| From The Economist print edition
MICHAEL VEENSTRA'S 60-berth marina at Goolwa has room for only 30 boats: half the moorings are now on dry land. Over the past 18 months, the water level has dropped and its salt content has risen. Goolwa faces the mouth of the Murray River. Yet drought, climate change and more than 100 years of irrigation have left the Murray in one of its worst crises. The Murray and its main tributary, the Darling, are Australia's longest river-system and the lifeblood of its crop farms. It supplies four of the country's six states. The picture at the Murray's source, 2,500km (1,550 miles) east of Goolwa, is more refreshing, as it bubbles out of a clear spring in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales (NSW). But it grows steadily worse from there. In the past two years, the volume of water flowing into the Murray from the rivers that feed it in NSW and Queensland was the lowest since records began in 1892.
Panasonic camera addresses need for AA solution
While most camera buyers are looking for rechargeable lithium ion battery packs there is a niche for the simple AA solution and Panasonic is addressing this with its new point-and-shoot DMC-LS80. We've had a little camera that just ran on AA batteries and it had its uses when we were roughing it with no electricity nearby and no solar solution set up. This entry-level model has a three times optical zoom with 8.1 megapixel resolution and such features as an optical image stabilizer to compensate for those wobbly fingers, intelligent ISO that determines whether or not the subject is moving and adjusts the ISO and setting and shutter speed accordingly, an auto macro feature that makes the switch to macro on its own for those close-up shots and a quick auto focus. Useful features that will make the beginner feel that much more capable behind the camera.
Castro Departure Opens Economic Options for U.S.
America quietly has become the largest foreign supplier of food products to the communist nation, thanks to a loosening of the U.S. trade embargo in 2000. U.S. farmers sold an estimated $437 million worth of agricultural products to Cuba last year, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. The Cuban government puts the figure at more than $600 million. .
New political coverage portal
Vincent's closing and story about the homebound, which one is more exclusive to The Spokesman-Review? S-R can give more consideration to a story that is more exclusive.
There's been a run of snow-related centerpiece stories all week. On the other hand, there's also more of a snowstorm coming tomorrow. The final decision was to combine the homebound and snow articles on the front page, then to put the St. Vincent de Paul closure in center on the Northwest page. "This is about social service agencies not being able to help people who are stuck," said senior editor Carla Savalli. In other news Under Storm Stories, click on "Is it a pig or a rat?" Folks wondered whether it was a pig, rat, kangaroo, dinosaur... .
The great woodpecker hunt
SCRUBGRASS BAYOU, Ark. - Away down in the swampy bottomlands of Dixie, the most intensive search ever for a bird is gearing up for a make-or-break season. Big reputations are riding on the controversial quest for the ivory-billed woodpecker, the most magnificent and most elusive of America's tree-knockers. Here in the vast White River National Wildlife Refuge, naturalists are trying to confirm hotly-debated sightings of a bird written off as extinct until four years ago. The terrain is tough and even treacherous. Catclaw briars snag boots, whip vines slash faces, and cruel honey-locust thorns stab through clothing and skin. Cold muddy water can rise to the armpits of researchers fording swamps in duct tape-patched waders. "It's a labor-intensive slog, for the most part.
Nerites Corp. raises $5.7 million
Silicon Valley firm joins $5.7M Nerites funding [San Jose] Nerites receives NIH grant [Milwaukee] Madison firm secures $100,000 NIH grant [Milwaukee] Cellectar completes $13M financing round [Milwaukee] Venture Investors closes on new fund [Milwaukee] .
AP Business NewsBrief at 12:00 p.m. EST
Governors from states without coal want more evidence the technology works. Boeing Tries to Hold Onto Tanker Dealnews://newsclip.ap.org/D8UVVRBO0@news.ap.orgWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Air Force is likely days away from handing out one of the biggest Pentagon contracts in years _ a deal valued at up to $40 billion to replace 179 planes in its fleet of aerial refueling tankers. For the three companies bidding, there is more at stake than just the monetary award: jobs and reputation. Legal Move Pushes GM Retiree Plan Aheadnews://newsclip.ap.org/D8UVUF600@news.ap.orgDETROIT (AP) _ The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. have taken a big legal step toward shifting billions in retiree health care costs from the automaker to an independent trust fund. The union and attorneys representing several retirees sued GM on Thursday in U.S.
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