Best of the Northwest — 6/8/05

Workers at the Boeing Co.’s Renton, Wash. assembly plant work on the new-generation Boeing 737 assembly line Tuesday. As the Boeing Co. fights to reclaim the commanding lead it once held in selling and delivering jets — especially over France-based rival Airbus SAS — it is racking up orders right and left, and the narrow-body 737 continues to be Boeing’s hottest seller/APhoto.

The first legal test of a recall petition against Mayor Jim West will be reviewed today by visiting Benton County Superior Court Judge Craig Matheson . The judge will consider only that if the allegations are true, they would be sufficient to prove malfeasance or misfeasance. The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. here .

1. Eric Devericks /Seattle Times looks at Demo Poohbah Howard Dean’s fund-raising visit to Seattle here . And David Horsey /PI rubs salt in Dino Rossi’s wounds here .

2. Washington Repubs believe the sky’s the limit for gubernatorial wannabe Dino Rossi after his fierce, narrow defeat in the election that almost never ended here .

3. Murder charges are pending against two Spokane teens who allegedly helped kill a friend for 2 ounces of marijuana here .

4. The teachers union is pressuring a school district in Kirkland, Wash., to evict from school property the congregation of a pastor who’s outspoken against gay rights here .

5. The Idaho Board of Education is proposing changes to the way universities and their fund-raising foundations operate, in the wake of the multimillion-dollar collapse of the University of Idaho’s attempted expansion into Boise, according to Shawn Vestal/SR, here .

6. IMHO-NW: Danny Westneat /Seattle Times ( Dying seventysomething needs pot ), D.F. Oliveria /SR ( Hold BNSF depot accountable ), Wesley Smith /National Review ( Oregon wrong about controlled substances ), Dan Popkey /Idaho Statesman ( Ken Loudermilk: An Idaho original ), and Susan Paynter /PI ( When Marine recruiters go too far ).

*Idaho’s going to allow Kansas fight for similar death penalty here .

*Oregon Senate committee OKs civil unions here

*A Tri-City Washington woman who was bitten 30 times by two dogs that killed her pet cat is facing possible surgery for nerve damage here .