For editions the week of May 6-12

Here is a list of top regional enterprise stories in the West from The Associated Press. Salt Lake City news editor Linda Ashton is coordinating this week's enterprise. She can be reached at 801-322-3405. Photo editor John Hopper can be reached at 213-346-3141.

For repeats of AP copy, please call your local bureau or the Service Desk at 800-838-4616. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, also can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com

Additional information about the West Wire, including contact numbers, is available at http://www.ap.org/westwire/.

NEW this UPDATE: Nevada Governor-Divorce; Artifical Turf.

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OREGON TRAVEL:

PORTLAND'S FAR SIDE

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Acupuncture is not just for people. It's also for cities -- if the city is Portland. Adam Kuby has stuck a 23-foot needle into the ground down by the Willamette River and hopes to plant more, choosing locations where he figures the city's "chi," or vital energy, needs some help. Unusual? You bet. Unusual for Portland? Not really. For several years, Portland has been reaping praise from lifestyle magazines as one of the nation's more livable cities, listed among the best places to have a baby, grow old, go for a walk, ride a bike, take a jog, breathe clean air, own a dog, take public transportation, start a business (green or otherwise), go out for dinner or not get mugged. The praises don't stop. Swing a cat and hit 10. On second thought, don't. Portland is rated the third-most humane city in the nation. By Joseph B. Frazier.

Eds: Moved Monday for use any time.

AP Photos of May 5: NY400-407

With AP TRAVEL VIDEO: Filename 0505trav--Portland

TOURIST'S PORTLAND

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Some cities are hard for the casual visitor to handle. Traffic, confusing maps, far-flung attractions, and too many chain stores can make the tourist's quest for a hassle-free yet authentic connection to the local vibe all but impossible. Portland is not one of those places. It's a day-tripper's paradise. The city's funky, laid-back personality is easy to sample on the street and in quirky local stores. Its restaurants do justice to Oregon's bountiful produce and the seafood of the Pacific. Metered street parking is plentiful compared to many big cities. And while typical Northwest weather means you must pack an umbrella, it's also why Portland's gardens are so beautiful. By AP Travel Editor Beth J. Harpaz.

Eds: Moved Monday for use any time.

AP Photos of May 5: NY424-429.

OREGON OUTDOORS

HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- It was a good thing nobody warned me about all those hills and the cars zooming by. Because if I'd known beforehand what the ride from the bike shop in Hood River to a nearby trailhead was going to be like, I might not have tried it. Especially not with my 9-year-old son, whose biking experience consisted of a loop in a mostly flat city park where cars are banned. But we were determined to include biking on a three-day trip to enjoy outdoor adventures in Oregon, including visits to Multnomah Falls, the Mount Hood region, the Sea Lion Caves near Florence and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. And despite my initial panic about the bike ride, along with another meltdown before I fell in love with dune buggies, all of our outings were terrific. I'm a city girl, the type of person who's afraid to camp out in the wilderness because there's no way to lock the tent door. But I try to appreciate the great outdoors, especially on vacation. And Oregon did not disappoint. By AP Travel Editor Beth J. Harpaz.

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AP Photos of May 5: NY408-412

OREGON COAST

NEWPORT, Ore. -- Oregon's coast is still wild enough to be a windy wonder, tame enough for the squeamish, surprisingly affordable and uncrowded -- yet diverse enough to please at least someone in the car most of the time. All beaches are public, and access is guaranteed by law.

Because the coastal highway didn't go in until the 1930s, much of the coast remains relatively free of commercial development and some is scarcely developed at all, although that is changing.

You can look for agates, watch whales, deep-sea fish, surf, play golf, explore shipwrecks and fishing fleets, hit a world-class aquarium, try your luck at tribal casinos, poke around for buried treasure or sit back and watch spectacular surf pound the rocks. Not bad. And a lot of it is free. By Joseph B. Frazier.

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AP Photos of May 5: NY413-417.

PUDGY POLICE

LOS ANGELES -- Rana Parker tells pudgy police they have the right to remain chubby, but it can and will be used against them on the streets of Los Angeles. The slender dietitian lays down the law for recruits, veterans and top brass, letting them know that eating right can make them more effective and could even save their lives. By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer.

Eds: Moved Tuesday for use any time.

AP Photos of May 6: LA201-205.

