Happy Jess is a real life survivor

JESS Fletcher said she was surprised and happy to be nominatedfor outstanding bravery.

None could disagree with the nomination when they hear the 21-year-old's inspiring story -- a story of refusing to give up in theface of a overwhelming difficulties.

Jess, from St Clears, was involved in a car crash in December2008 and suffer a traumatic brain injury.

She spent several weeks in a coma in intensive care and herparents were told there was little chance she would recover.

In nominating her for this award, Jayne Davies takes up the storyand said Jess began a long and painful rehabilitation.

"Jess hung on and against the odds started her …

Palestinian Interior Minister Resigns

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Monday accepted the resignation of his interior minister following a new wave of factional fighting in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh had offered his resignation two weeks ago to protest the deteriorating security situation in Gaza. But Haniyeh had tried to persuade Kawasmeh to stay on.

After a new wave of fighting left six people dead, Haniyeh on Monday accepted the resignation, said two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media. Kawasmeh recently offered a security plan aimed at bringing law and order to Gaza, …

AB InBev sticks to Belgium as HQ

The head of the Anheuser-Busch InBev beer giant said Tuesday the global headquarters will stay in Belgium instead of moving to the United States, a choice of the power of tradition over the power of markets.

InBev's $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch last year raised fears in Belgium a centuries old tradition would die if the headquarters moved to the United States, the biggest market for the world's biggest brewer.

After the annual shareholders meeting Tuesday, CEO Carlos Brito said the logic to stay in Leuven close to Brussels was based on heritage and the appeal of such traditions that spawned iconic beers like Stella Artois.

"Our …

Nation/World BRIEFINGS

SECRECY ENDING: The woman who accused William Kennedy Smith of rapenow wants to be identified. Her stepfather said it's her way ofputting the situation behind her. Story on Page 3. GRAND FINALE: Mikhail S. Gorbachev requested a final Sovietparliament meeting to legislate an end to the Soviet Union andtransfer of power to the new commonwealth. Russian Vice PresidentAlexander V. Rutskoi, meanwhile, called Boris N. Yeltsin'sadministration a mix of incompetence and political ambition. Storieson Pages 6 and 40. DOUBLE TROUBLE: Massive layoffs announced by General Motors,combined with a grim warning from the usually cautious FederalReserve chairman, underscored how apparently …

'Panda' climbs to top of international box office

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After three weeks in release, "Kung Fu Panda 2" has finally kicked and chopped its way to the top of the international box-office charts with a weekend total of $56.5 million in 45 territories. The kid-friendly animated film has benefited from the booming 3-D overseas marketplace and its global appeal is evident, having earned over $330 million worldwide.

Big news as "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" becomes Disney's biggest international release ever with $695.9 million in revenue after a month in theaters. A fourth weekend total of $41.1 million in 46 territories lands the 3-D pirate epic in second place and propels it to a massive worldwide total of …

Bush to Call New Russian President

The United States said Monday it expects Russia's next president, Dmitry Medvedev, and his promised prime minister, current President Vladimir Putin, to be guided by the Russian constitution in the way they run the government.

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said President Bush looks forward to working with Medvedev after he replaces Putin and expects to talk with the president-elect in coming days.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey was asked whether the United States expects Putin to be the power behind the throne after Medvedev publicly assumes power.

"I expect that President Medvedev will be president of Russia (and) …

Over-50s in line for share of pounds3m

Groups for the over-50s in the North-east still have time to dipinto a pounds3 million pot of Big Lottery Fund cash.

Organisations have until August 24 to apply to the Primetimeinitiative.

The scheme aims to help Scotland's over-50s get together to keephealthy and active.

The Big Lottery Fund and BBC Scotland are to give …

Balance-sheet management: Maintaining financial stability

Is it any wonder that most bankers today feel as though they're trapped in a Ray Charles ballad about rainy nights in Georgia? The sluggish U.S. economy has cut the demand for business loans, while declining interest rates have trimmed the returns on most securities-resulting in the worst margin squeeze for banks in years.

"I hear that everywhere I go in the country today" says Charles Miller, managing director of investment banking at Alex Sheshunoff Management Services. "You can't get it on the loan side. You can't get it on the securities side. Those are the only two legal ways of getting [a return] that I know of."

Unfortunately there is no miracle picker-upper for the …

Britain calls for sanctions in the face of Zimbabwean president's defiance

Britain called for tough action as well as talk in the face of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's defiance and signs of disunity among his opposition.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged South Africa and the rest of the international community on Sunday to "unite behind a tough, strong, clear (U.N.) Security Council resolution" calling for international sanctions against Mugabe.

Miliband spoke to reporters after visiting a downtown Johannesburg church that is a refuge for Zimbabweans fleeing their homeland's political and economic crises.

South Africa, though, has said the proposed resolution could undermine President Thabo …

'Gypsy' takes a bow in breathtaking Ravinia production

It was one of the most highly anticipated events of the summertheater season, and it certainly did not disappoint.

This weekend's elaborate staged concert version of "Gypsy" -- theBroadway classic that, since its debut with Ethel Merman in 1959 hasleft even the most practiced divas panting for breath -- marked thefirst time Patti LuPone essayed the grueling and commanding role ofMama Rose. And she turned in a richly realistic yet red-hotperformance as the relentlessly driven Depression-era single motherwhose fear of abandonment is matched only by her fear of failure, andwhose primal hunger to be noticed is channeled into a fearsomeambition for her daughters.

The …

Major voter registration drive kicks off in 24th Ward

In an unprecedented effort to increase poll turnout throughout the state, the Illinois Voter Registration and Verification Campaign began on Saturday in the historic North Lawndale community on the city's West Side.

The 24th Ward is the first stop designated by the IVRVC, which started planning its campaign in the spring. The goal of the coalition is to register thousands of unregistered voters throughout the state, including the approximately 1.1 million unregistered voters in Cook County. Over half of these unregistered county voters reside in Chicago.

"We're wasting no one's time in this voter registration drive," Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) told the Chicago …

No. 1 Connecticut routs No. 2 North Carolina 88-58

Geno Auriemma isn't interested in talking about the gap between No. 1 Connecticut and the rest of women's college basketball. He might not have much of a choice after the way the Huskies dismantled second-ranked North Carolina on Monday night.

"I told the players in the locker room that the only gap I'm interested in is the one that exists between when we're playing great and when we're playing poorly," the coach said. "If that gap keeps narrowing, then I'll be happy."

That's perhaps the toughest competition the Huskies will face at this rate.

Renee Montgomery scored 21 points to help the Huskies beat the Tar Heels 88-58, …

President Mubarak defends actions of Egyptian security forces against protesters

CAIRO (AP) — President Mubarak defends actions of Egyptian security forces against protesters.

Santos to ex-staff: You can leave if you don't like me

Santos to ex-staff: You can leave if you don't like me

Because there are still three employees who once worked for her who testified against her during her federal corruption trial, former City Treasurer Miriam Santos this week said if they don't like her style of management, they can leave.

"If they had such problems with my management style, why would they stay?" she asked. "Get out. If you don't like it get out. I am the boss." Santos said she is coming back in a month after she clears the remaining legal hurdles.

There are also seven employees appointed by mayoral appointee City Treasurer Barbara Lumpkin.

Santos, who was recently released from federal prison after serving four months of a 40-month sentence for campaign finance abuse after an appeals court overturned her conviction, made her remarks during WVON's Cliff Kelley show.

"It was the mayor's Board of Ethics who never reported anybody else, runs over to the U.S. Attorney's office and to the corporation counsel's office" with charges of alleged campaign abuse. She accused the Corporation Counsel office of allegedly telling one of her male employees he had to "go before a grand jury and give testimony or he can meet with the FBI and then escorts him to an FBI office."

