Despite climbing enrollment, public universities are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn. The slumping stock market has put a damper on the investments of many schools. And declining tax revenues are expected to put state allocations for higher ed on the chopping block in Oregon and California. We talk with Paul Mann of Humboldt State University in Arcata about the contingency plans the school has developed for possible budget scenarios.

It's a sign of the hard economic times. More people are walking through the doors of state offices for the first time to ask for food stamps, cash assistance, or help paying their energy bills. The Oregon Department of Human Services reports the largest increase in requests is in Central and Southern Oregon. We talk with Lisa Lewis, manager of DHS' self-sufficiency program in Jackson and Josephine counties, about the need she's currently seeing, and we look at who may need aid in the future with regional employment economist Guy Tauer.

The federal government wants to make some changes in the activities allowed on 2.6 million acres in Oregon. Those acres are forest land. The activities are primarily logging. And changes would be: more of it. Anyone who thinks the Northwest's timber wars were resolved in the '90s hasn't been following the battles over this plan.

The Western Oregon Plan Revisions (or WOPR) is the result of a settlement with the timber industry, which said the Bureau of Land Management has become too stingy with logging projects on land designated for timber production. Environmentalists say the "Whopper" is just that -- they say it calls for aggressive logging in old-growth areas and puts endangered species at risk. But the plan would add an estimated 1,200 jobs and provide additional revenue to counties. So what's in this plan?  We talk with Tim Reuwsaat, manager of the BLM's Medford District, and BLM spokesman Jim Whittington.

The announcement last week that Pacificorp would remove four dams on the Klamath signaled more than just a return to free-flowing river water. It also clears the way for ceasefire in the Klamath Basin's ongoing water battles. Dam removal was the linchpin in a landmark agreement reached by farmers, tribes, fishermen, and environmentalists. Now it appears the plan is moving forward. But for farmers, dam removal is a sore subject. We talk with Klamath Water Users Association executive director Greg Addington.

Most of us know it as the "bailout bill." But bankers prefer the official title, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced he had changed his mind about the best way to stabilize the economy; instead of buying up mortgage-backed securities, he plans to use bailout dollars to encourage more lending on the part of banks. Is this money well spent? We talk with Linda Navarro, president and CEO of the Oregon Bankers Association.

When you shop, what are you looking for? A good price? Does it matter who's selling the item? With the economy headed toward recession, shoppers trying to stretch their budgets may opt for chain retailers, like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and online retailers like Amazon.com. But Stacy Mitchell argues the way we shop can change the character of our community, even when times are tough. She's helped cities actively keep big-box stores out. Mitchell's new book is Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses. We talk with Mitchell about the push and pull between localism and that other American value: convenience.

Rural areas represent about 80 percent of the United States' land mass, and only 17 percent of its population. But can you win an election without rural voters? Though typically conservative, this year Barack Obama appeared to make inroads in rural America. What drew rural voters to the Democratic party? What does the Republican party need to do to get them back? And why is there such a stark rural-urban political divide? We talk with Bill Greener, Republican political strategist and an adviser to the Center for Rural Strategies.