The Bellingham Herald

• Benefit to raise money for Liam Wood Flyfishing School
  Sherman Alexie and David James Duncan will be at Western Washington University on Friday, Sept. 25, to raise money for the Liam Wood Flyfishing and River Guardian School.
  The two writers will share the stage with musician Jeffrey Foucault for an evening of music and stories as a benefit for the school's youth flyfishing programs. The school teaches the art of flyfishing to connect students to the ecology of fish, rivers and watersheds.
  The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.
  

  ---

• Whatcom home prices drop 4.2 percent
  Whatcom County and other Washington communities saw a significant drop in home prices the past year, according to a new federal report.
  Home values dropped 4.2 percent in Whatcom County in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2008, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's all-transactions house price index.
  Julia Hansen, an Economics professor at Western Washington University, said home sales - which appear to have stabilized locally this summer - will likely drop when the tax credit program ends Nov. 30. That could continue to drag down prices.
  "I think it is too early to call a bottom in prices," Hansen said in an email. "Prices in our market have not declined very much from the peak, and the price-to-income ratio here locally is still well above historical averages."