"They have this. I tried very hard to get along, and the majority media at times have been very unfair to me, increasingly unfair. I was a real tough boss. I admit it. I was vigilant, but that's why we weren't losing money because I was there. I made sure people were at their desk working."

Santos said she's talking about the Shakman position jobs that paid between $67,000 to $100,000. "I know a lot of people out there who'd love to have a job like that and who would gladly give the government and the taxpayers 40 hours a week. I know people who'd kill for an $80,000 job and the opportunity to do good."

During the investigation, Santos said: "The minute the FBI had come into my office there was Walter Knorr (chief financial officer) (saying) `we're taking over the office.' It reminded me of Rodney King, can't we all get along.

"What you want is to get the taxpayers to get the best service, to be treated with the respect they deserve and that's public officials who can get along for their best interests, and I wanted to believe that," she said.

Santos said her office is an independent one and vowed to "stay in the fight because I think it is an important one. It's one I really believe I have to fight."

Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

Cusack's class act saves 'Grace'; A single superb performance elevates war-related family drama

'Grace Is Gone' Rating 3 out of 4

Stanley John Cusack

Heidi Shelan O'Keefe

Dawn Gracie Bednarczyk

John Alessandro Nivola

Grace Dana Lynne

Gilhooley

The Weinstein Company presents a film written and directed byJames C. Strouse. Running time: 85 minutes. Rated PG-13 (forthematic material, brief strong language and teen smoking). Openingtoday at Webster Place.

John Cusack can project such tenderness and kindness. He doesn'toften play roles that give him the chance, but when he does ("SayAnything," "High Fidelity," "Being John Malkovich"), he knows how todo it. His character Stanley Phillips in "Grace Is Gone" is one ofhis most vulnerable and is the key to the movie's success.

He is a suburban dad with two young daughters and a wife in themilitary. He supports the war in Iraq and would be there himself ifhe didn't have bad eyes. One day, two Army officers come to his doorand he won't invite them in, as if he's reluctant to accept the newsthey've come to tell him: His wife has been killed in the war.

Their girls are Heidi (Shelan O'Keefe), 12 years old, and Dawn(Gracie Bednarczyk), who is 8. He sits them down in the living roomto break the news and finds that he simply cannot. Instead, in acrazy evasion, he improvises on the spur of the moment and announcesthey will get in the car and drive to Enchanted Gardens, a Floridatheme park they like. Heidi, who is very smart, thinks this soundsfishy: He's pulling them out of school to go on an unannouncedholiday? Dawn doesn't ask any questions.

The trip involves the usual cookie-cutter roadside chain eateriesand the usual interstate highway sameness, although it is punctuatedby a stop to visit Stanley's brother John (Alessandro Nivola), alayabout who rouses himself at the sight of Stanley to startattacking the war. Stanley won't be baited. He shares his secret,begs it be kept a secret and loads the girls back in the car.

Enchanted Gardens, as it turns out, is not quite enchanted enoughto be the right setting for breaking the bad news, which Heidi hasmore or less intuited on her own. But there does come a time on thebeach when the truth must be told, and he does it gently and withlove. That's what the movie is really about, anyway: not the war,but Stanley's love for his daughters.

There have been many scenes where mothers told children about thedeaths of their fathers, but almost none where the roles arereversed, as in "Grace Is Gone." The movie comes as a quietrevelation. Every time a news program features the faces and namesof U.S. troops killed in Iraq, I feel a little shock when they showa woman. It doesn't seem right. Getting killed in the war doesn'tseem right for anyone, of course, but you know what I mean.

"Grace Is Gone" is not a great movie, simply functional, butCusack gives a great performance. The film somehow doesn't live upto his work. It wasn't shot on video (and, for that matter, goodvideo these days can look great), but the screen looks dingy andsome life seems to be faded from it.

The story drags its feet a little, too, considering we know wherethey're going and what must happen when they get there. And apossible political confrontation between the two brothers is soadroitly sidestepped that the movie, although probably anti-war,never really declares itself. All we have is a father who has losthis wife and two girls who have lost their mother. The way Cusackhandles that, it's enough.

Few Europeans in town for Australian Masters at Huntingdale

For a European PGA Tour event, the Australian Masters has turned out to have a shortage of Europeans.

Danish golfer Thomas Bjorn was the only European player in the top 100 to travel to Melbourne's Huntingdale for the event, which is being co-sanctioned with the Australasian PGA Tour.

But Bjorn was forced to pull out of the tournament Wednesday to return to Denmark, where his wife, Pernilla, will undergo back surgery.

When Bjorn arrived Tuesday, he said the timing at the end of an extensive European season, the long-haul travel and lower prize money compared with other tournaments contributed to the low player turnout.

"Times have changed very much, especially the European Tour has changed in that we play a season that begins in the middle of January and finishes a week before Christmas," Bjorn said. "There's going to be times in the year when players are not going to play that much.

"Certainly the top players are going to feel that they've had long seasons ... I'm not surprised, I have to say, that there's not that many (European) people down here."

Sweden's Daniel Chopra is the highest profile player among the 35 Europeans in the field. Chopra won the Ginn sur Mer Classic on the U.S. PGA Tour in October, edging Fredrik Jacobsen and Shigeki Maruyama by a stroke at Tesoro in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The Masters begins Thursday on the par-72, 6,383-meter (6,980-yard) Huntingdale course. It offers total prize money of 1.5 million Australian dollars (US$1.35 million, euro910,000), and the winner receives A$270,000 (US$243,000, euro164,000).

On the U.S. PGA Tour and in some European events, the winner often receives close to what the Masters is offering as its total prize money.

Bjorn, who has twice finished second in the British Open and once in the U.S. PGA Championship, said golf's administrators have to look at scheduling.

"It's something that needs to be addressed more from a tour point of view, saying how are we going to make schedules work so that more of our top players can play in the events we want them to play in," added Bjorn.

Next week's New Zealand Open is also co-sanctioned by the European and Australasian tours, and there are few Europeans planning to play there.

The Australian PGA and the Australian Open follow on consecutive weeks in what has evolved _ through sponsorship problems and competition from other tours _ into only a four-week season on the Australasian Tour.

Aaron Baddeley, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Mark Hensby, John Senden and Peter Lonard lead the Australian contingent at the Masters. Australia's two top-ranked players, Adam Scott and former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, are not playing.

Avalanche-Blue Jackets Sums

Colorado 0 1 2_3
Columbus 1 1 0_2
First Period_1, Columbus, Huselius 12 (Nash, Tyutin), 12:28 (pp). Penalties_Duchene, Col (hooking), 11:55	Hannan, Col (cross-checking), 12:19	Umberger, Clm (hooking), 13:57	Nash, Clm (boarding), 15:03.
Second Period_2, Colorado, Cumiskey 4 (Liles), 1:46 (pp). 3, Columbus, Brassard 6 (Huselius, Hejda), 13:09. Penalties_C.Clark, Clm (roughing), 1:34	McLeod, Col, major (fighting), 2:44	Boll, Clm, major (fighting), 2:44	Foote, Col (roughing), 8:27	C.Clark, Clm (roughing), 8:27	Pahlsson, Clm (cross-checking), 14:18.
Third Period_4, Colorado, Stewart 12 (Stastny, Hannan), 5:28. 5, Colorado, Galiardi 5 (Hejduk, Wilson), 19:02. Penalties_Voracek, Clm (goaltender interference), 1:53	O'Reilly, Col (hooking), 16:38.
Shots on Goal_Colorado 8-15-14_37. Columbus 8-13-7_28.
Power-play opportunities_Colorado 1 of 5	Columbus 1 of 3.
Goalies_Colorado, Anderson 20-10-5 (28 shots-26 saves). Columbus, Mason 11-14-6 (37-34).
A_17,371 (18,144). T_2:20.
Referees_Rob Martell, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen_Tim Nowak, Mark Wheler.

