Cash strapped county budgets got word Thursday, that their annual federal aid check is coming through. But as it stands, this year’s payments in lieu of property taxes could be the last of their kind.

Nearly every county in the Northwest receives at least some money based on their population and how much nontaxable public land is within their borders. The program, called PILT for short expires this year. It’s up to congress to reauthorize it.

Gil Riddell, Policy Coordinator for the Association of Oregon Counties, predicts that despite congressional gridlock, the counties won’t be left out to dry.

An Army combat engineer has become the 12th Washington based soldier to die in Afghanistan this year. The pace of deaths has picked up in recent weeks as the summer fighting season begins.

The Army says Sgt. 1st Class Barett McNabb was killed by an improvised explosive device. He was on his fourth deployment, but his first to Afghanistan.

McNabb is just the latest soldier from Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord to die in Afghanistan. May was the deadliest month so far this year with six soldier deaths.

Members of Idaho’s state legislative budget committee are on a fact- finding tour of locations in north central Idaho this week.  The delegation is making the rounds in places like Moscow and Orofino, with the intent being to better understanding issues and budget requests that will come up in the next legislative session.

Tuesday’s debate between candidates for Washington Attorney General touched briefly on the issue of immigration. Specifically, they addressed whether the state should require citizenship checks for driver’s licenses.

It’s a question that’s getting renewed attention, as election season moves into full swing.

To get a driver’s license, most states require proof of citizenship. But not Washington.

Jurors in the trial against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky heard from three more alleged victims during the fourth day of testimony today. Amid more graphic testimony, they told similar stories about how they say Sandusky made them feel special.

The AP reports:

In a far reaching opinion Thursday, the Oregon Supreme Court gave judges the power to decide what evidence can and cannot be released to the public after a trial.

Several news organizations, including Oregon Public Broadcasting, sought a set of 1,200 files with the names of  Boy Scout staff who'd been accused of sexual abuse.

The files had been used as evidence during trial. But after that trial, Multnomah County Judge John Whitmire said the files could only be released if they were redacted.  Media organizations appealed, asking to see what the jury had seen.

Ohio could very well be the state where what's expected to be a very close presidential race gets decided.

And every indication is that the economy will be the issue that drives the majority of voters to either President Obama or Mitt Romney.

Which explains why on Thursday both the Democratic president and the all-but-official Republican nominee were, again, in Ohio to argue why he and not his opponent should be president starting January 20, 2013.

"Joseph Erhardt" writes that the appearance and enigmatic identity of Germany's "Forest Boy" reminds him of the tale of Kaspar Hauser, who appeared in Nuremberg in the spring of 1828 with a very odd story as to his origins.

It was a scenario many have imagined: Retiring to a lonely beach in Mexico after a few minutes of a heart-pounding crime — like Bonnie and Clyde riding into the sunset with a good stash of money attained through a handful of bank heists.