The Oregon Liquor Control Commission sent $241,626 for July to Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Sherman, Wasco and Wheeler counties and their 33 cities as part of the total statewide distilled spirits revenue distribution of $11.61 million. Here’s the Central Oregon share: Crook Co., population 24,525, $7,238 - Prineville, $8,509; Deschutes Co., pop. 103,815, $45,042 - Bend, $64,073; LaPine, $1,349; Redmond, $19,999; Sisters, $1,485; Gilliam Co., pop. 1,885, $556 - Arlington, $498; ... [full story]

For growing numbers of people, picking up the telephone is so yesterday. Responding to that fact, the state's Problem Gambling Services program has introduced e-mail, instant messaging and live chat to its popular telephone helpline.  "We see this as a way to reach people who aren't comfortable seeking help by phone, and we expect it to be especially popular with younger, Internet-savvy people who don't often come into treatment for gambling issues," said Bob Nikkel, ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES 2 DAYS IN PARIS - "2 Days in Paris" packs a lot in. At moments, you might wish Julie Delpy had spent a few days taking some stuff out. Delpy wrote, directed, edited, composed and stars as Marion, a photographer despite her retinal birth scar. But she lives verbally, often with sex as useful syntax.   '2 DAYS IN PARIS' - Adam Goldberg as Jack (center), though flanked by other males at a party, ... [full story]

Ask any traffic cop what he finds when someone who's had too much to drink tries to mitigate the damage by swigging coffee before climbing behind the wheel of his car. Invariably, the answer is, "A wide-awake drunk." Now, thanks to the miracles of modern chemistry, people no longer have to mess with two different beverages to achieve that sublime state: America's two largest brewers, Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing, have combined them in one: so-called ... [full story]

Murray Energy Corp.'s Galatia coal mine in Southern Illinois has a long and troubling history of safety violations: 2,787 of them since 2005; 999 in the first six months of 2007 alone. Murray is the same company that owns the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah, where six miners were trapped and presumably killed in a collapse on Aug. 6. Last week, two would-be rescuers and a safety inspector died there as well. Murray's Galatia mine ... [full story]

Excuse us. We had to put in our teeth, use a walker to get to our computers and gulp down some fiber before we started typing this. What, you didn't think some of us were that old? Neither did we. But given the reaction to news that older people - gasp! - have sex, it appears that many people do, indeed, believe that life as we know it somehow ends after age 50. Here's some ... [full story]

Historians will judge departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sternly, for the singular reason that he put his loyalty to President George W. Bush above his duty to defend the Constitution. In the process, he subverted the vital American tradition of the attorney general standing above politics and administering justice without favor. Bush certainly is not the first chief executive to appoint a close friend to oversee the Justice Department. But in Gonzales the White House ... [full story]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has belatedly announced he will step down from the national office he disgraced. Good. Now the focus must be on naming a successor who's more loyal to the Constitution and the American people than to the White House and the Republican Party. Solicitor General Paul Clement will become acting attorney general until a replacement is confirmed. Perhaps Clement - a conservative who enjoys a reputation as an excellent litigator - should ... [full story]

It's too early to say for certain, but there are signs that the panicky U.S. credit market is beginning to get a grip. If so, most Americans should escape relatively unscathed from this month's financial anxiety attack. One sign that things are calming down: Smart players are starting to look for bargains on Wall Street. The Bank of America, for example, agreed to invest $2 billion in the ailing Countrywide Financial, the nation's biggest mortgage ... [full story]

If you think America's rising obesity rate is not a problem, consider that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that medical costs due to preventable obesity-related illnesses total more than $75 billion a year. About half that figure is picked up by taxpayers. Among the conditions rightly blamed on being overweight are diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and gout. Even modest weight loss can significantly reduce the ... [full story]