Venezuela protests alleged US plane incursion

Venezuela wants the U.S. ambassador to explain a violation of its airspace by a U.S. Navy plane, the country's foreign minister said Monday.

The U.S. Navy plane was detected in Venezuelan airspace Saturday night near the Caribbean island of La Orchila, and questioned by the Caracas airport control tower, Defense Minister Gen. Gustavo Rangel Briceno said.

The Navy S-3 Viking, used for counter-narcotics missions, may have accidentally crossed into Venezuela's airspace while experiencing "intermittent navigational problems" on a training mission in international airspace, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the issue's sensitivity.

The Navy crew on the plane, which is based in Curacao, had some language problems during the three-minute radio conversation, the official said.

"They promptly responded and identified themselves as U.S. Navy, on a training mission in international airspace, and that a navigational error had possibly occurred," the official said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. respects Venezuelan sovereignty.

But Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy will nevertheless be called in for talks, and "we will ask for an explanation." Venezuela believes the flyover was deliberate, Rangel said.

The incident could aggravate tensions between the U.S. and its fifth largest oil supplier. President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of plotting an invasion and trying to destabilize his government, despite U.S. denials.

Maduro also alleged that Colombia's U.S.-allied government, as a "provocation," sent 60 troops about 875 yards across the nation's shared border on Friday. Colombia's defense minister denied any incursion.

Venezuelan Gen. Jesus Gonzalez said a group of Colombian troops again crossed the border on Monday in the same general area of Apure state. The matter was resolved when they left at the request of Venezuelan troops, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Amsterdam marijuana cafes saved from closure

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A city spokeswoman says 44 marijuana cafes in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam — about one in five — have been granted a one-year reprieve from closure.

The shops were to close Jan. 1 under a law passed by the previous national government mandating that all marijuana cafes around the country be at least 250 meters (yards) away from schools.

Spokeswoman Tahira Limon said Friday that the shops have been told they can remain open at least until January 2013.

The new conservative Dutch government wants to increase the cafes distance from schools to 350 meters (yards), which would mean the closure of half of the existing 223 cafes, known as "coffee shops."

But the city is attempting to negotiate an exemption to the rule. Nearly a quarter of tourists to Amsterdam visit a coffee shop.

Sporting an I _ not R _ Crist seeks union help

Gov. Charlie Crist, who shed the "R" next to his name and replaced it with an "I" _ asked for the labor union AFL-CIO's endorsement for Senate on Friday.

Crist, an independent candidate, made an unusual appearance before the union's leaders. The union traditionally supports Democratic candidates and Crist, a lifelong Republican until this month, had never sought its help.

"I'm here for several reasons. I am here to learn, I am here to listen and I am here to show respect. There's not enough of that happening right now in government and politics," Crist said in a soft, humble tone. "I want your help, I want your vote, I want your support, I want your endorsement and I am asking for it."

There were moments when it seemed the audience didn't know what to think of the appearance. The union's Florida president, Mike Williams, admitted when he introduced Crist that he thought someone was playing a joke on him when the governor asked to appear before the group as it decided on endorsements. Williams said the agenda had already been set.

"I was somewhat hesitant about changing the agenda, but when the governor calls, what do you do?" Williams said as the union members laughed. "You open your arms and welcome him."

Crist gave a brief biography, saying he hadn't met many of the people in the room.

"You may or may not know this, but I am not a Republican or Democrat," Crist said, to a smattering of laughter. "And that means that come September and October, it's going to be very lonely for me in terms of support from a political party. Very lonely. But that's OK, because for me it's about people, it's not about party,"

Unlike campaign events over the past year, when Crist was a Republican, he received applause when he talked about how proud he was to stand with President Barack Obama at a February 2009 rally in support of the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

That appearance is part of the reason former House Speaker Marco Rubio was able to rise from obscurity and take a commanding lead in the Republican primary. Crist decided last month to abandon the GOP contest and later changed his party registration.

"When I was a Republican governor, when the Democratic president of the United States of America came to Fort Myers, Florida, I went down to be with him," Crist said before he was interrupted by applause. "And I took a lot of grief from the Republicans just for me being decent to the president of the United States of America, who was bringing us a lot of money!"

One union member shouted, "Yeah!"

The Florida AFL-CIO is a federation of around 500 local labor unions and represents 500,000 members.

Crist faces a three-way race in November. Rubio is the likely Republican nominee and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is the Democratic front-runner.

Since getting out of the GOP primary, Crist has seemed more relaxed than he has been in months. Though no one asked, he turned to reporters just as he got in his SUV and said, "It's a lot more fun now."

BRUNO'S TOP 10

New restaurants offer a rush, but for food with history, Chicago'sageless eateries should not be forgotten.Lou Mitchell's Opened 1923. Breakfast is my thing here. Thelogging camp atmosphere is spirited and, to say the least,interesting. Great omelets and homemade pastries. Call (312)939-3111. 565 W. Jackson Green Door Tavern Opened 1921. I like theold signs and stuff on the walls and the way the building leans tothe right - it adds character. Try a burger, ribs or chili. Call(312) 664-5496. 678 N. OrleansComo Inn Opened 1924. As big as a soccer stadium (but with cozynooks) and as festive. Try one of the pasta dishes that comes witha red sauce and the chicken cacciatore. Call (312) 421-5222. 546 N.MilwaukeeClub Lago Opened 1952. An inexpensive, delightful hole-in-the-wallthat serves basic Italian with a touch of American. Try thespaghetti and meatballs, eggplant parmigiana. Call (312) 951-2849.331 W. SuperiorTwin Anchors Opened 1932. One of the last of the great old tavernsthat is a shrine to Sinatra (check the jukebox selections). Greatribs, and the burgers are fine, too. Call (312) 266-1616. 1655 N.SedgwickBerghoff Opened 1898. A Loop legend that is awash in Old Worldambience and serves a mix of German and American specialties. Trythe sauerbraten, schnitzel or fish specials. Call (312) 427-3170. 17W. AdamsGolden Ox Opened 1921. Early Alpine decor, marvelous waitstaff,classic German food heaped high on the plate. Try: oxtail soup,schnitzel, stroganoff and strudel. Call (312) 664-0780. 1578 N.ClybournCape Cod Room Opened 1933. Nice nautical decor, a maitre'd (PatrickBredin) who never forgets a name, and some of the best snapper soupand Dover sole around. At the Drake Hotel; call (312) 787-2200. 140E. WaltonVernon Park Tap Opened 1930. Excellent Old World Italian food in amix of old tavern (the original restaurant) and new atrium. Anypasta, eggplant or veal dish. (312) 733-3393. 1073 W. Vernon ParkAnn Sather Opened 1945. I love breakfast (awesome cinnamon rolls)here more than lunch or dinner, but when I'm up for Swedish meatballsor pickled herring, this is the place. (773) 348-2378. 929 W. Belmont

AP NewsAlert

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese officials say 20 people on bus swept away by flooding, presumed dead.

At Shortstop // Sox' Guillen Relishes Role as Team Leader

SARASOTA, Fla. Sometimes the personality is so overwhelming thatit overshadows the talent, the voice so overbearing that it drownsout the ability.

But there's more to Ozzie Guillen than his verbal jabbing withFrank Thomas, his lecturing of Wilson Alvarez and his tutoring of RayDurham.

"I think it's overplayed, how he talks," Sox manager Gene Lamontsaid. "People lose track of how good a player he is."

Guillen most commonly is portrayed as the White Sox' acrobaticfixture at shortstop, the veteran leader who has played in 94 percentof his team's games since 1986, not including his injury-shortened1992 season.

