Phoenix

Ex-firefighter sentenced for starting wildfire

A former firefighter who admitted igniting what became the biggest wildfire in Arizona history was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

Leonard Gregg, who told authorities he was trying to make work for himself, pleaded guilty Oct. 20 in federal court to two counts of intentionally setting a fire. Gregg, 31, made no plea agreement and was given the maximum prison sentence.

He was also ordered to pay $27 million in restitution.

The fire started June 18, 2002, by Gregg, a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, merged with another started by a woman who was lost in the woods and trying to attract the attention of a helicopter.

The fire burned 469,000 acres in eastern Arizona, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing 30,000 people to evacuate.

Seattle

City to recognize same-sex marriages

This left-leaning city joined the gay marriage fight Monday, with the mayor announcing that City Hall will recognize unions of gay city employees who tie the knot elsewhere and six same-sex couples suing for the right to wed.

Mayor Greg Nickels issued an executive order requiring the city to recognize same-sex marriages by municipal employees.

“Seattle has often been in the forefront of protecting all its citizens regardless of sexual orientation,” Nickels said at a news conference. He also proposed an ordinance to extend protections for gay married couples throughout the city.

Meanwhile, six same-sex couples who applied for marriage licenses at the King County Administration Building were rejected because of a state law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

But King County Administrator Ron Sims invited the couples to sue him and the county, explaining that he supported the couples’ efforts but had no choice but to uphold the law.

Baltimore

Former police chief guilty in corruption case

Former Maryland Police Supt. Edward Norris pleaded guilty Monday to spending thousands of dollars from a Baltimore police department account on liquor, lavish meals and extramarital affairs while he was the city’s police commissioner.

Norris, 43, pleaded guilty to federal counts of conspiracy and filing a false tax return. Federal prosecutors said he was expected to get six to 12 months at sentencing June 21.

Norris left the city post in 2002 to become head of the Maryland State Police. He resigned from that job after he was indicted in December.

Norris and his former chief of staff, John Stendrini, were accused of misusing more than $20,000 from 2000 to 2002. Stendrini pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for June.

Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court rejects appeal by Boy Scouts

The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal from the Boy Scouts over what the organization says is discrimination because of its policy against hiring gays.

The case revisited the gay rights fight surrounding the high court’s ruling four years ago that the Boy Scouts have the right to ban openly homosexual scout leaders.

This time, the question was whether states may treat the Scouts differently from other organizations because of that policy.

The Scouts asked the justices to hear a case from Connecticut, where officials moved to drop the group from a list of charities that receive donations through a state employee payroll deduction plan.

That’s unconstitutional discrimination, the Boy Scouts had argued.

The Scouts lost two previous rounds in federal court, and Monday’s action means the case is over.