000 in back state income taxes, penalties and interest. Michael McFarland, Hart’s Coeur d’Alene attorney in the bankruptcy proceeding, said, “I’m really not in a position to discuss details”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here. And: bankruptcy document here.

Thoughts?

Tax-protesting Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart, who lost his bid for a fifth term in the GOP primary two weeks ago, has filed for bankruptcy. In Hart's petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, he lists just three creditors: The IRS, the Idaho State Tax Commission, and Anderson & Krieger, a construction defect law firm in Sacramento, Calif.

Hart also is facing a foreclosure lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department seeking to foreclose on his Athol home for more than $500,000 in back federal income taxes, penalties and interest, and a state order to pay more than $53,000 in back state income taxes, penalties and interest. Michael McFarland, Hart's Coeur d'Alene attorney in the bankruptcy proceeding, said, “I'm really not in a position to discuss details.”

Hart's filing doesn't list any debt amount, but that must be detailed in subsequent filings that the court has ordered him to make within 14 days; you can read our full story here at spokesman.com.
  

The last two Old Country Buffet restaurants in Spokane County have closed as part of the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization. Parent firm Buffets, Inc. filed the bankruptcy last week in Delaware, announcing it would close 81 underperforming restaurants. Those closed restaurants are roughly 16 percent of the 500 it operates nationally. The local locations were 12205 E. Sprague, at the corner of Pines and Sprague, in Spokane Valley; and 5504 N. Division St. in Spokane. Both closed Thursday, said Melissa Sheer, a company spokesperson/SR. More here.

Question: Was the erstwhile buffet diner in the Silver Lake Mall an Old Country Buffet, too? Did you used to eat there?

Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is seeking bankruptcy protection, blaming its ension and medical benefits obligations, increased competition and tough economic conditions. The Chapter 11 filing on Wednesday comes just two years after a predecessor company emerged from bankruptcy proceedings. That company, called Interstate Bakeries and based in Kansas City, Mo., filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004. It emerged in February 2009/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Which American snack cake do you like best?

A Moses Lake man who was shot by a Coeur d'Alene businessman nearly two years ago in what a grand jury ruled was self defense is suing his civil attorney for malpractice.

Brandon R. Burgess alleges Spokane lawyer Lloyd Herman directed him to speak with a bankruptcy attorney to determine whether they needed to file a claim in bankruptcy court after Adam M. Johnson filed for bankruptcy.

Burgess said his father responded that the procedure would not discharge their claim, and Herman responded by not filing an adversarial proceeding against Johnson.

Herman says that's not true - he always told Burgess he needed to file a claim in bankruptcy court, but Burgess took the wrong advice.

“I never put him in touch with any bankruptcy lawyer. he told me he had a bankruptcy lawyer,” Herman said. “Instead of suing him he sued me”

Burgess is seeking damages to cover his medical expenses and others costs associated with the shooting. He had been seeking money from Johnson before his claim was dismissed because of the procedural error.

Herman said it's unlikely Burgess ever would have recovered civil damages after a grand jury rejected criminal charges against Johnson.

“The likelihood of them ever recovering once the state didn't charge him with a crime is slim or none,” Herman said.

Johnson was arrested on drug charges in Post Falls in April. He pleaded guilty to possession of heroin in November and is to be sentenced in January. The plea deal, which dropped a drug paraphernalia charge, calls for him to serve time in a local jail.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge says Boise County can't declare bankruptcy to stave off paying a more than $5 million legal judgment. Boise County was sued by developer Oaas-Laney for allegedly violating the federal Fair Housing Act. Oaas-Laney wanted to build a treatment center for teens called Alamar Ranch, and contended the county set impossible planning and zoning requirements. Last year a federal jury agreed and handed down a $5.4 million judgment. County commissioners, fearing that the county wouldn't be able to cover the cost of necessary services if they paid the judgment, filed for bankruptcy. But Oaas-Laney asked U.S. District Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers to reject the filing, saying Boise County had enough cash in its coffers to pay. In a ruling handed down Friday afternoon, Myers agreed.

The Spokane Borders bookstore was filled Friday with shoppers taking advantage of reduced prices after the company announced it is going out of business. Borders Group Inc. began liquidating its 399 stores nationwide Friday, including those in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Some Spokane customers expressed surprise at the announcement Friday – as they packed the store to save up to 40 percent – but others knew the closure was coming. Kati Lutz, of Spokane, said her husband is a former employee and they have many friends who work at various stores. Her husband, who did not wish to be identified, was laid off in 2008. “We … know a lot of people that work here,” Lutz said. “I think it’s going to be tough. It’s definitely not an easy time to be looking for a job.” However, she said, “I think most people saw it coming”/Chelsea Bannach, SR. More here.

Question: Where do you buy most of your books? And/or: What are you reading now?

PatrickH: Borders announced late yesterday that they will be seeking Bankrutcy Court approval to liquidate their remaining 399 stores. This will result in the loss of over 10,000 jobs. Two stores locally will be affected, one in North Spokane and the store here in Coeur d’Alene. About 70 jobs will be lost from those two stores. This is being reported by the WSJ and others. KeithinCDA provides this link to national Borders story.

Question: How often do you buy books at a book store? Which store?

Two ski lifts that weren't used this past season at Tamarack Resort are targeted for removal by Bank of America's leasing division after the bankrupt ski resort near Donnelly defaulted on payments; the bank is filing paperwork with the state to remove the two lifts, the AP reports; they're partly on state land that was leased for the resort. The two are a transport lift for homeowners, and a high-speed chairlift accessing intermediate and advanced terrain on the resort's northern boundary; their removal could hurt chances of reviving the resort. Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.