But since Guillen came back from knee surgery in 1993, hiscareer has been on a steady ascent. Suddenly, there are newthresholds to cross.

Entering his 11th season, Guillen is looking to hit .300 for thefirst time in his career.

"If I swing at better pitches, I can do it," Guillen said."I've learned from (hitting coach) Walter (Hriniak) that every at-batcounts. But like I tell him, once you hit .300, everyone expects youto hit .320.

"But hopefully before my career is over, I'll be able to doit."

Guillen credits much of his resurgence to the maturity gainedafter spending most of 1992 in rehabilitation. When he returned in1993, he hit .284 and set career bests in home runs (four) anddoubles (23).

Last season, he hit .288, the highest average for a Soxshortstop since Bill Almon batted .301 in 1981.

Who knows if Guillen would have broken the .300 barrier if thestrike hadn't halted play Aug. 12? He was hitting .337 after theAll-Star break and had received his first intentional walk in threeyears.

"It seems like he's always gotten a lot of big hits for us,"Lamont said. "But I just think he's a better hitter now.

"He still has at-bats where he swings at wild pitches, but hehas worked his behind off and he's stronger. I think he's stillgoing to improve."

Guillen, 31, has no lingering fear about his knee. And he'sintent on reinventing his game.

"When you get more experienced, it makes it easier to play thisgame," Guillen said. "I'm not going to panic when I'm in a slump. Iwork every day on my hitting. And I don't believe in luck. I haveto be a better hitter because I work hard on it."

No doubt, there are some personal incentives. Guillen is athree-time All-Star, but his last appearance in the game was in 1991.And he has won only one Gold Glove.

"I've been robbed of a lot in this game, a lot of Gold Gloves, alot of All-Star Games," Guillen said. "But you can't worry aboutthings you can't control. Now I just want to win. And the onlything I need in baseball is to play in a World Series."

Which leads to Guillen's mouth. Most often, it's a pleasantdiversion to his teammates in the clubhouse. Sometimes it'sirritating in content and repetition, but it always stems fromGuillen's desire to win. That will never change.

"You have to make winning a habit," Guillen said. "My job is tomake sure the young guys grow up the right way because they don'tknow how lucky they are to play for a winning team.

"I was on a lot of horse(bleep) teams, and it's no fun coming tothe park every day. I have to make sure everyone appreciates that.I have to make sure that never slips away. So if they listen to me or not,it's always for the team's good."

Guillen's newest project is Durham, a rookie second basemanheralded as the next Joe Morgan. Guillen has been through 16 secondbasemen since he took over at shortstop 11 years ago, but never has acombination appeared so potent.

"I've played with guys the White Sox made second basemen, guyswho shouldn't have been there," Guillen said. "(Durham) is the firstnatural second baseman, and he could be the best.

"I told Ray, `You're going to appreciate me or hate my guts.You have that choice.' He has the best tools of anybody to ever playsecond for us. But that doesn't mean he's going to be the best second baseman."

Guillen, who is signed through 1997 with a club option for 1998,also thinks about his place in White Sox history. But there is morework to do, and his discipline at the plate is next on his agenda.

A notorious free swinger, Guillen struck out once every 11.1at-bats last season. If that ratio improves, Guillen might be a .300hitter in 1995.

"But I'm not going to change Ozzie Guillen, the player, just tohit .300," Guillen said. "I'm never going to let personal goals getahead of winning. For the last two spring trainings, we've come herewith a chance at winning the World Series. And you don't know hownice that is."

THE TICKER

GRUMMAN MUM: Grumman Corp.'s controversial auction ended Thursday,but Wall Street was still waiting for word on whether Martin MariettaCorp. sweetened its offer and whether rival Northrop Corp. evenparticipated. Both companies have been seeking to buy theBethpage, N.Y.-based defense contractor, which threw itself open toan auction to the highest bidder earlier this week. Martin Mariettahad previously sealed a deal to buy the company for $55 a share or$1.9 billion. But Northrop jumped in days later with a hostile bidof $60 or a total of $2.04 billion, forcing Grumman into action.Grumman said the auction had ended but added that the company wouldmake no statements until Monday morning, when it plans to announce awinner. OFFER REJECTED: The Teamsters rejected a final offer fromthe trucking industry Thursday and promised to strike April 6 unlessagreement is reached on a nationwide contract. No additionalnegotiating sessions were scheduled, but both sides agreed to extendthe current contract until midnight Tuesday. It had been scheduledto expire at 12:01 a.m. today. Arthur H. Bunte Jr., chiefnegotiator for the industry, had urged union negotiators to place theindustry offer before members for a vote, saying the threat of astrike might cause shippers to find other means of transportingfreight. The Teamsters union, which represents nearly 90,000 peoplein the freight hauling industry, rejected what industry negotiatorsreferred to as their final offer when negotiations resumed after aday off. DEAL COMPLETE: First Colonial Bankshares Corp. hascompleted its previously announced acquisition of Hi-Bancorp, Inc.and GNP Bancorp, Inc., said holding company chairman and chiefexecutive officer, C. Paul Johnson. With assets of $87 million,Hi-Bancorp Inc. is the parent of Bank of Highwood. The $77 millionasset GNP Bancorp Inc. is the parent of New Century Bank inMundelein. FARE CUTS: America West Airlines Thursday announcedreductions of up to one-third on leisure fares for passengerstraveling through July 31. Tickets must be purchased by April 27,and significant restrictions apply. The cuts would reduce the costof a Chicago-Las Vegas round-trip flight by $171, to $398. TWA CUTS LOSS: Trans World Airlines narrowed its loss to $281.3million last year as it slashed operating expenses in an effort toemerge from bankruptcy protection, the airline said Thursday. Theloss was down from $404.6 million in 1992. Operating revenue fell 13percent to $3.16 billion from $3.63 billion in 1992, TWA said. TWAattributed the revenue decline largely to a 15 percent reduction inairline operations that began in the fall of 1992 as the airlinebegan reorganizing. Operating expenses in 1993 also decreased as aresult of the reduced level of operations, dropping 15 percent, from$4 billion to $3.4 billion. TWA emerged from bankruptcy protectionNov. 3. CORRECTION: A story in Thursday's Chicago Sun-Times misstated theeconomic impact of the Consumer Electronics Show on the Chicago arealast year. The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau says the impactis $32 million.

Automakers Spend Big at Detroit Show

DETROIT - The world's automakers are spending big at this year's North American International Auto Show in hopes that vehicle buyers will do the same.

The exhibits - at a cost of more than $200 million - and the scores of new models on display are designed to impress car executives, analysts, reporters and the general public alike and help fill auto showrooms in 2007.

"It's a great opportunity for us to get our message across," said Timothy Peters, assistant director of auto shows for General Motors Corp.

The area occupied by the world's top-selling carmaker seeks to convey the message of "one car corporation with eight divisions," Peters said, standing in front of the still-rising GM exhibit at Detroit's downtown Cobo Center.

The smell of fresh paint and sawdust and the buzz of power tools filled the air Tuesday, five days ahead of the start of the show's media preview. Touring reporters dodged construction workers and stacks of lumber as show co-chairmen Bob Thibodeau Jr. and Carl Galeana guided them around the 750,000-square-foot show hall.

"Every year, you see the manufacturers trying to outdo one another," Thibodeau said. "It gives these manufacturers a big marketing push worldwide."

Among this year's display highlights are an ice-skating rink and ice wall installed for DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz division.

Video screens are everywhere, some stretching from floor to near the 25-foot ceiling.

Auto shows are more than just a chance for carmakers to show car-shoppers their new offerings, said Erich Merkle, director of forecasting for the auto consulting company IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids.

