Any relationship with another human being is bound to have a few sensitive areas, subject matters that are trod upon lightly. And the choices we make in HOW to talk about them can make all the difference. Relationship expert and therapist Carl Alasko points out just how critical word choices are in his book Say This, Not That . That title should tell you plenty.

The shipping of Japanese-Americans to prison camps during World War II is not one of the prouder episodes in American history. But it is a well-documented episode. Some of the best-known American photographers of the time, including Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, captured images of American citizens held captive in the name of security. A new collection of the photographs is offered in the book Un-American . Photo historians Richard Cahan and Michael Williams assembled the collection.

Addictions to opioid prescription drugs are all too common in America. But facilities to treat people who've become addicted can be harder to find. Grants Pass is an example: until this week, Josephine County residents seeking treatment had to seek it in Jackson County, a half-hour drive or more. Grace Roots , an organization dedicated to confronting the addiction problem , opened the doors to a Grants Pass treatment center this week, and patients streamed in. And the official opening is not

It's a good time to be a fish on the North Coast. Or at least a good time to be a person who wants fish to thrive on the North Coast. The Martin Slough project is on the verge of receiving funding to reduce flooding and enhance fish habitat along the slough that winds through the south end of Eureka. The project involves the Redwood Community Action Agency , NOAA Fisheries , the federal agency, and the state Coastal Conservancy .

It's a simple thing, really, saying "I'm sorry, I messed up." Well maybe the words are simple, but the process stumps a lot of us. In fact, it's not uncommon for people to botch an apology so badly that the hurt feelings are deepened. Therapist and relationship expert Harriet Lerner explores the difficulty inherent in apologizing in her book Why Won't You Apologize? Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts .

The soil in the old Ashland railroad yard has been contaminated for so long, some of it came from steam locomotives. The site of the old roundhouse is where oil and other contaminants spilled and leaked on the ground. Now the property owner, Union Pacific, is about to clean it up. But not before a few tweaks to the cleanup plan... for one thing, the bad soil will be taken out by rail, not by trucks on local streets. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is overseeing the cleanup plan.

Nobody figured that removing dams from the Klamath River would be easy. But the original plan to remove the J.C. Boyle Dam in Oregon and the Copco 1, Copco 2, and Irongate Dams in California was to have them out by 2020. Which is getting close. Dam removal might start by that year; Pacific Power has already transferred its ownership to another entity, the Klamath River Renewal Corporation . The California State Water Board begins environmental impact report meetings later this week in Arcata

Even if we all agree on environmental issues to address, how do we move forward? It helps to ask a few people, and that's exactly what Mark Lubell and his team at UC-Davis do. The Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior is big on surveys, figuring out why people take actions (or inactions) on environmental matters.

California had to learn and re-learn lessons about water conservation as drought deepened in recent years. And the lessons will be needed again, because rain now does not mean the end of drought. Then there's the backdrop... a state that does not get much rain holds more people than any other state. How can water use be curtailed, yet allow people and fish to thrive at the same time? That will be the central question when the Salmonid Restoration Federation convenes a workshop later this week in

Marijuana on the market means opportunities for users and sellers, and some for growers as well. And challenges for them, too... to grow a decent crop without spending too much money. Some growers choose to grow marijuana indoors, and there are studies underway to make indoor grows of any crops more efficient. The University of California-Davis is home to the Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) , studying how best to balance environmental controls.