Some people may have noticed that the Marie Callender’s restaurant on North Argonne has suddenly closed its doors. According to an Associated Press story, the national chain that owns the restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Four local Perkins restaurants (including one in Spokane Valley) operated by the same company are apparently going to remain open. Click here for the full story. 

A former Mullan, Idaho, woman now living in Oregon is required to pay nearly $50,000 in restitution for concealing property during a bankruptcy filing.

The $47,927.95 restitution is the amount Vicki Jean Fehrs, 56, earned from the sale of a property in Mullan she'd transferred to her son before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Idaho in 2006, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today.

After settling the case in 2006, Fehrs sold the property and used some of the money to buy a home in Washington state.

Fehrs failed to disclose the sale proceeds to the trustee or creditors in her bankruptcy case and was charged in U.S. District Court with contempt, a misdemeanor, for disobeying a lawful order of a bankruptcy court.

She pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced Tuesday. She'll be on probation for five years.
  

The Daily Beast, a national news Web site, has a state-by-state list of financial woes of the nation's 50 states.

You may be happy (although maybe not overjoyed) to know that Washington ranks No. 35 from the top and Idaho No. 37 in their listing of perilous fiscal situations.

Not sure how serious to take this, though. The listing for Washington seems to have some basic figures correct, but its political news is a bit out of date when it mentions “the state implemented a tax on gum, bottled water, beer and candy” and puts the projected revenue at $122 million over the next year.

First, it wasn't a single tax, but a series of taxes. OK, that's a niggling point. But the taxes on three of those four were repealed by voters, so they aren't projected to bring in any revenue over the next year.

Good evening Netizens…

In this file photo taken Jan. 11, 2009, Chevrolet Beat concept car, which will be introduced as a production car Spark, is shown at at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. General Motors Corp. said Friday, May 29, 2009, that it plans to reopen a shuttered U.S. factory to build compact cars that will likely be the smallest vehicles GM has ever produced here. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

However, with only 8 inches of front ground clearance, the question remains unanswered how well this vehicle will fare among residents in the Northern United States snow zones where such ground clearances would probably make such a low-cut vehicle unable to get around in winter snow.

However, as of 7:00 PM tonight, the Associated Press has announced that General Motors will file for bankruptcy protection Monday morning, which perhaps comes as no surprise to most readers. The deal between GM and the Federal Government will give the American taxpayers more than a 70% ownership of the GM product lines. The Feds will pump another $30 billion dollars into GM as it weaves its way through the bankruptcy process, above and beyond the $20 billion they have already loaned them thus far. Even the bondholders have indicated they will give their blessings to the deal.

Still, when GM emerges from bankruptcy, it will not closely resemble the auto giant we have known for over 100 years. There will be four product lines left: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. The Hummer brand, which at least could navigate through snow, will perhaps be sold to the highest bidder, and the venerable Oldsmobile will simply cease to exist.

I can easily recall over 40 years of American automobiles and trucks, including many technical specifications for various models I have either owned and/or driven in that time. Some of my favorites are the Oldsmobile Super 98 (which I hopped up to over 375 horsepower, good for more than a few tickets), my infamously long-lived 52 Chevrolet pickup truck which originally had a 6-cylinder engine with babbitted main and rod bearings, but eventually became a vintage 283 V-8 when I could no longer obtain the engine parts.

The 57 Chevy Bel-Air, the 50-something split-window GMC pickup, the 56 Pontiac straight-8 cylinder— my goodness when I stop to think of all the various GM vehicles I have owned over the years, I realize I could be quite well-to-do today if I had kept them all. But I’ll always have the memories.

Dave

Good morning, Netizens…

Chrysler, the third-largest automotive manufacturer, will seek bankruptcy protection and enter an alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat, the White House announced Thursday. According to my memory, it is the first time since 1933 and the days of the humble Studebaker, that an automotive manufacturer has filed for bankrupcy.

President Obama called the deal “a new lease on life” for the troubled auto maker, and promised a quick, surgical bankruptcy.

One presupposes that the union members and the bondholders for Chrysler would never dissent in such an agreement, but I could be wrong. More details and perhaps a better analysis of the bankruptcy are forthcoming.

Dave

Never again do I ever want to have to type the name of a newsprint publication, such as the Seattle P-I, followed by the words ‘web-shift’ and ‘bankruptcy.’ 

Today marks the final edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a paper described as the “scrappy, blue-collar rabble-rouser to the staid, thoughtful Times.”  According to The Los Angeles Times, the P-I will become the “largest metropolitan daily to switch to an online-only publication.”

The Hearst Corporation, publishers of the P-I since 1921, recognizes the rough economy and it’s effect on daily publications.  “Hearst fought for for years to keep this place going. But time and these rotten economic conditions finally caught up with us,” says pubisher Roger Oglesby as he hands out the writer’s cancelling statement.

After an 146 year-history the Post-Intelligencer’s “nearly 118,000 weekday subscribers” are automatically being transferred to the city’s last remaining daily: the Seattle Times. 

“Personally, I’m just a little disappointed that such a rich news tradition has closed with so little regard for the core values that we strived to preserve during all the years we worked here,” says Kristen Millares Young, writer for the P-I.

This economy of ours hitting these daily publications pretty hard; How do you think this going to affect our country’s future in journalism? Should all papers switch to solely internet-publications?