Merkle said the more than 6,000 journalists from 75 countries help to "create a buzz" that extends far beyond the 750,000 or so members of the public expected to pass through the doors Jan. 13-21. The show opens for media previews Sunday and to auto suppliers Jan. 10.

What everyone from dealers to investors wants to see is if carmakers - particularly the struggling U.S.-based GM, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group - have offerings that can compete with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.

"People ... are worried quite frankly about the health of the Big Three," Merkle said. "What are they doing to turn their fortunes around?"

This year's spotlight will shine on GM's new crossover sport utility vehicles, the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, as well as on Chrysler's redesigned minivans, he said.

The Detroit show is marking its 100th anniversary this year under the sponsorship of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. It draws the chief executives of all major automakers, as well as about 2,100 representatives of supplier companies, Thibodeau said.

Much of the action takes place behind the scenes in the show's 88 meeting rooms, when the automakers and parts suppliers sit down to plot strategy, he said.

"Detroit's kind of the granddaddy," Merkle said. Once the unchallenged king of the auto shows, it now shares the spotlight with an annual show in Geneva and shows every two years in Tokyo, Paris, and Frankfurt, Germany.

This year, automakers plan to unveil 50 or more new vehicles in Detroit, in addition to smaller numbers at auto shows Feb. 7-18 in Chicago and April 6-13 in New York. Other models were introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show a month ago.

The winner in all this should be the buying public, Merkle said.

"This is just a great time if your an auto critic or a consumer," he said. "The quality is there and the prices are good. Cars have never been more affordable than now."

---

On the Net:

North American International Auto Show: http://www.naias.com

Norway to spend more oil wealth

Norway will spend more of its oil wealth this year to help stimulate the economy and create jobs in what the finance minister on Friday called the most expansive national budget in 30 years.

The Nordic country is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, and the central government has been using surplus revenues to cushion the impact of the world economic crunch.

"We have acted quickly and strongly," said Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen in presenting the government's regular half-year revision of the national budget. She said Norway has been less affected than most countries because of its oil wealth.

The three-party majority coalition will increase central government spending of oil revenues by 9.5 billion kroner ($1.48 billion) to about 130 billion kroner ($20 billion), roughly 15 percent of total expenditures of 851 billion kroner for ($133 billion) for 2009. That is a 6.75 percent increase from 2008.

The government still projects a surplus of 237.4 billion kroner ($37 billion) to be put aside in its fund for foreign investment, called the Government Pension Fund Global, that is currently worth more than 2 trillion kroner ($310 billion).

The Norwegian state profits from oil and gas both through taxes imposed on production from its offshore fields and from direct investment in petroleum projects.

The northern country had been enjoying years of unprecedented prosperity, but had projected a downturn even before the global finance crisis shook the world economy.

Although Norwegian unemployment is increasing, it is expected to remain low, at 3.75 percent this year and 4.75 percent in 2010, compared to 2.6 percent in 2008.

Other key projections in the revised budget compared to 2008 were: a 5.3 percent decline in exports, compared to growth of 0.9 percent last year; no growth in private consumption compared to a 1.5 percent increase, inflation of 1.8 percent compared to 3.8 percent and wage growth of 4 percent compared to 6 percent.

___

On the Net:

http://www.government.no

Prison boss offers 2nd wave of cuts; Leak: 'You won't save a dime'

Not sure of the total amount being cut from their budget, Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) spokesman Brian Fairchild Tuesday said a second wave of proposed budget cuts includes shutting down three more prisons.

However, the budget hole has gotten larger which means IDOC will have to make additional cuts or additional funds redirected to his department. IDOC has already proposed laying off 4500 guards.

"If there are going to be additional cuts in IDOC, we've identified additional areas which includes a variety of options like three correctional centers that are similar to the situations at Valley View."

If there are more cuts, Fairchild said IDOC is proposing the closure of such older facilities like the East Moline Correctional Center by Quad Cities, which is budgeted for $23 million, the Sheridan Correctional Center, which operates on a $30 million budget which is North of Dwight, and the Centralia Correctional Center also $30 million.

"We are looking at closing work camps, a boot camp program in Greene County, adult transition centers (old work release facilities)," he said of the lower security facilities.

Fairchild confirmed IDOC has already sent out layoff notices for personnel working at the Vienna Correctional Center, located 25 miles from Peducah, Ky., and the Illinois Youth Center Valley View, located around Batavia area, a low medium security male facility built in 1966 with a capacity of 228.

The layoff notices have gone out and the closure date is set for May 15.

"They originally announced closure of these facilities in the next fiscal year but due to the increasing shortfalls in state revenue, they have accelerated layoff dates which came from the governor's office," he said.

Fairchild said the layoffs will affect 190 at Valley View and 350 at Vienna. "These are in addition to other statewide layoffs and positions going unfilled due to attrition."

Fairchild said if they were to operate those facilities next year Vienna would be $30 million and Valley View would cost the state about $13.5 million for a total of nearly $44 million.

There are 300 inmates at Valley View and about 1,200 at Vienna. Fairchild said IDOC's population has dropped 1,300 and that IDOC feels it can absorb these cuts and more.

However, former IDOC Deputy Director Spencer Leak Sr., warned state lawmakers if they proceed with cuts that reduce the number of guards or continue with their move to shutdown prisons, it will put the public in harm's-way and won't save a dime.

Leak challenged officials to cut some of the huge salaries "at the top" and use those funds to balance operating costs. "Cut the fat in the executive levels," he said. "These are the same people who are asking for cuts among correctional officers.

"When you look at the budget, you'll see a lot of fat in there like salaries. I would think they would start there first before they cause 4,500 inmates to be release," said Leak.

"When they're released, they have to put them on parole which means there has to be more services like drug rehabilitation, job placement," Leak said.

"If you don't give these services, they'll be back in prison within 45 days," Leak said referring to the already high recidivism rate.

Confined diffusion without fences of a G-protein-coupled receptor as revealed by single particle tracking

ABSTRACT Single particle tracking is a powerful tool for probing the organization and dynamics of the plasma membrane constituents. We used this technique to study the mu-opioid receptor belonging to the large family of the G-protein-coupled receptors involved with other partners in a signal transduction pathway. The specific labeling of the receptor coupled to a T7-tag at its N-terminus, stably expressed in fibroblastic cells, was achieved by colloidal gold coupled to a monoclonal anti T7-tag antibody. The lateral movements of the particles were followed by nanovideomicroscopy at 40 ms time resolution during 2 min with a spatial precision of 15 nm. The receptors were found to have either a slow or directed diffusion mode (10%) or a walking confined diffusion mode (90%) composed of a long-term random diffusion and a short-term confined diffusion, and corresponding to a diffusion confined within a domain that itself diffuses. The results indicate that the confinement is due to an effective harmonic potential generated by long-range attraction between the membrane proteins. A simple model for interacting membrane proteins diffusion is proposed that explains the variations with the domain size of the short-term and long-term diffusion coefficients.

INTRODUCTION

The full understanding of the mechanism of the signal transduction mediated by the G-protein-coupled receptors still requires the unraveling of the dynamic organization of these multimolecular systems in cell membranes. To date, a large amount of information has been published regarding this question and evidence has now been accumulated for nonrandom distribution and collision of the receptors, protein G, and effectors. A compartmentation of the receptors and/or the other partners was suggested as accounting for the rapidity and specificity of signaling (Neubig, 1994; Ostrom et al., 2000), but experimental studies devoted to the question of the membrane organization and dynamics of the components of this signal transduction pathway are still very scarce.

