Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is calling a federal appeals court ruling saying the National Security Agency’s mass collection of Americans’ phone records goes beyond what Congress authorized “a huge win for individual rights.”  Wyden has contended the program violates the law without making the country safer, and is calling on President Obama to end it, adding if he doesn’t Congress should.  The court ruling still allows NSA to continue the program, but calls on Congress to step in and decide how to best balance national security and privacy interests.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill aimed at helping voters better understand the fiscal impacts of a ballot measure before they vote.  Under the bill introduced by 14th District Representative Norm Johnson, the secretary of state would request an explanatory statement from the Attorney General’s office and a fiscal impact statement from the Office of Financial Management, and a timeline for those offices to meet the requests in order to be printed in the Voters’ Pamphlet.   Those statements would also be provided in advance to the committees who are developing arguments for and against each measure.  Johnson introduced the bill following voter approval in November of Initiative 1351, which directed the Legislature to allocate funds to reduce class sizes and increase staffing support for K-12 students.  Johnson said the idea behind the initiative is commendable, but he didn’t believe voters understood what it would cost, estimated by some at four billion to seven billion dollars.

Baseball Regis 9, Dufur 3:  The Rangers’ 15-game winning streak was snapped, as they were tagged with only their second loss in 23 games.   Track and Field The Columbia girls grabbed six first place finishes on the way to winning a ten-school meet in Kalama.  Claire Anderson, Aidan Liddiard, Savannah Story, and Lauren Thiesies all earned wins, along with a pair of Bruin relay teams.  Madison McCrum was first in two events to help Stevenson to seventh place finish.  Columbia was third and Stevenson fifth in the boys’ standings.  For the Bruins, Cabot Roe won the 1600 meters while CHS finished first in the four by 400 meter relay.  Stevenson’s Brandon Campbell won the pole vault.   Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 5, Hermiston 3:  HRV clinched the Columbia River Conference boys’ tennis title with the win.  

The Columbia Gorge Community College budget committee voted to recommend a reserve policy to help restore the college to a sustainable path.  Committee chair Arthur Babitz says the policy involves three different pieces, which would be ten percent of the general fund’s operating amount, a contingency fund of two-and-a-half percent, and a third piece that Babitz called an operations reserve which would go up and down depending on the economy and enrollment levels, with the fund going up when enrollment levels are high and then drawn down when they drop to provide some level of stability.  Committee members asked staff to bring back proposals involving cuts in administration and overhead or class offerings that could help restore money for student services, where several committee members felt cuts would cause problems for the college in delivering on its mission.  The CGCC budget committee meets again Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at the college campus in The Dalles.

Klickitat County Commissioners approved a resolution requesting the Washington Department of Transportation rename the section of Highway 14 from Lyle to Murdock for a sheriff’s deputy who was killed by a drunk driver in the line of duty in 1986.  County Commissioner David Sauter says they want to name the road in honor of Klickitat County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael McNabb.  Sauter noted they included letters of support from the Washington 14th District Legislative delegation.

A Steller sea lion died w hen it became entangled between two traps at Bonneville Dam.  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says there were no witnesses to the incident, which occurred sometime Monday night.  Biologists believe the animal got between the two cage traps onto a narrow area where the wooden floors of each trap extended beyond the cages, coming together to create a makeshift platform.  It appears that as the animal tried to back out of the narrow area, it became entangled in the tethering cables holding the traps together.  A veterinarian on site determined the animal drowned, and a complete necropsy will be performed.  ODFW spokesman Rick Hargrave says the agency’s focus now is to prevent this from happening again.  Trapping operations at Bonneville Dam have been suspended while ODFW consults with NOAA.  In the meantime, cage trap doors will be closed and locked, and a temporary barricade will be installed between the two cage traps to prevent access.

Local residents are among the many looking to help victims of the earthquake in Nepal on April 23.  Photographer Peter Marbach says one of the hardest hit areas is Kumari, a steep mountainous region in the Himalayas that is home to about 60,000 people.  He points out the road between Kumari and Kathmandu, which was not very good to begin with, was essentially destroyed in the earthquake, making it difficult to get needed supplies.  Marbach adds a recently developed medical clinic was destroyed in the earthquake.  Those who would like to help with the Kumari recovery can go on-line to healthanded4nepal.org.

Baseball Hood River Valley 12, The Dalles 0:  Patrick Harvey homered and drove in three runs while Skyler Hunter also had three runs batted in as the Eagles inched closer to the Columbia River Conference title.  Kam Walker pitched five shutout innings.  HRV is now two games ahead of Pendleton at the top of the CRC standings with three games to play.   Columbia splits with Kalama, winning game one 5-4 and losing the nightcap 6-2.  The Bruins and the Chinooks remain tied for third in the Trico League heading into their game on Friday in Kalama. King’s Way Christian swept Stevenson 12-4 and 13-1. Dufur 8, Riverside 0   Softball Hood River Valley 12, The Dalles 2:  HRV scored four runs in each of the first three innings on the way to the win.  Zoe Munn had four hits while Breanna Weekly had three hits and three runs batted in to lead the Eagle offense.  Hood River moved two games ahead of Hermiston for the Columbia River Conference’s final play-in spot with three to play.   Kalama swept Columbia 13-6 and 14-3.   Boys Soccer LaCenter 2, Stevenson 0:  LaCenter moved into third place in the Trico League. Columbia 14, Castle Rock 0

A Goldendale man was taken by LifeFlight to a Portland hospital after a one-car accident at the intersection of Highways 142 and 97 early Sunday evening.  According to the Washington State Patrol, the car driven by 43-year-old Scott Snoen was eastbound on Highway 142 just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday when it failed to stop at the intersection with Highway 97.  The WSP says the car continued across Highway 97, going off the northbound shoulder through a Department of Transportation fence, and came to rest on its top 100 feet off the roadway.  Snoen was flown to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland.  The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Hood River Police are warning motorcycle owners to secure their vehicles after a pair of motorcycles were stolen in residential neighborhoods over the past week.  Both of the motorcycles were reported to have been parked outside of the owner’s residences and within view of the street.  The two locations were not in close proximity to each other, and it is believed the suspect is targeting motorcycles left outside overnight.  Police encourage residents to park their motorcycles inside a secure location if possible.  If that’s not possible, lock your ignition and remove the key, secure the motorcycle by locking it to a stationary object that cannot be easily dismantled, or install an alarm on the motorcycle.  Anyone who might have information about the recent motorcycle thefts is asked to call Hood River Police Detective Mike Martin at 541-387-5256.