Cruise captain pleads not guilty

A Celebrity Cruises ship captain who was arrested last week on suspicion of operating a vessel while intoxicated pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday.

Periklis Petridis, 47, a native of Greece who was fired by the cruise line immediately after his arrest, pleaded not guilty to the single charge of operating a vessel while under the influence. The Coast Guard says Petridis broke federal law because his blood-alcohol content was higher than the federal maritime limit of 0.04 percent while on duty.

His attorney Anne Bremner said she will seek to have the charge dismissed because her client was not drinking while on duty as the ship was not scheduled to leave the dock for hours and he was tested with faulty breathalyzer equipment.

The vessel Mercury was docked at Pier 66 in Seattle on May 19 when a Coast Guard investigator boarded the ship to check on a safety violation involving a lifeboat lift. The investigator smelled alcohol on Petridis several hours before the departure time, according to court documents.

Petridis, who is being held on $100,000 bail, will be staying at a Seattle hotel until his next court appearance scheduled for June 6.

Seattle

Clinton's visit here is postponed

Former President Clinton's expected visit to Seattle next month has been postponed.

Clinton was to attend fundraising events for Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, next Saturday.

No reason has been given for the cancellation, but McDermott's office said Clinton will come to Seattle later this summer.

Later the same day, Clinton was set to appear with McDermott at Seattle Center for a discussion on the First Amendment.

All money raised would go to McDermott's legal-defense fund to help defray costs of his litigation with Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

People who already purchased tickets for the McDermott event will receive notice that their tickets are valid for the future event. Refunds also may be requested.

Teen injured by car driven by girl, 16

A 15-year-old boy was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Friday after being hit by a car driven by a 16-year-old girl near Marysville.

The call to 60th Drive Northeast and 86th Street Northeast came in at about 2:45 p.m., said Snohomish County Sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch.

The boy's condition was not released Friday.

The accident is under investigation, and there were no arrests, Niebusch said.

In an unusual move, the state has revoked the certification for an outpatient drug- and alcohol-treatment facility in Kent after a history of problems.

Hope Recovery Services had been serving about 100 people, many of them court-ordered into treatment and speaking only Spanish. Without certification, the center can no longer accept court-ordered clients.

According to Julian Gonzales, a manager in the state Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the state had worked with the center since 1999 to fix deficiencies. In January, a Spanish-speaking counselor left, and patients had to translate for each other. Recently, the only person who was providing services was an office manager who had no clinical training.

The state resorts to revoking a center's certification only once every few years, Gonzales said.

The treatment center was closed on Friday, and no one there could be reached for comment.

Seattle

Some claims against doctor dismissed

A King County Superior Court judge on Friday dismissed the claims of 10 women who accused Dr. Dennis Momah of impersonating his twin brother, former obstetrician-gynecologist Charles Momah, during gynecological examinations.

Charles Momah is serving a 20-year sentence for rape and indecent liberties of former patients. He is appealing the conviction. He remains a defendant in some of the dismissed cases, all brought by his former patients.

Andrew Carrington, lawyer for Dennis Momah, said counterclaims accusing the patients of false accusations are pending, as are 15 other cases that the doctor will seek to have dismissed.

Wednesday, a Pierce County judge ruled that one of Dennis Momah's former patients had fabricated accusations against him, and ordered her to pay her former doctor $2.8 million plus legal costs.

The judge also ordered the patient's lawyer to pay penalties of $300,000 and legal costs.

Times staff and news services