Congressman-elect resigns state seat

SALEM - Congressman-elect Kurt Shrader has officially resigned his seat in the Oregon Legislature.

Voters in Senate District 20 re-elected Shrader in 2006, but he decided to run for Congress when U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley announced she would not seek re-election.

Shrader defeated Republican Mike Erickson in November.

The Clackamas County Commission must appoint Shrader's replacement within a month.

Merkley names staff chief, other aides

WASHINGTON - Democrat Jeff Merkley has named top aides as he prepares to take office Jan. 6 as U.S. senator from Oregon.

His chief of staff is 37-year-old Michael Zamore, policy director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. It helped Merkley and other Democratic challengers boost the party's majority in the Senate.

Zamore previously worked for Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.

Maribeth Healey will serve as deputy state director, Claire Griffin as constituent services director and Jessica Adamson as business liaison.

They will work in Oregon, along with state director Jon Issacs. Healey is executive director of Oregonians for Health Security.

Zamore and communications director Julie Edwards will work in Washington.

Portland studio ends film plan, lays off 65

PORTLAND - The Portland-based animation studio Laika Entertainment has laid off 65 people as the company owned by Nike chairman Phil Knight halted plans for "Jack and Ben's Animated Adventure.''

Barry Cook, the director of Disney's "Mulan,'' had signed on to direct the computer-generated feature that would have been the studio's second film.

The studio's first feature, "Coraline,'' is to be released Feb. 6.

"Coraline'' is an adaptation of a children's novel by Neil Gaiman about a girl who enters a parallel world and encounters sinister versions of her parents.

Storm is challenge for dialysis patients

SEATTLE - The Northwest Kidney Centers organization is reminding dialysis patients to stick to an emergency diet if they cannot make it to their dialysis treatments because of the region's snowstorm.

Dialysis patients are at risk of dying if their bodies build up too much potassium, which comes from eating fruits, vegetables and protein.

The organization recommends that patients who cannot make it to their dialysis treatments switch to a low-protein diet and avoid high-potassium fruits and vegetables.

- The Associated Press