Judge keeps shield on West computer

Visiting Superior Court Judge Richard Miller refused Monday to modify his November ruling blocking public access to information and images from Gay.com on the City Hall computer of former Mayor Jim West.

Last May, while investigating abuse-of-office allegations against West, The Spokesman-Review used the state’s Open Records Act to seek access to the material on his government-owned computer.

When city attorneys were prepared to release the material, West and his attorneys took legal action, blocking the newspaper and the public from accessing the material on the computer.

The judge, reiterating his earlier ruling, said during Monday’s telephone hearing that Gay.com members have some expectation of privacy, even if their images ended up on West’s computer.

Newspaper attorney Duane Swinton argued that men who post the pictures on Gay.com, using screen names, want to be seen and waive any presumption of privacy by willingly posting information on the Internet.

Gas leak causes blast at corrections center

A natural-gas leak caused a small explosion Monday morning at the Airway Heights Corrections Center.

The blast occurred in a manhole outside the facility’s secure perimeter, spokeswoman Risa Klemme said. No staff or offenders were injured, and no inmates escaped.

The explosion occurred about 7 a.m. in the area where delivery trucks go through security clearance, Klemme said. The buildings adjacent to the area, occupied by staff, were evacuated.

Officials think the blast was triggered when a staff member turned on the heat in an officer station at the area, Klemme said. Airway Heights and Avista Utilities responded.

Vance leaving post with state GOP

State Republican Chairman Chris Vance is stepping down to find a better-paying job “in the private sector” after five years at the head of the state party.

Vance, 43, a former state legislator and King County councilman, took over the party in 2001 after the defeat of Republican Sen. Slade Gorton. He pushed the state GOP to refocus on growing suburban areas and maintain its dominance in Eastern Washington.

During his tenure, the state was forced to scrap its open primary system under court challenges from the state’s Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. When Republican Dino Rossi won the initial ballot count and first recount but was edged out by Democrat Christine Gregoire in the second recount, Vance and the state GOP mounted a lawsuit asking for a new election.

Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges eventually ruled he had no authority to order a new election and determined that Gregoire’s election was valid. Rossi declined to appeal, but Vance and the state GOP have been touting him as a gubernatorial candidate for 2008 since.

Vance said Monday he will resign Jan. 28, when the GOP state committee meets to choose new leadership. State Vice Chairwoman Fredi Simpson said she would run for the top spot.

Vance did not announce where he hopes to work next, saying only “as a husband and father, I need to make decisions that are in the best interests of my family, and that means taking advantage of opportunities I now have in the private sector.”

Grant to finance complex for elderly

Federal housing officials Monday announced a $2.1 million grant to build a 25-unit low-income housing complex for elderly people in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will also provide a five-year rental subsidy of nearly $400,000, according to an agency news release. Elderly residents will pay 30 percent of their income for rent, and the federal government will contribute the remainder of the cost through the subsidy.

The project “will allow residents to remain within the neighborhood they are most comfortable living in,” said Arlene Patton, director of the HUD office in Spokane. “It also strengthens the revitalization efforts of the East Central community.”

The grant was awarded to the East Central Community Organization, which will work with the 5th and Stone Senior Housing Project and consultant Kiemle & Hagood. The two-story building will consist of 24 one-bedroom units, as well as a unit for the building’s manager.

To be eligible to live in the building, a household must be “very low-income,” which means it has an income of less than 50 percent of the region’s median income.

The grant is one of five in Washington state, and it is part of a $575 million nationwide program to expand supportive living for the elderly. The program supports housing that allows independent living but provides support such as transportation, cooking and cleaning.