Recently, the single particle tracking (SPT) technique was developed allowing observation of the movements of individual membrane proteins or lipids at the cell surface with nanometer spatial resolution (Saxton and Jacobson, 1997). A submicrometer particle (colloidal gold or fluorescent latex) is specifically attached to the molecule of interest. The displacement of the particle recorded by videomicroscopy exhibits the movement of the labeled molecule. Careful analysis of the trajectories is required to distinguish between the possible different modes of motion and can reveal submicroscopic or larger membrane structures. This method is certainly the most promising to address the question of the mechanism of membrane-associated functions (Jacobson et al., 1995; Cherry et al., 1998).

In the present study we address the question of the lateral diffusion of the receptor as part of the mechanism of the signal transduction mediated by G-protein-coupled receptors. The principal objectives of this work were, first, to characterize the movements of the receptor and identify an eventual compartmentation, and second, to give a simple physical interpretation for the observed behaviors leading to a consistent model for the membrane organization around the receptors. We chose to study the ji-opioid receptor, target of many analgesic drugs including opiates, as a complementary approach to the efforts in our laboratory directed to the global understanding of the signaling mechanisms of this receptor (Capeyrou et al., 1997; Lagane et al., 2000). Experiments were carried out on a ,cc-opioid receptor tagged with a T7 phage capsid protein at its amino-terminal extracellular domain allowing for the labeling by 40 nm gold colloids bearing T7-tag antibodies. The tagged receptors were tracked at the surface of normal rat kidney (NRK) fibroblast cells, chosen for their morphological characteristics suitable for single particle tracking experiments, where they were stably expressed and functional. We followed the movements of the receptors during 2 min with a 40 ms time resolution and a 15 nm spatial resolution. The mu-opioid receptors were found to exhibit two different classes of diffusion. A slow or directed diffusion mode and a mode superimposing a long-term random diffusion with a short-term confined diffusion consisting of a diffusion confined within a domain that itself diffuses, what we call the walking confined diffusion. A thorough statistical analysis of the trajectories supports the image that the confinement seen here is of dynamical nature and does not involve the presence of fences as invoked in the membrane skeleton fence model (Kusumi et al., 1993).

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The most striking feature of our results is the demonstration that the diffusion of a membrane receptor can be confined inside a domain due to the existence of interactions between proteins in the absence of membranous or extramembranous fences. We were able to draw such conclusions from the detailed statistical analysis we performed of our SPT data, demonstrating the interest of going beyond a "simple" fit of the MSD versus time plots. We emphasize here that MSD fits alone do not allow one to distinguish between physically different microscopic models for the diffusion. The model we propose here is consistent with both the long time behavior of the trajectories (MSD measurements) and with their short time statistics (local equilibriation histograms). Moreover the numerical values obtained for the various fitting parameters are related in a simple way, which is also explained by our model.

Let us mention here that the results found in this paper support the ideas of Abney and Scalettar (1995), where membrane organization and heterogeneity are brought about by interprotein interactions rather than an imposed compartmentalization. Finally, the relevance of our model based on experiments performed at 22 deg C is confirmed by the consistency found with the measurements done at 37 deg C. Thus, a challenging question will be now to identify among all the possibilities, which are the interactions dominating the system and what is responsible for their regulation.

The recently suggested compartmentation of the G-protein-coupled receptors is confirmed by our data that show a confined diffusion component to the behavior of the receptor. However, a great deal of work is still needed to be able to establish the functional implication of such a behavior. In particular, the effect of the binding of a ligand on the diffusion properties will be very informative and is currently under study in our laboratory.

We are grateful to J.F. Tocanne for having initiated this project and for stimulating discussions. We thank D. Choquet for helpful advice during the setting up of the SPT device. The stably transfected NRK-A cell line was established by M. Corbani and S. Ducasse.

This work was supported by the Nano-Objet Individuel program of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer.

[Reference]

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Smith, P. R., I. E. G. Morrison, K. M. Wilson, N. Fernandez, and R. J. Cherry. 1999. Anomalous diffusion of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules on HeLa cells determined by single particle tracking. Biophys. J. 76:3331-3344.

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Van Kampen, N. G. 2001. Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry. North-Holland, Amsterdam.

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human fibroblasts. Analysis of receptor properties and regulation. Biochem. J. 208:19-26.

Wilson, K. M., I. E. G. Morrison, P. R. Smith, N. Fernandez, and R. J. Cherry. 1996. Single particle tracking of cell-surface HLA-DR molecules using R-phycoerythrin labeled monoclonal antibodies and fluorescence digital imaging. J. Cell Sci. 109:2101-2109.

[Author Affiliation]

Frederic Daumas,* Nicolas Destainville,^ Claire Millot,* Andre Lopez,* David Dean,^ and Laurence Salome* *Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, CNRS UMR 5089, 205, route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse Cedex, France; and ^Laboratoire de Physique Quantique, IRSAMC, CNRS UMR 5626, 118, route de Narbonne, 31064 Toulouse Cedex, France

[Author Affiliation]

Submitted September 21, 2001, and accepted for publication August 19, 2002.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Laurence Salome, Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, CNRS UMR 5089, 205, route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse Cedex, France. Tel.: +33 (0)5 61 17 59 39; Fax: +33 (0)5 61 17 59 94; E-mail: laurence.salome@ipbs.fr.

MANSION OF TRASH; Dazzle offers fictionalized tale of strange, New York brothers

How interesting can a play be about two reclusive brothers who lived and died in their parents' house amid mountains of clutter?

Well, when handled with the wit and imagination of playwright Richard Greenberg, this fictionalized version of the famous Collyer brothers takes on a strangely compelling life of its own and leaves you wondering which (if any) of the incidents might actually have taken place.

Dazzle is the current show in the fifth season of the Boise Contemporary Theater, and the creative direction of Tracy Sunderland (one of my favorite Idaho Shakespeare Festival actresses) puts considerable pizzazz into what could be a talky, slow-moving script.

The play is based on the mystery surrounding the strange lives of the two Collyer brothers, Langley and Homer. They had money, a doctor father and an artistic mother, and lived in a stately mansion on Fifth Avenue in the Harlem area at the turn of the century. Perhaps the separation of their parents in 1909 dislodged something in their development; perhaps they were born with obsessive-compulsive disorders; but for whatever reasons, Homer and Langley retreated into a reclusive lifestyle, rarely venturing out and visited only by city officials, who turned off their power and water for nonpayment of bills. Although they had no social contacts and Homer lost his sight, Langley lived a very busy life, mainly at night, venturing out into the trash heaps of the city and dragging home what eventually reached 136 tons of junk. When they died in 1947, it took the police almost three weeks to find Langley's body buried beneath one of his own trash-laden booby traps. After his death, his blind brother, trapped in their impenetrable, boarded-up mansion, starved.

However, in Greenberg's play, Homer is an admiralty lawyer and Langley a successful concert pianist before their lives start going seriously off kilter. They return from a concert with the beautiful, young and very rich socialite, Milly, played with verve and saucy sexiness by Carie Yonekawa. Milly is very unhappy with her life and hints at secrets from which she would like to escape. The brothers fascinate her, and she does her best to entice them with her considerable charms, but her daring scene (for that era) with partial nudity does little more than distract the audience. This is when the brothers' strangeness becomes eerily apparent, and Matthew Clark's brilliant and complex portrayal of Langley shows his internal struggles as he tries to interact with this lovely woman.

Justin Ness as Homer has his own eccentricities, which he indulges by telling tall tales of his romances and travels. Ness skillfully communicates his sense of responsibility for his younger brother and the frustration he feels over the lack of action and direction in their lives.

Clark is spellbinding as he displays Langley's inability to relate to people, but he can finger Milly's hair endlessly or show his fascination with the "dazzle" of things by staring at a leaf all day. His tenseness on his wedding day is almost a palpable entity in the room, and he clings to his home--his house--with desperation. Clark achieves the double whammy of dramatically portraying his character's mental disintegration while still exuding a boyish charm and attractiveness.

