Oregon

Stu Rasmussen promised a new administration if he was elected, and he's as good as his word: Silverton residents not only are getting a new mayor; they're also getting a new Stu. Rasmussen, longtime manager of the local cinema, was also elected mayor in 1988 and 1990, and served four years -- but that was when he was wearing slacks and sport shirts to council meetings.

Police arrested a suspect Sunday in the Oregon bank bombing that killed two officers and critically wounded a police chief. Authorities declined to release the identity of the suspect or the circumstances of the arrest until today, saying only that the suspect was detained Sunday evening in the area of Salem, the capital of Oregon.

Amid reports that poor communication and missed tips might have hampered the search for James Kim and his family in the southern Oregon wilderness, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has ordered three state agencies to review the search process, and said he would appoint a task force to improve search-and-rescue efforts. A state sheriffs' organization also is conducting a review, as are federal agencies in charge of the land where Kim and his family were lost.

The 200-foot-tall Sitka spruce tree has stood for 700 years, but after a fierce windstorm swept through the Pacific Northwest last month, the famed Klootchy Creek Giant may not stand much longer. The storm left the tree, designated one of the two largest Sitka spruces in the nation, with a spiral hole in its trunk a foot and a half deep and more than 15 feet long. It won't take another storm to bring down the tree, which has a trunk circumference of 52 feet.

Kati and James Kim ripped the visor mirror out of their car and tried directing reflected light at airplanes flying over them. They shouted and struggled in vain to relight a fire, in the rain, when a helicopter passed overhead. They hoped that somehow, someone would respond to the note they had written with a crayon and stuck in a zip-lock bag to a gate on a federal wilderness road in southern Oregon: "Low on Gas, Low on Food, 2 Babies."

Lane County has a $47-million hole in its budget. With $20 million gone from the general fund, $20 million from the road fund and $7 million from the schools budget, county Budget Manager David Garnick is trying to figure out how to provide the services people expect. "The things that give you quality of life -- health, safety, elections, prosecution of crime -- you name it and we have to cut it," he says. The county is projecting 260 to 285 layoffs.

Gus Van Sant, who was arrested on drunken driving charges in December, has agreed to an alcohol diversion program in Portland, Ore., his attorney said Friday. Van Sant had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19%, more than double Oregon's limit of 0.08%, when he was arrested Dec. 21 on a main downtown street, police reports said The 54-year-old director, whose films include "Good Will Hunting" and "Drugstore Cowboy," appeared briefly in court Friday morning.

Three climbers on Oregon's highest peak fell off a ledge Sunday, but survived and were being rescued, local officials said. The accident comes two months after a December incident on Mt. Hood in which one climber died and two others went missing and were presumed dead, raising questions about whether winter climbing should be more closely regulated on the 11,239-foot-high mountain.

Three climbers can thank their black Labrador for keeping them warm until their rescue from Oregon's highest peak Monday, a day after they had slipped and fallen into a crevasse. One rescuer said the dog, Velvet, had played a critical role in keeping the man and two women warm enough in "hellacious" winds and heavy snow on Mt. Hood.

In a plan to curb global warming, five governors from Western states agreed Monday to work together to set a regional cap this year on carbon dioxide emissions, and join forces in a market-based emissions trading program within 18 months. The agreement came as the largest utility in Texas, TXU Corp.