Board clears McDevitt of conflict of interest
James McDevitt does not have a conflict of interest between the River Park Square project and his role as U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington, a state bar association panel ruled this month.
A bar association disciplinary board dismissed a complaint filed in 2007 by former Spokane City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, who had claimed a conflict existed because McDevitt worked for a law firm involved in the downtown mall renovation before his appointment as the district’s top federal prosecutor. But bar association investigators said no conflict existed because McDevitt never represented a mall participant and the Department of Justice at the same time – which is how the conflict is defined in the rules of professional conduct – and he told the government his firm was a defendant in civil litigation over the mall when he was nominated.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility and federal attorneys from Western Washington both investigated Rodgers’ evidence “without finding any basis to proceed,” Linda Eide, bar association senior disciplinary counsel, said in October. Bar investigators reviewed Rodgers’ complaint and didn’t find the conflict of interest rule applicable.
Rodgers’ asked the bar to review Eide’s decision, but a three-person review committee agreed this month with Eide and dismissed the complaint. A spokeswoman for the bar association said Thursday the matter is closed.
Jim Camden
‘Lion King’ returns for Best of Broadway
WestCoast Entertainment announced its 2009-2010 Best of Broadway series, and it includes the return of “Disney’s The Lion King.”
Here’s the lineup:
• “Fiddler on the Roof,” Sept. 1-6, starring Chaim Topol, who played Tevye in the 1971 film version. This will be Topol’s farewell tour.
• “Disney’s The Lion King,” Nov. 9-Dec. 6, the Tony-winning spectacle based on the animated movie. In 2005, this show ran for six weeks in Spokane, to about 98 percent capacity.
• “Avenue Q,” Feb. 11-14, the 2004 Tony-winner which combines people and puppets in a show which has been called “subversive” and “wicked fun.”
• “Little House on the Prairie,” April 8-11, a new musical version of the classic books, starring Melissa Gilbert.
All shows are at the INB Performing Arts Center.
One optional production was also announced, the Chad Mitchell Trio’s 50th Anniversary concert, Oct. 24.
Orders are now being taken for both new and current subscribers through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
Staff reports