By the second act, the two men show the effects of their reclusive lives. Gone are the dapper tuxedoes and top hats of an earlier day. Their clothes are dirty and tattered and the astonishing clutter they have accumulated oozes into the setting as scenic designer Michael Baltzell's walls begin to move, allowing stacks and mounds of incredible junk to eventually bury the doomed brothers. Milly's reappearance and her condition are as unbelievable as unexpected, but she has little influence upon the downward spiral of the strange hermits.

Dazzle is not an ordinary play--descent into madness never is--but Clark, Ness and Yonekawa give superb performances that make the strange story haunt your imagination.

Article copyright Bar Bar Inc.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP

LOCKS, Ore.-At the trailhead, the Herman Camp loop hike isn'tparticularly inviting. Interstate 84 is just a whisker away, and thefreeway sounds don't exactly add to the aesthetics.

Things get better quickly as the route climbs high up the side ofthe Columbia River Gorge, then heads south into the solitude of theHerman Creek drainage.

Herman Camp loop combines Herman Creek trail No. 406, Gorton Creektrail No. 408, Ridge Cutoff trail No. 437 and Nick Eaton Ridge trailNo. 447 for an eight-mile hike on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

The loop never will be included on the list of classic Northwesthikes, or even top Columbia Gorge treks. It's steep, and too much ofit is in the trees without views.

But in its defense, the trail is only an hour driving time fromthe Vancouver-Portland area, it has a long snow-free season, it'sshady on a warm day and it makes a good training walk to toughen upfor longer trips.

From the trailhead, take Herman Creek trail No. 406 through thetrees for about 5 minutes to where it crosses a power line accessroad. At 15 minutes (.7 mile), pass the junction with Herman Bridgetrail No. 406E.

Soon you'll come to a flat, where several old roads intersect.Continue southeast, which is straight ahead and up.

At about 35 minutes (1.4 miles), Herman Creek trail junctions withGorton Creek trail No. 408 at Herman Camp. The camp has room for twoor three tents, but there is no water.

Take Gorton Creek trail and begin a moderately steep, almostcontinuous climb for 2.6 miles to the junction with Ridge Cutofftrail No. 437.

The Gorton Creek-Ridge Cutoff junction is about two hours (4.0miles) from the trailhead.

There's no water by early June. Through the trees, you'll getoccasional glimpses north across the Columbia River at Carson and themouth of the Wind River.

Ridge Cutoff trail climbs steeply as it heads south from GortonCreek trail then levels and meets Nick Eaton Ridge trail No. 447 inabout 15 minutes.

Forest Service signs indicate Ridge Cutoff trail is a mile, butit's probably half that distance.

At the junction with Nick Eaton Ridge trail, turn right, pass theColumbia Wilderness Boundary sign and drop steeply.

It's not far to an opening, with a great view up Herman Creek.

This is the spot for lunch and picture taking. There's somelupine and Indian paintbrush to provide a touch of color.

It's two miles from the junction with Ridge Cutoff trail to HermanCreek trail two steep miles zigzagging down with views of CascadeLocks and the west end of the Columbia Gorge. You'd not want to hikeup this stretch of Nick EatonRidge trail.

When you reach Herman Creek trail, turn right.

It's only a three-minute walk back to Herman Camp.

At this point, you'll have hiked 6.6 miles.

All that's left is to retrace the 1.4 miles down Herman Creektrail to the car.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP:

GETTING THERE: Follow state Highway 14 east past Bonneville Damto the Bridge of the Gods and cross into Cascade Locks. The toll is75 cents.

An option is to cross the I-205 Bridge and take Interstate 84 eastto the Cascade Locks exit.

Follow the main street east as if planning to rejoin I-84. At thestop sign on the east side of town, go straight, past Oxbox FishHatchery.

Turn right at the Herman Creek campground sign, then turn again atthe trailhead sign. There's a parking area with picnic tables.

SEASON: April into November.

ELEVATION: The top elevation is about 2,800 feet.

TRAIL LENGTH: It is 1.4 miles to Herman Camp, 2.6 miles fromHerman Camp to Ridge Cutoff trail, .5 mile on Ridge Cutoff trail toNick Eaton Ridge trail, 2.0 miles down Nick Eaton Ridge trail and 1.5miles back down Herman Camp trail. Round trip is 8 miles.

HIKING TIP: Bring water because there's none along the trail.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP

LOCKS, Ore.-At the trailhead, the Herman Camp loop hike isn'tparticularly inviting. Interstate 84 is just a whisker away, and thefreeway sounds don't exactly add to the aesthetics.

Things get better quickly as the route climbs high up the side ofthe Columbia River Gorge, then heads south into the solitude of theHerman Creek drainage.

Herman Camp loop combines Herman Creek trail No. 406, Gorton Creektrail No. 408, Ridge Cutoff trail No. 437 and Nick Eaton Ridge trailNo. 447 for an eight-mile hike on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

The loop never will be included on the list of classic Northwesthikes, or even top Columbia Gorge treks. It's steep, and too much ofit is in the trees without views.

But in its defense, the trail is only an hour driving time fromthe Vancouver-Portland area, it has a long snow-free season, it'sshady on a warm day and it makes a good training walk to toughen upfor longer trips.

From the trailhead, take Herman Creek trail No. 406 through thetrees for about 5 minutes to where it crosses a power line accessroad. At 15 minutes (.7 mile), pass the junction with Herman Bridgetrail No. 406E.

Soon you'll come to a flat, where several old roads intersect.Continue southeast, which is straight ahead and up.

At about 35 minutes (1.4 miles), Herman Creek trail junctions withGorton Creek trail No. 408 at Herman Camp. The camp has room for twoor three tents, but there is no water.

Take Gorton Creek trail and begin a moderately steep, almostcontinuous climb for 2.6 miles to the junction with Ridge Cutofftrail No. 437.

The Gorton Creek-Ridge Cutoff junction is about two hours (4.0miles) from the trailhead.

There's no water by early June. Through the trees, you'll getoccasional glimpses north across the Columbia River at Carson and themouth of the Wind River.

Ridge Cutoff trail climbs steeply as it heads south from GortonCreek trail then levels and meets Nick Eaton Ridge trail No. 447 inabout 15 minutes.

Forest Service signs indicate Ridge Cutoff trail is a mile, butit's probably half that distance.

At the junction with Nick Eaton Ridge trail, turn right, pass theColumbia Wilderness Boundary sign and drop steeply.

It's not far to an opening, with a great view up Herman Creek.

This is the spot for lunch and picture taking. There's somelupine and Indian paintbrush to provide a touch of color.

It's two miles from the junction with Ridge Cutoff trail to HermanCreek trail two steep miles zigzagging down with views of CascadeLocks and the west end of the Columbia Gorge. You'd not want to hikeup this stretch of Nick EatonRidge trail.

When you reach Herman Creek trail, turn right.

It's only a three-minute walk back to Herman Camp.

At this point, you'll have hiked 6.6 miles.

All that's left is to retrace the 1.4 miles down Herman Creektrail to the car.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP:

GETTING THERE: Follow state Highway 14 east past Bonneville Damto the Bridge of the Gods and cross into Cascade Locks. The toll is75 cents.

An option is to cross the I-205 Bridge and take Interstate 84 eastto the Cascade Locks exit.

Follow the main street east as if planning to rejoin I-84. At thestop sign on the east side of town, go straight, past Oxbox FishHatchery.

Turn right at the Herman Creek campground sign, then turn again atthe trailhead sign. There's a parking area with picnic tables.

SEASON: April into November.

ELEVATION: The top elevation is about 2,800 feet.

