Today's hits from the big national dailies:

New York Times
(AP) Blackberry Fungus Enters U.S., Hits Oregon
Rust fungus hits! I just can't help but say a little thanks for indigenous plants. Just over the past year, you can see how fast blackberries are spreading in wild places all over the valley, pushing out native species. What kind of toll will this take on the $30 million blackberry industry? That's another story.... and likely not a happy one.

Washington Post
Prison Experts See Opportunity For Improvement
Bleak story about the drain of resources out of the nation's prisons. Most of the article's concerned with health care, but it also notes that Oregon's Dept of Corrections used to have an extensive education program. Today, the state pen has not even one teacher on staff.

Los Angeles Times
Railroad Must Cover Birth Control
In a sharply critical ruling, a Nebraska federal district judge said Union Pacific Corp. illegally discriminated against female employees by barring prescription contraceptive coverage from its health plans - even as it underwrote the cost of Viagra and drugs for male-pattern baldness. One of the plaintiffs here is from Idaho.

The Big Picture: XM Radio Is Out of This World
"XM has rescued great music from exile. With 4.4 million subscribers, the satellite network is booming, having more than doubled its subscriber base in less than a year."
(This column also includes a profile of the man behind XM's programming. Strangely enough, he's the guy who came up with the format changes that have made commercial radio so balkanized. --AB)

Seattle Times
War's mental wounds command new attention
Article on how NW military docs are coping with psychological trauma in returning Iraq vets. One former Oregon Guard solider talks about the stigma of admitting to PTSD.

...and from the northwest's regional papers.

Salem Statesman Journal

Bend Bulletin
All Warm Springs fires may be controlled soon

Eugene Register Guard-posted at noon
Nation's ski visits dropped slightly in 2004-2005 season
...But skier visits dropped by more than half in parts of the Pacific Northwest. Most of that can be attributed to warm weather .

Eugene Weekly

LaGrande Observer

Lake County Examiner (weekly)

East Oregonian (subscription only)

Hermiston Herald

Tri City Herald
Kennewick district to stop watering grass at 15 schools
Anybody else hear of water-related cutbacks?

Sisters Nugget

the Source (Bend's alternative weekly)

Central Oregonian (Prineville)

Madras Pioneer

Baker City Herald
Baker benefits from former residents moving back in
"Rural rebound" may be reversing a population trend.

Wallowa County Chieftain

Blue Mountain Eagle

Argus Observer (Ontario)
Debate intensifies over trade pact as vote looms
"Oregon Congressman Greg Walden, R-Oregon, focused over the weekend on the upcoming vote on the Central American-Dominican Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)....The House is expected to take up the controversial measure sometime this week and Walden remained undecided on how he will vote Friday."

Corvallis Gazette Times

Albany Democrat-Herald

Lebanon Express updated late morning

The Columbian (Vancouver) updated late morning
City not gung-ho on transportation district
"Vancouver is in no rush to form a transportation district that would extend outside the city limits." City council apparently talked about this Monday.

The Dalles Chronicle

Hood River News

The Daily Astorian (most stories subscription only)

Tillamook Headlight Herald

theworldlink (South Coast)

APRIL'S PICK
Mars Talks Up Cocoa's Medicinal Potential
This is not news--I could have told you about chocolate's medicinal properties.
But seriously, folks... this story has some interesting angles in that you've got an enormous corporation that's trying to expand its dominance from industrial food production, into medical products. Kinda creepy.

Quick links to nearly every daily in the state
http://www.usnpl.com/ornews.html
http://www.cascadelink.org/ritnet/news.html