The collapse of the California salmon stocks makes people wonder: Could it happen here? The Sacramento River is a prime source for the fish caught on the California coast. The Columbia River is the backbone for Washington. The Sacramento is No. 2 and the Columbia No. 1 in the world for salmon production from a river system. Go to article.

If Californians approve the $10 billion bond proposal – enough to provide initial financing for the $42 billion system that could link north and south through the agricultural Central Valley –they will likely see the zooming trains in about a decade. The price tag may sound ominous in shaky financial times. But the project could turn out to be half the cost of alternatives, proponents say. They calculate that the additional 13.5 million people expected to reside in California within 20 years will result in 90 million to 115 million more intercity or region-to-region trips. Supporting the travelers would require at least $82 billion in upgrades, including 2,970 additional miles of freeway lanes, 90 new airport gates, and five new runways. Go to article.

B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner says the government's new climate-change legislation permits too much secrecy and should be changed before it becomes law. David Loukidelis wrote to Environment Minister Barry Penner and Energy Minister Richard Neufeld last week, saying sections of two pieces of recently introduced legislation represent "a significant encroachment" on freedom of information laws. Go to article.

The state House has added more money in a $2.3 billion capital budget to help cushion the state's neediest residents from the financial crunch they're feeling from high oil prices. But that could spell the end of a proposal to dole out $500 to every Alaskan. Go to article.

Nearly two working-age Montanans and one Wyomingite die each week because they lack health insurance, a new report says. Go to article.