John Stucke

The weather forecaster many regional farmers rely upon predicted that spring would be cool and accompanied by modest rains and perhaps a bit of snow. Summer should be warmer and drier than normal, said Art Douglas, a respected forecaster known simply as “The Weatherman.”

Several local doctors have left for Haiti as suffering continues to unfold on a staggering scale. It’s among the initial efforts as Spokane’s medical community prepares to join in helping the earthquake-ravaged country.

Christianne Lyn Sharman, a writer and owner of a local public relations company, died of complications from a brain tumor Wednesday in the Orchard Prairie home of family. She was 45 years old. A well-known member of Spokane’s public relations community, she had accounts with businesses big and small. For years she helped put together Avista’s annual report and honed the image of homegrown coffee roaster Craven’s.

Police have seized guns and drugs as part of their probe into the city’s first homicide this year, a suspected gang-related shooting early Sunday in a north Spokane alley. Multiple shots were fired after fighting partygoers spilled from an apartment at 5403 N. Crestline St. into the muddy alley. The gunfire killed a 38-year-old man, whom friends and neighbors identified as John Williams.

Deaconess Medical Center and Inland Northwest Health Services have stepped back from a dispute over unpaid bills and financial records that threatened to disrupt the hospital’s use of electronic medical records. INHS has agreed not to pull its computer support employees out of Deaconess, while Deaconess has agreed to pay INHS monthly for its services. Beyond that, the two health care organizations are still fighting in court over $6.4 million in allegedly unpaid bills and licensing issues, and the agreement did little to ease a growing mistrust between the longtime partners.

Walgreen Co. said it will stop filling Medicaid prescriptions at about half of its pharmacies in Washington next month because of continued reimbursement reductions. Walgreen’s, the largest drugstore chain in the country, said in a statement Wednesday night that it will urge state lawmakers during the legislative session to adopt ways to lower the state’s prescription drug costs without further harming the ability of pharmacies to conduct business in Washington.

Inland Northwest Health Services plans to pull its electronic records staff out of Deaconess Medical Center as a multimillion dollar fight over unpaid bills worsens. Tom Fritz, chief executive of INHS, accused Deaconess’ new owners of exploiting the electronic medical records system and putting INHS in financial jeopardy by refusing to pay $6.4 million.

A group of California investors has accused a pair of Spokane real estate developers of using a sophisticated scheme that tricked them out of tens of thousands of dollars and left them on the hook for millions more in bank loans. The investors sued developers Gregory and Kimberly Jeffreys, of Spokane Valley, and named Brian and Kim Main in the lawsuit as co-conspirators for their role as Realtors.

The Catholic Diocese of Spokane has appealed a recent series of bankruptcy court rulings that could cost it millions of dollars more. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams last month affirmed the powers of a court-appointed reviewer who weighs the merits of clergy sex abuse claims and determines cash awards to victims. Williams rejected diocese motions to seal court records and then challenge the reviewer’s decisions in an attempt to unwind recent cash awards to some sex abuse victims.

A Spokane County man accused of running a Ponzi scheme has agreed to repay about 200 investors and has been banned from selling investments or securities. Craig T. Jolly entered into the legal settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after charges were filed 11 months ago.

A Spokane County man accused of running a Ponzi scheme has agreed to repay about 200 investors and has been banned from selling investments or securities.

Rockwood Clinic doctors voted Wednesday to sell their medical practice to Community Health Systems Inc. and form a close partnership with Deaconess Medical Center. The transaction will be finalized in the next several weeks. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

A small North Idaho mining company and a former executive have settled a series of stock fraud allegations brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal investigators accused penny stock firm Atlas Mining Co. and former chairman and chief executive William Jacobson of filing false financial documents and hiding bogus stock sales in order to raise money for the struggling business.