Oregon

Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that he has now secured a majority of the elected delegates in his pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination. But just as important as reaching that landmark is the symbolism of where he chose to celebrate it -- in Iowa -- and where he will campaign today -- in Florida.

The governors of New York and Oregon are doing fine after each underwent surgery. New York Gov. David Paterson had a successful cataract surgery, spokeswoman Erin Duggan said, and planned to resume his normal schedule today. Paterson, 54, is legally blind. The cataract was discovered during a procedure last month to relieve pain from acute glaucoma. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, 68, planned to leave Salem Hospital today after having his gall bladder removed, said spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor.

Blame the volcanoes of the Northwest that sent so much lava roaring through this valley about 16 million years ago and set the stage. Or blame the glaciers of Montana for forcing floods, about 14,000 years ago, that carried in so many tons of rich dirt. Or you could just blame David Lett. He was the 25-year-old who rolled in from California 43 years ago with a trailer full of vine cuttings and a crazy dream about something called Pinot.

Most wine regions are beautiful, but Oregon's Willamette Valley is exceptional. Dramatically situated between two mountain ranges, the Coast Range to the west and the Cascades to the east, the valley is a lush rural area, gently curvaceous landscape shaped by volcanic events, then polished by abundant Pacific moisture. The result is a sensuous terrain of smooth-shouldered, voluptuous hills and languorous green valleys lined with fragrant forests of spruce, fir and pine.

Vineyard location: In Wednesday's Food section, the caption accompanying a story about winemakers in Walla Walla, Wash., mistakenly said that Seven Hills Vineyard is located in Washington. It is located in 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."