All finalist names going to Obama

Washington’s two senators will forward to the White House the names of all three finalists for a vacancy on the federal bench in Eastern Washington, their staffs said Thursday.

In past selections, the congressional delegation has let the White House know their favored candidate if more than one name was forwarded.

But this time the senators will send all three names, said Matt McAlvanah, press secretary to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. An article in Thursday’s edition of The Spokesman-Review reported otherwise. The candidates are Stan Bastian, of Wenatchee, and Bill Etter and Rosanna Peterson, both of Spokane. The senators will interview all three, but President Barack Obama will make the lifetime appointment.

Meanwhile, Etter has updated his resume to remove a reference indicating that he is an adjunct faculty member at Gonzaga Law School. Etter said he isn’t teaching any courses this semester.

United Way ends short of goal

Spokane County United Way’s 2008 campaign raised $4.5 million, short of its goal but exceeding last year’s campaign by $55,000.

Tim Henkel, president and CEO of Spokane County United Way, said the organization’s board set a goal of $4.7 million in June, before the U.S. economy’s dramatic decline. In a news release, Henkel called the response from donors “remarkable … especially given the financial challenges and uncertainty faced by our community and the country.”

Pain patch thefts land two in jail

Police say a Spokane man entered care facilities pretending to be a visitor or a neighbor of residents and stole fentynol patches off their bodies.

Cory Morse, 22, and girlfriend Lacey B. Sell, 19, were in Spokane County Jail after an investigation into the thefts, said Spokane police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. Each faces six counts of first-degree theft and four counts of second-degree burglary, she said.

Fentynol is 80 times stronger than morphine, officials say. The patch is applied to a patient’s skin for a slow release of painkiller. Some addicts chew the patches.

“At least five victims were victimized multiple times,” DeRuwe said. Detectives think there are at least 12 additional victims.

Police say Sell had been employed at long-term care facilities where she allegedly began using the patches. She is accused of soliciting Morse to obtain the patches after she lost the jobs.