Chris Lehman

Depending on who you ask, raccoons are either cute little woodland critters or a menace to pets and people. Here in Idaho, the state fish and game department says that there is no state law to stop you from feeding raccoons. But in Oregon's Legislature there’s no consensus on a bill that would ban feeding raccoons.

Kristy Neubo has a small dog. She calls it "Baby."

"She's a little five-pound shih tzu yorkie mix."

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday makes it harder for miners to gain access to Northwest rivers. Environmental groups hailed the decision as a major victory.

Rapidly changing drone technology has some Northwest lawmakers uncomfortable. Legislators in Oregon, Washington and Idaho have introduced measures to regulate and limit the way law enforcement can use the devices. But people who fly these unmanned aircraft for fun are afraid well-intentioned regulations will criminalize their hobby. 

Recent mass shootings in Oregon and Connecticut have thrust mental health issues into the spotlight. Some Oregon lawmakers and mental health advocates hope there's enough momentum to keep the conversation front and center. Unlike gun control, there is a consensus that appears to be emerging on funding mental health programs.

Gay rights groups hope Oregon will be the next state to legalize same-sex marriage at the ballot. Washington did that this week. But to follow suit, Oregon voters would have to reverse themselves and repeal a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Voters passed that ban in 2004 after a campaign led by the conservative Oregon Family Council. Spokeswoman Teresa Harke says her group will oppose any efforts to overturn it.

"I think there are still a lot of people who support one man, one woman marriage. And we are ready to fight for that."

Northwest voters have mixed views when it comes to legalizing marijuana. Oregon voters rejected an attempt to allow people to smoke and grow pot. But Washington voters approved a more limited legalization initiative.

It’s an issue that Idaho has dealt with over the years with dozens of creeks, canyons, peaks and springs with names that use a word offensive to many Native Americans.  Now Oregon is also struggling with the issue.  Two relatively obscure waterways in rural southeast Oregon are generating a heated dispute. The small streams are both named "Squaw Creek," which offends Native Americans. But the landowners in each case object to the proposed new names.

The streak of dry weather in much of the Northwest is about to come to a soggy end. A weather system fueled by subtropical moisture is bearing down on the region.

Forecasters say some coastal mountain areas could see up to eight inches of rain this weekend, with as much as two inches predicted for interior valleys. Many of those areas have had just a smattering of rain drops since the beginning of July.

Registering to vote is easier than ever. But Northwest residents don’t appear as eager to vote as they were during the last presidential election. As the deadline to register draws near, state figures show a smaller uptick in voter registration than in 2008.

Presidential elections tend to spur an increase in the number of registered voters. Young people who've never signed up before or people who let their registration lapse figure it's a good time to sign that voter registration card.

We’ve been reporting on “spice” for months, as the popularity of the synthetic marijuana has continued to rise.  Now public health officials in the Northwest are raising concerns that spice has been linked to a series of kidney failure cases in the region.

The synthetic marijuana is sold under several street names including "spice" and "K2." It's made of a variety of plant material that's sprayed with a chemical meant to mimic the active substance in marijuana. Synthetic marijuana is banned under state and federal law.

Across the Northwest, Latinos make up nearly 12 percent of the population. Yet our research estimates only two percent of the region’s elected officials are Hispanic. It’s a disparity that voters like Jose Ramirez in Yakima County want to change.

“If someone can vote and doesn’t, well, that doesn’t do any good," he says. "You’re allowing others to vote in your place, to make different laws than you might like.”

Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, but only 5 percent of all Hispanics attend a mainline Protestant church. The vast majority are Roman Catholic.

For the Episcopal Church, those numbers are an opportunity.

The denomination is seeing fast-growing pockets of new Latino congregants. Episcopal churches in Nevada and Washington, D.C., are seeing considerably higher attendance from Latinos. In Oregon, there were only 150 Latino Episcopalians 20 years ago. Now, there are more than 800.