John Stucke

The U.S. trustee has appointed a second creditors' committee in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane bankruptcy case, reacting to sharp criticism that alleged victims who have pressed sexual-abuse lawsuits were being marginalized. Wednesday's development is the latest wrinkle in the bankruptcy, which got off to a troublesome start with allegations that the diocese somehow tampered with the committee established to represent victims in the case.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended the trading of Courtside Products Inc.'s stock, a small Spokane company that makes sports bags. Listed on the pink sheets, which detail over-the-counter stock prices, Courtside shares were worth less than half a penny when the SEC suspended trades for 13 days beginning Friday.

Greg Arpin, with stacks of legal papers and studies about memory tucked under his arm, is a lawyer with a daunting task. He is defending the Catholic Diocese of Spokane against monstrous claims that priests sexually abused boys decades ago.

Deaconess Medical Center plans to close its onsite daycare operation and refer parents and their children to the new St. Anne's Children and Family Center. Just five blocks away, the new St. Anne's center is a vibrant choice for parents who now have their children enrolled at Deaconess, said Deaconess spokeswoman Christine Varela.

Alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests filed a toughly worded rebuke of the U.S. Trustee and the creditors' committee she appointed in the Spokane Catholic Diocese bankruptcy case. Asserting that U.S. Trustee Ilene Lashinsky was wrong when she appointed Catholic Church sympathizers to the key victims' committee during the bankruptcy, well-known Seattle attorney Dillon Jackson asked federal Judge Patricia Williams to intervene.

Many payroll stubs in Spokane County are again showing a double-digit rise in health insurance premiums, the unpleasant but all-too-familiar realization that cost of living raises are being gobbled up by, well … the cost of living. Spokane City Hall, for example, is dealing with a 19 percent premium hike, said spokeswoman Marlene Fiest. There are 2,000 city workers. While they don't pay a premium for themselves, they are hit with rising rates to insure spouses and dependents.

Deaconess Medical Center said Wednesday it's laying off 56 employees and closing several of its children's care services as it attempts to improve its financial condition. The hospital, along with sister operation Valley Hospital and Medical Center, will shift its pediatric intensive care, pediatric oncology and pediatric surgery patients to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital.

Triumph Group Inc. has landed a $35 million contract to manufacture floor panels for the Airbus A380 plane at its Spokane factory. The deal marks the first time that employees at the former Boeing plant will count Airbus as a customer rather than a competitor.

Amid the numerous questions fired at Spokane's Catholic bishop during a special creditors' meeting Wednesday, attorneys representing clergy abuse victims focused on two controversial issues: the makeup of the creditors' committee and the ownership and value of the parishes, schools and other entities in the diocese. Dozens of creditors – victims and others potentially owed money by the Catholic Diocese of Spokane – filled the third-floor courtroom to learn more about Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and to ask questions of Bishop William Skylstad, the diocese's attorneys and other officials.

Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities plans to sell its stake in GenPrime Inc. for $451,780 in cash to help settle its bankruptcy case. The sale is essentially a stock buyback for GenPrime, which will pay Metropolitan a fraction of the stock's original purchase price.

A five-member creditors' committee appointed to represent alleged sexual abuse victims of Catholic clergy in the Spokane Diocese bankruptcy case has come under criticism. Of the five, two have hired attorneys to sue the diocese for sexual abuse. The other three have not.

Aluminum sheet made at Kaiser Aluminum's Trentwood rolling mill is being used as vehicle armor, protecting soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from roadside bombs and grenades. About four million pounds of half-inch thick aluminum sheet has been sold to armor makers who rig Humvees and other army trucks, Kaiser said.

Three federal officers in charge of security at Spokane International Airport resigned Wednesday amid employee complaints and an inquiry by the federal Department of Homeland Security. The resignations of Federal Security Director David Kuper, along with screening director James Doster and screening manager Roy Fagan will not affect security measures at the airport, said agency officials.

Early skirmishes among lawyers involved in the Catholic Diocese of Spokane's bankruptcy may indicate the kind of adversarial case both sides had hoped to avoid. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed nine days ago and already attorneys representing alleged victims of sexual abuse by clergy want attorney Shaun Cross and his legal colleagues at Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke & Miller off the case.

So just how many people are on the payroll of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane? That depends on whom you ask.