NEVADA GOVERNOR-DIVORCE

CARSON CITY -- The state that pioneered the quickie divorce is witnessing a potentially ugly breakup that has the governor of Nevada fighting to get back into his own mansion. Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons filed for divorce last week after moving out of the 23-room official residence. With his wife, Dawn, now ensconced in the Governor's Mansion, he has gone to court to have her evicted so that he can move back. Entire sitcoms have been built on less. And many Nevadans are fascinated by the whole spectacle. "This isn't a tourist attraction, but it's certainly an attraction," said Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada. By Brendan Riley.

Eds: Moved Tuesday for use any time.

AP Photo of May 6: NVCAP101.

HAWAII-VOLCANIC GAS

OCEAN VIEW, Hawaii -- For eight years, Tony and Sam Bayaoa have grown thousands of protea flowers on their 2-acre farm. Then last month, Kilauea volcano 35 miles to the east opened a new vent and began spewing sulfur dioxide. Now about 70 percent of their crop is dried, brown and brittle. Big Island crops are shriveling as sulfur dioxide from Kilauea envelops them in a haze of vog, or volcanic smog. By Audrey McAvoy.

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AP Photos of May 5:HIMG101-102 and FX101-112. AP Graphic HAWAII VOG.

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OLD GAS PUMPS

REARDAN, Wash. -- Men in Chip Colville's family have been pumping gas here since his grandfather opened Colville's Garage on Main Street in 1919. Back then, cars shared the street with horses and mules in this Lincoln County farming town of 600 about 20 miles west of Spokane. A gallon of gasoline could be had for less than a quarter. Now, Main Street is U.S. Highway 2, and a gallon of gas is edging toward $4. Diesel fuel passed the $4 mark last month. And that's the problem. The three gasoline dispensers outside Colville's Inc. Chevron station were built when gasoline was still less than $1 a gallon and the mechanical meters on the pumps stop at $3.999. Bob Renkes, executive vice president and general counsel of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, Okla., estimates as many as 8,500 of the nation's 170,000 service stations have the old meters, or about 17,000 individual dispensers that need to be fixed. By John K. Wiley.

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AP Photos.

ARTIFICIAL TURF

BOISE, Idaho -- He's a 25-year-old mechanical engineer who hasn't rushed a yard in his life.

But the machine Seth Kuhlman built could provide the National Football League with some of the most comprehensive information available on how and why turf-related injuries occur, and if changes in footwear or artificial turf could result in fewer injuries for NFL players. By Jessie Bonner.

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AP Photos.

ARCTIC-OFFSHORE DRILLING

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- As mayor of Alaska's wealthy North Slope Borough, Edward Itta is keenly attuned to the importance of oil. The government structure he oversees would virtually disappear without the annual infusion of royalties from the giant fields of crude in his region. Like many Inupiat Eskimo in Arctic Alaska, Itta generally supports the development of more reserves in the borough, site of America's largest oil field, and believes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be "safe and sensible." But Itta's enthusiasm for industry has dampened somewhat as the Inupiat clash with major energy companies over offshore oil extraction. Rich in oil and gas reserves, the northern seas are also home to whales, seals and other marine species that to this day make up the bulk of the Inupiat diet. By AP Business Writer Jeannette J. Lee.

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AP Photos.

PIGEON LADY WARS

LOS ANGELES -- There was a time when Laura Dodson went after the crack dealers in her Hollywood neighborhood. Now, she has declared war on another urban scourge. For three years, she has enlisted snitches, set up overnight stakeouts, appealed for help from city leaders and the police. Her quarry? Pigeon lady Susie Kourinian. Kourinian is a seamstress to stars like Cate Blanchett and Megan Mullally. That glittery occupation gives Kourinian the wherewithal to make a lot of pigeons happy. Kourinian once told police she spends $65,000 a year on bird feed -- enough to dump 500 pounds of birdseed every day. 1,300 words, moving May 6 for weekend editions, May 10-11. By Noaki Schwartz.

Eds: Moved Monday in advance for weekend editions.

AP Photos of May 5: NY365-369.

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NORTHWESTERN SHOSHONE

SALT LAKE CITY -- Recognized as a federal tribe barely two decades ago, the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has no oil or natural gas, no coal, no timber -- and no good location for a casino. But it does have two keys to economic survival: leaders with business savvy and a plan -- developed at Harvard University -- that has the band poised for prosperity. By Kristen Moulton And Christopher Smart, The Salt Lake Tribune.

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AP Photo planned.