Jim West

Amid a mushrooming scandal over allegations he molested at least two boys and used city-owned computers and internship offers to solicit sex with young men, the mayor of Spokane, Wash., said Monday he would take a few weeks of leave to prepare a vigorous defense against the charges. The mayor, James E.

In this normally placid city, which some call "the world's biggest small town" and where a road sign proclaims there have been no traffic fatalities this year, the shocking questions about the mayor and the local newspaper just keep coming. Is Mayor James E. West a pedophile, as two men alleged to the paper last week? Did he offer young men jobs and perks in a bid to have sex with them?

The state Republican Party joined Spokane County GOP leaders in demanding that Spokane Mayor James E. West, once one of the party's top elected officials, resign in the wake of a sex scandal. West, a former state Senate majority leader, has said he will stay and fight allegations that he misused his current office and that he sexually abused two boys decades ago. The mayor has scheduled a news conference today at which he has indicated he will answer questions about his conduct.

Spokane Mayor Jim West, embroiled in a City Hall sex scandal, will face a recall election Dec. 6 now that opponents have gathered enough signatures to put his fate on the ballot. Elections Supervisor Paul Brandt said that workers stopped counting after verifying 12,684 signatures, 117 more than needed for a recall election. West, 55, is accused of misusing his office by seeking dates from young men over a website and offering them gifts, trips and jobs at City Hall.

Spokane Mayor Jim West said he no longer engaged in gay sex and had stopped visiting Internet chat rooms. "I wish there was a rewind button," West said. "Basically, that's what I'm asking the public for: a second chance." However, polls indicate that a second chance isn't likely when voters decide Tuesday whether to recall West from office.

The ads for the new movie "Wild Wild West" speak the truth. It is "a whole new West"--because this "West" is a whole lot different from the popular 1960s TV series on which it is based. Both versions follow the fantastic adventures of two government agents who, on orders from President Ulysses Grant, battle exotic villains in the days of the Old West. The main difference is that, for this new train ride, the soul of the original series got left behind.