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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Can you help Met investors?

The Spokesman-Review

Question: There are claims that upwards of 15,000 investors had investments in the now-defunct Metropolitan Mortgage/Summit Securities fiasco. Perhaps the S-R can find the names, and/or addresses and/or phone numbers of these investors?

On a one-on-one basis we are at the mercy of the attorneys who are allegedly handling our investments, but I suspect that these guys/gals are eating up what is left of Met/Summit and we may not have anything coming in the long run once they are through.

Unless we can assemble and do things mutually, we don’t even know who the guy/gal is that is in this thing with us on our investments. — Don Thomason, Moses Lake

Answer: You might want to consult a Web site posted by Metropolitan to keep investors apprised of progress in the bankruptcy case. The site, at www.mtgbankruptcy.com, allows people to access a “creditor matrix” for free. There are three such tables, one for Metropolitan Mortgage, and one each for affiliates Summit Securities and Metropolitan Investment Securities. Each creditor matrix includes the name of every investor, the amount the person invested and the person’s address (or at least city of residence).

Reporter John Stucke says he has made extensive use of this online tool for such things as contacting investors and checking the veracity of public statements and claims by investors. Using the matrix for research can be tedious and time consuming, but Stucke says he’s found it to be very accurate. — Addy Hatch, business editor

Crossword is puzzling

Question: I am writing in regard to the switch in crossword puzzle providers. The switch to the Penny Press is definitely not an improvement. I would appreciate knowing whether there is a chance it will change back if enough of us comment. As a daily user of the crossword, I would appreciate your reason behind the change. — Carol Smawley, Pullman

Answer: The daily crossword puzzle is one of many features that we get from Associated Press. A couple of weeks ago, AP changed subcontractors, and the puzzle now comes from Penny Press. We were not asked and had no choice in the matter. You are not the only reader who has contacted us about the change, and we welcome your comments. However, we do find ourselves in an interesting dilemma: of the comments we’ve received some readers complain that they can no longer look up the solutions in crossword dictionaries, some say the new crossword is too difficult and some say it’s way too easy. As we can’t devote an entire page to a selection of crosswords (other publications take care of that), what we have to do is find that magic crossword everyone likes. It’s doubtful that crossword is out there. That being said, we are looking at different crosswords and things may change again. — Pia Hansen, features editor