Best of the Northwest — 6/21/05

In a move to regain his leadership role following sexual misconduct allegations, Spokane Mayor Jim West (shown above at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Spokane skate park) appeared at a public safety meeting to outline a plan to raise taxes to restore some police, fire and library services here . Meanwhile, city biz leaders are pressing West for quick action on a recall effort here .

1. Eric Devericks /Seattle Times doodles re: white-hot real estate market here .

2. Perry Manley didn’t want to pay child support, and the seeming unfairness of a system that hounded him to turn over his hard-earned cash to his ex-wife had made him angry and obsessed over the past 15 years. That obsession led to his death at the hands of two Seattle police officers inside the federal courthouse in Seattle here .

3. A 29-year-old Kennewick police officer fired for an April road-rage incident, during which he allegedly pointed a loaded pistol at another motorist while off duty, was charged Monday in Benton County Superior Court here .

4. A honey-loving bear was destroyed after making the one-strike-and-your-out mistake of ransacking a cabin in the Whitefish, Mont., area here .

5. WSU is recrafting its harassment policy following criticism over the way it handled a situation in which white basketball players harassed an Asian-American student last year here .

6. IMHO-NW: Spokesman-Review ( Washington DUI law ), Doug Clark /Spokesman-Review ( Touring Geiger Correctional ), Idaho Statesman ( Hikers, campers should help USFS out ), Lois Sweet Dorman /Seattle Times ( Sacred Snoqualmie Falls ), and Art Thiel /PI ( Young Seattle M’s ).

*Spokane, Seattle and Portland rank 68, 95, and 97 in the latest listing of the top 100 sweatiest cities in the US here and complete list here .

*A community college degree and high GPA no longer are guarantees for acceptance at Washington four-year schools here .

*Law enforcement officers in North Idaho are cracking down on illegal fireworks here .

*5 unbuckled children from Boise ejected from vehicle in crash, 2 critical, here .

Orbusmax provides the rest of the Northwest here .