Today's hits from the big national dailies:

New York Times

Washington Post
In Mexico, Migration Issue Gets No Traction
Ahead of July Vote, Presidential Candidates Find Little to Gain From Highly Charged Debate in U.S.

Google to Launch Government Search Site

A Winner on the Rebound
Darnellia Russell, the Focus of "The Heart of the Game," Knows How to Play Catch-Up

Los Angeles Times

Seattle Times
Cantwell supports special envoy for Iraq

Houston Chronicle

...and from Northwest regional papers.

The Oregonian
The ladies are landed
More solo women are skipping the wedding ring and buying the house

Portland City Council backs police and fire funds overhaul
The 5-0 decision opens the door for voters to end the nation's only municipal pay-as-you-go pension and disability system

West Nile virus misses forecast
Hundreds of cases were predicted in Oregon after an August 2004 illness, but only 8 have been identified

Buyer has plans for vacant hospital
Vibra Healthcare, a privately held company based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., which is poised to buy old Physicians, and convert it into Oregon's first long-term acute-care hospital.

Salem Statesman Journal
Gaming compact's timing raises questions of political gamesmanship
Before the primary, Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a deal to expand gaming at the Spirit Mountain Casino even as its owner, the Grand Ronde tribe, was running attack ads against him.

Moving school for blind raises safety fears
Public hearings address plan to share deaf-school campus

Portland Business Journal

Bend Bulletin
Bend police department adds downtown patrol
New officer will add to patrols in central Bend

Eugene Register Guard

Eugene Weekly

LaGrande Observer
Process Gets the Lead Out
A Libby, Mont., man runs a company that removes lead shot from the soil at trap shooting ranges in the western United States.

Lake County Examiner (weekly)

East Oregonian (subscription only)
Proposed regional university center comes into focus
Hermiston, EOU, BMCC hope to offer better opportunities for higher learning

Hermiston Herald
Tri City Herald
Farm loss crops up
The toll from this soggy spring so far includes heavy losses to the cherry and hay crops that have left farmers reeling.

Vit plant cost continues to climb
Hanford's vitrification plant potentially could cost as much as $11.55 billion, according to Bechtel National's latest estimate, a trade publication is reporting.

Sisters Nugget
McDonald's arsonist "guilty except for insanity"
Nicholas Patterson, 24, a Sisters High School graduate, will spend up to 20 years in the Oregon State Hospital after being found "guilty except for insanity" on July 13 in the arson fire that destroyed the Sisters McDonald's during its construction in 2005.

the Source (Bend's alternative weekly)

Central Oregonian (Prineville)

Madras Pioneer
M37 Committee plans recalls
 Just as the Cogentrix issue divided the county early in the decade, Measure 37 is shaping up as the most controversial issue of the mid-2000s.

Baker City Herald
Crosswalk enforcement stings two, attracts protest
Protestors believe money spent on the "sting," which could result in a $253 fine for drivers who fail to respond appropriately to police officers who cross the road during the operation, could be better spent.

Wallowa County Chieftain

Blue Mountain Eagle
Forest work chips away at fuel load
Growing market for biomass and fence logs
A unique project here is putting people to work and reducing the fuel load in the Umatilla National Forest

Argus Observer (Ontario)
The next step
A coalition of local residents opposed to the construction of a bio-refinery outside of Ontario city limits will take their case to a state land board in a move that could stall the venture indefinitely.

Corvallis Gazette Times

Albany Democrat-Herald
Power restored in Corvallis
Power was restored this morning to an estimated 8,000 customers of Pacific Power in Corvallis.

Lebanon Express updated late morning
Hazmat investigation found no problem at ENTEK
An investigation into a possible chemical release at ENTEK on Tuesday, June 6, turned out to be little more than a hazmat (hazardous materials) exercise for the plant and local firefighters.

The Columbian (Vancouver) updated late morning
Report criticizes Hall's hiring practices
Ridgefield Police Chief Bruce Hall has a pattern of firing officers from one department and rehiring them at other police agencies he becomes associated with, exposing those departments to "great liability," according to a report released this week.

The Dalles Chronicle

Hood River News

The Daily Astorian (most stories subscription only)
Tillamook Headlight Herald

theworldlink (South Coast)

Klamath Falls Herald & News
Gas line would cross farms
A pipeline that would transport enough natural gas each day to heat 1 million homes has been proposed from Coos Bay to Malin. If approved, construction would begin in summer 2009, with operation starting in fall 2010. FERC will hold public meetings to take citizen opinion about the project during the summer. A 30-day period to take written testimony will be announced soon. The gas pipeline company must negotiate 75-foot-wide easements with 450 landowners along the route.

Ashland Daily Tidings
Bears get comfortable, make others less so
ODFW: Urban issues complicate wildlife management
More bears appear to be creeping into Ashland, but it's unclear whether the increased sightings are signs of a real problem.

Roseburg News Review
Alleged arson killer could get death penalty
A Douglas County Circuit Court judge decided Wednesday that if jurors find Paul David Fahey Jr. guilty of aggravated murder, they can also recommend he be sentenced to death.

Medford Mail Tribune
Coker Butte bottleneck in state plan
A realignment of Coker Butte Road and Highway 62 and supplemental work on the Ashland overpasses are included in a draft proposal for the state transportation program.

Resort plan faces opposition
Opponents of an $80 million destination resort southeast of Ashland told Jackson County commissioners Wednesday that the proposal doesn't bear any relation to earlier plans and should be rejected

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