Rebuilding the food chain
NORTH BEND — The last Big Mac will sizzle on Sunday. The last French fries will crunch. The last chocolate shake will gurgle through a straw.

How to run a railroad?
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay may soon find itself with a 111-mile railroad. The problem is the port has no experience running one.

Pilots complain airlines restrict fuel to cut costs
WASHINGTON — Pilots are complaining that their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly uncomfortably low on fuel.

I want to know: What is the latest on the Timber Inn?
Q: What happened to the Timber Inn? Will it ever reopen? Why is it not up for sale?

Marine ordered to trial
SAN DIEGO — A Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty in the killing of an unarmed detainee in Fallujah, Iraq.

I want to know: About truck engine brakes in town
Q: Semi-trucks that come into North Bend from the north use their engine brakes when they come into town. There’s a whole bunch of houses and motels along the highway here. They could get by this little strip without using them. I wonder why there’s not a sign here that says engine breaks aren’t allowed as you come into town?

Russia, Georgia begin military showdown
DZHAVA, Georgia — Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

AG charges Detroit mayor
DETROIT (AP) — Moments after a judge ruled that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could be released from jail if he pays a $50,000 bond, Michigan’s attorney general announced he was charging the mayor with two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation between Kilpatrick and a sheriff’s detective.

Supremacists say Obama could help their cause
PEARL, Miss.  — They’re not exactly rooting for Barack Obama, but prominent white supremacists anticipate a boost to their cause if he becomes the first black president. His election, they say, would trigger a backlash — whites rising up, a revolution of sorts — that they think is long overdue.

 A question of need in E. Oregon
Idaho Northern & Pacific railroad had already sold the salvage rights to its 63-mile Joseph Branch when two eastern Oregon counties came calling. After forming an intergovernmental agreement, Wallowa and Union counties stopped the demolition work and purchased the track connecting Elgin and Joseph for $6.5 million in May 2002.

Allegany voters to decide park tax
Coos County Elections Office staff will fire up their election machines this fall — two months early.

N. California line is still a work in progress
The Northwestern Pacific rail line in Northern California is very similar to the stretch of track CORP is trying to abandon. The route runs through rugged terrain and communities that have seen a decline in their main export: timber products. Like the Coos Bay line, the route was operated by the Southern Pacific for years. A drop in rail traffic and increasing maintenance costs led the company to give up on it. A short-line railroad, Eureka Southern, briefly continued service during the mid-’80s, but it declared bankruptcy after battling the same problems.

NB’s newest charter school board to hold tele-meeting
The Oregon Virtual Academy, a new online virtual charter school sponsored by the North Bend School District, will hold its second public board meeting at 6 p.m. this Monday in the superintendent’s office at 1913 Meade St.