John Stucke

Workers say Columbia Lighting handed layoff notices to an estimated 35 to 50 people Friday morning, a move widely anticipated as sales remain sluggish. Some workers believe the layoffs are part of an effort by Columbia's parent company, Hubbell Inc., to restructure its lighting division by moving work to lower-cost factories.

Lawsuits filed by 60 people claiming they were sexually abused by Catholic clergy have been remanded to Spokane County Superior Court from federal bankruptcy court. Though some of the cases seemed primed for trial, the likelihood of that happening soon is remote because of bankruptcy rules that have suspended legal actions against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane.

Guess what? Some lawmakers say second-hand clothes bagged and dragged to the thrift store represent a $1.9 billion tax fraud. So Congress is targeting the donations of those marvelous polyester shirts with the wide collars and missing buttons. They're even questioning the donations of clothing irons, romance novels, plastic purses, dishes, wigs, well-worn shoes and chairs fit for an episode of "All in the Family."

Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. may sue former chairman and CEO C. Paul Sandifur Jr. and his ex-wife, Helen Sandifur, for millions of dollars, alleging that they profited even as the company began to fail. The $2.7 billion financial services conglomerate filed for bankruptcy last year amid accounting problems and federal investigations. Now under new management, the company is duty-bound to pursue every possible cash recovery for creditors, says Maggie Lyons, acting CEO of Metropolitan.

Spokane hospitals will collect an extra $5.4 million for treating poor people during the next two years, a Legislative accomplishment that should help ease the sting of unpaid medical bills. By boosting Medicaid reimbursements, the Legislature addressed a longstanding complaint that Spokane hospitals have been on the short end of government payments.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane is spending in excess of $325,000 a month to pay bankruptcy lawyers and fund operating costs, a burn rate so taxing that it has prompted calls to hurry up – or else. The 58 creditors in the lawsuits that prompted the bankruptcy who allege they were sexually abused by priests, want the bankruptcy case put on a fast track to preserve the cash for settlement payouts.

Sun, surf, sand and serenity. These are qualities that could help creditors in the Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities bankruptcy get more money back from their failed investments.

Washington farmers are reluctant to plant spring wheat this year even as recent rain showers ease drought conditions. "This is definitely an interesting game of let's wait and see," said Gretchen Borck of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

Layoffs at Sacred Heart Medical Center will be fewer than anticipated this spring as the hospital treats record numbers of patients and rebounds from last year's dismal financial performance. Regardless, the ultimate loss of 175 employees at Spokane's leading private employer announced Tuesday will send shudders through the local economy. Hospital president Mike Wilson said 155 employees accepted early retirement or voluntary separation packages. Up to 20 more employees likely will be laid off as the hospital reassigns staff to fill vacancies and comply with union seniority rules.

The thousands of creditors holding notes from failed Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities should receive a small recovery beginning this fall, according to a reorganization plan filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The amended plan envisions the sale of all remaining Metropolitan property and financial holdings. The money would be placed in special creditors' trusts and disbursed by a trustee.

Avista Corp.'s energy subsidiary has misjudged the volatile natural gas market and warned Wall Street analysts that it will lose money in the first quarter – its only loss in nearly five years. "Markets didn't respond as we anticipated," said Avista spokesman Pat Lynch, referring to natural gas prices that have doubled during the past couple years.

The Catholic Diocese of Spokane lost a bankruptcy court fight to disband a committee representing victims of clergy sex abuse. Fearful that the Chapter 11 case will cost millions in lawyer fees, the diocese asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patricia Williams to consider whether she had jurisdiction to dissolve one of the two creditors' committees appointed by the U.S. Trustee's office.

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. lost $746.8 million last year amid bankruptcy write-downs and the surrender of benefit plans including those for pensions and retiree medical coverage. There was some good news: sales of fabricated aluminum rose sharply as evidenced by renewed hiring at the Trentwood rolling mill.

Bondholders of troubled Pacific Security Companies Inc. are recovering some of their money. The Spokane company managed by David Guthrie is selling assets and returning the proceeds to investors as part of its ongoing receivership case in Spokane County Superior Court.

About 185 Sacred Heart Medical Center employees are poised to accept early retirement and voluntary separation packages this week as part of a hospital plan to cut staff. Together with a two-month hiring freeze, Sacred Heart will realign its workforce, then decide if it needs to make layoffs, hospital managers have said.

Insurance commissioners from Washington and Idaho have ordered the combined sale of three insurance companies owned by bankrupt Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. Money from the sale should boost the financial recovery of Metropolitan creditors, estimated now at around 15 cents on the dollar, and marks significant progress in the bankruptcy case.

Investors battered by the failure of Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. should get a look next month at a revised Bankruptcy Court plan that estimates a return to them of 15 cents on the dollar. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams issued a terse 30-word order last month for lawyers in the case to submit the new plan of reorganization to hasten the conclusion of Spokane's largest business failure.

A Spokane woman has filed a bankruptcy court claim alleging that a Roman Catholic priest in Spokane leveraged his influence as counselor and spiritual adviser into a sexual relationship that ended about 20 years ago. The claim by Joan Healy-Hartill is reportedly in excess of $10,000 to reimburse her for counseling expenses. It is among the few formal claims alleged victims of sexual abuse have filed in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of the Spokane Catholic Diocese.