TRAIL LENGTH: It is 1.4 miles to Herman Camp, 2.6 miles fromHerman Camp to Ridge Cutoff trail, .5 mile on Ridge Cutoff trail toNick Eaton Ridge trail, 2.0 miles down Nick Eaton Ridge trail and 1.5miles back down Herman Camp trail. Round trip is 8 miles.

HIKING TIP: Bring water because there's none along the trail.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP

LOCKS, Ore.-At the trailhead, the Herman Camp loop hike isn'tparticularly inviting. Interstate 84 is just a whisker away, and thefreeway sounds don't exactly add to the aesthetics.

Things get better quickly as the route climbs high up the side ofthe Columbia River Gorge, then heads south into the solitude of theHerman Creek drainage.

Herman Camp loop combines Herman Creek trail No. 406, Gorton Creektrail No. 408, Ridge Cutoff trail No. 437 and Nick Eaton Ridge trailNo. 447 for an eight-mile hike on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

The loop never will be included on the list of classic Northwesthikes, or even top Columbia Gorge treks. It's steep, and too much ofit is in the trees without views.

But in its defense, the trail is only an hour driving time fromthe Vancouver-Portland area, it has a long snow-free season, it'sshady on a warm day and it makes a good training walk to toughen upfor longer trips.

From the trailhead, take Herman Creek trail No. 406 through thetrees for about 5 minutes to where it crosses a power line accessroad. At 15 minutes (.7 mile), pass the junction with Herman Bridgetrail No. 406E.

Soon you'll come to a flat, where several old roads intersect.Continue southeast, which is straight ahead and up.

At about 35 minutes (1.4 miles), Herman Creek trail junctions withGorton Creek trail No. 408 at Herman Camp. The camp has room for twoor three tents, but there is no water.

Take Gorton Creek trail and begin a moderately steep, almostcontinuous climb for 2.6 miles to the junction with Ridge Cutofftrail No. 437.

The Gorton Creek-Ridge Cutoff junction is about two hours (4.0miles) from the trailhead.

There's no water by early June. Through the trees, you'll getoccasional glimpses north across the Columbia River at Carson and themouth of the Wind River.

Ridge Cutoff trail climbs steeply as it heads south from GortonCreek trail then levels and meets Nick Eaton Ridge trail No. 447 inabout 15 minutes.

Forest Service signs indicate Ridge Cutoff trail is a mile, butit's probably half that distance.

At the junction with Nick Eaton Ridge trail, turn right, pass theColumbia Wilderness Boundary sign and drop steeply.

It's not far to an opening, with a great view up Herman Creek.

This is the spot for lunch and picture taking. There's somelupine and Indian paintbrush to provide a touch of color.

It's two miles from the junction with Ridge Cutoff trail to HermanCreek trail two steep miles zigzagging down with views of CascadeLocks and the west end of the Columbia Gorge. You'd not want to hikeup this stretch of Nick EatonRidge trail.

When you reach Herman Creek trail, turn right.

It's only a three-minute walk back to Herman Camp.

At this point, you'll have hiked 6.6 miles.

All that's left is to retrace the 1.4 miles down Herman Creektrail to the car.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP:

GETTING THERE: Follow state Highway 14 east past Bonneville Damto the Bridge of the Gods and cross into Cascade Locks. The toll is75 cents.

An option is to cross the I-205 Bridge and take Interstate 84 eastto the Cascade Locks exit.

Follow the main street east as if planning to rejoin I-84. At thestop sign on the east side of town, go straight, past Oxbox FishHatchery.

Turn right at the Herman Creek campground sign, then turn again atthe trailhead sign. There's a parking area with picnic tables.

SEASON: April into November.

ELEVATION: The top elevation is about 2,800 feet.

TRAIL LENGTH: It is 1.4 miles to Herman Camp, 2.6 miles fromHerman Camp to Ridge Cutoff trail, .5 mile on Ridge Cutoff trail toNick Eaton Ridge trail, 2.0 miles down Nick Eaton Ridge trail and 1.5miles back down Herman Camp trail. Round trip is 8 miles.

HIKING TIP: Bring water because there's none along the trail.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP

LOCKS, Ore.-At the trailhead, the Herman Camp loop hike isn'tparticularly inviting. Interstate 84 is just a whisker away, and thefreeway sounds don't exactly add to the aesthetics.

Things get better quickly as the route climbs high up the side ofthe Columbia River Gorge, then heads south into the solitude of theHerman Creek drainage.

Herman Camp loop combines Herman Creek trail No. 406, Gorton Creektrail No. 408, Ridge Cutoff trail No. 437 and Nick Eaton Ridge trailNo. 447 for an eight-mile hike on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

The loop never will be included on the list of classic Northwesthikes, or even top Columbia Gorge treks. It's steep, and too much ofit is in the trees without views.

But in its defense, the trail is only an hour driving time fromthe Vancouver-Portland area, it has a long snow-free season, it'sshady on a warm day and it makes a good training walk to toughen upfor longer trips.

From the trailhead, take Herman Creek trail No. 406 through thetrees for about 5 minutes to where it crosses a power line accessroad. At 15 minutes (.7 mile), pass the junction with Herman Bridgetrail No. 406E.

Soon you'll come to a flat, where several old roads intersect.Continue southeast, which is straight ahead and up.

At about 35 minutes (1.4 miles), Herman Creek trail junctions withGorton Creek trail No. 408 at Herman Camp. The camp has room for twoor three tents, but there is no water.

Take Gorton Creek trail and begin a moderately steep, almostcontinuous climb for 2.6 miles to the junction with Ridge Cutofftrail No. 437.

The Gorton Creek-Ridge Cutoff junction is about two hours (4.0miles) from the trailhead.

There's no water by early June. Through the trees, you'll getoccasional glimpses north across the Columbia River at Carson and themouth of the Wind River.

Ridge Cutoff trail climbs steeply as it heads south from GortonCreek trail then levels and meets Nick Eaton Ridge trail No. 447 inabout 15 minutes.

Forest Service signs indicate Ridge Cutoff trail is a mile, butit's probably half that distance.

At the junction with Nick Eaton Ridge trail, turn right, pass theColumbia Wilderness Boundary sign and drop steeply.

It's not far to an opening, with a great view up Herman Creek.

This is the spot for lunch and picture taking. There's somelupine and Indian paintbrush to provide a touch of color.

It's two miles from the junction with Ridge Cutoff trail to HermanCreek trail two steep miles zigzagging down with views of CascadeLocks and the west end of the Columbia Gorge. You'd not want to hikeup this stretch of Nick EatonRidge trail.

When you reach Herman Creek trail, turn right.

It's only a three-minute walk back to Herman Camp.

At this point, you'll have hiked 6.6 miles.

All that's left is to retrace the 1.4 miles down Herman Creektrail to the car.

HERMAN CAMP LOOP:

GETTING THERE: Follow state Highway 14 east past Bonneville Damto the Bridge of the Gods and cross into Cascade Locks. The toll is75 cents.

An option is to cross the I-205 Bridge and take Interstate 84 eastto the Cascade Locks exit.

Follow the main street east as if planning to rejoin I-84. At thestop sign on the east side of town, go straight, past Oxbox FishHatchery.

Turn right at the Herman Creek campground sign, then turn again atthe trailhead sign. There's a parking area with picnic tables.

SEASON: April into November.

ELEVATION: The top elevation is about 2,800 feet.

TRAIL LENGTH: It is 1.4 miles to Herman Camp, 2.6 miles fromHerman Camp to Ridge Cutoff trail, .5 mile on Ridge Cutoff trail toNick Eaton Ridge trail, 2.0 miles down Nick Eaton Ridge trail and 1.5miles back down Herman Camp trail. Round trip is 8 miles.

HIKING TIP: Bring water because there's none along the trail.