Tuition increases — The sting of higher tuition will be slightly smaller next year for students at Oregon’s seven public universities. The State Board of Higher Education voted Friday to reduce planned tuition increases from an average of 4.8 percent to 3.5 percent. The change reflects $15 million in additional public funding that the Legislature approved on its final day in session. Lawmakers required that the additional money be used to offset tuition increases. A full-time student will save $90 next year at the University of Oregon, $63 at Portland State University and $106 at Southern Oregon University.

Reservoir protest — Activists have occupied Mount Tabor Park to protest the city of Portland’s decision to follow a federal mandate to cover open reservoirs. The demonstration started Friday afternoon and was expected to last well into the evening. Police arrested a 66-year-old protester on suspicion of trespassing. He is accused of violating park rules and then refusing to leave. The roots of the dispute stretch back to 2006, when the Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule to prevent the contamination of drinking water. Portland officials spent years seeking delays, contending the requirement to cover open reservoirs is expensive and unnecessary. But newly elected Mayor Charlie Hales and three city commissioners threw in the towel last month. Demonstrators want city leaders to ask Oregon’s congressional delegation for help pursuing a waiver.

Child shooting — According to court records, a man has told police he was using his assault rifle as a crutch to help him get up from the couch when it fired a burst through the ceiling of a Grants Pass apartment and killed a little girl upstairs. The Grants Pass Daily Courier reported Friday that a police affidavit says Jon Andrew Meyer Jr. told investigators the gun went off accidentally. Defense lawyer Gary Berlant adds that Meyer had been assured the gun was not fully automatic. Meyer is being held on $250,000 bail on charges of manslaughter, assault and unlawful possession of a machine gun. Authorities say he was responsible for the reckless burst of rifle fire that killed 5-year-old Alysa Bobbitt of Shady Cove and wounded apartment resident Karen Hancock.

Offline electricity plant — The coal-fired electricity plant at Boardman in Eastern Oregon has been offline since July 1 because of a shock in the steam pipes, and it could take another month to get back online. The East Oregonian reports Portland General Electric is getting power from other sources in the meantime. Spokesman Steve Corson says the shock rattled one pipe 36 inches in diameter out of its hangers. It fell several feet. It didn’t rupture, and no steam was released. Nobody was hurt.

Breast milk bank — The Northwest Mothers Milk Bank opened Thursday in Portland. Mothers can donate extra breast milk to the bank. It’s screened, pasteurized and distributed to hospitals for premature and sick babies whose mothers do not have sufficient milk. KGW reports any milk remaining will be available for families to buy. The co-executive director of the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank, Joanne Ransom, says human milk is especially valuable to premature babies. It decreases the risk of serious illness and shortens their time in a hospital.

Swimming hole drowning — A woman has died after she tried to help her child out of deep water and was submerged for several minutes at a Southern Oregon swimming hole. The Roseburg News-Review reports that 31-year-old Natasha Brooks of Winston died Thursday at a Portland Hospital. Police say she was playing with her three children Wednesday at Riverbend Park on the South Umpqua River in Winston when a current swept one of them into deeper water. Brooks swam out to help, but went under. The child made it to shallower water. A man walking his dogs in the park dived into the river and pulled her out. She was taken to a hospital in Roseburg and later transferred to Portland.

Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic — Ten-thousand bicyclists are making a 200-mile ride this weekend in the annual Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. The Chronicle reports some of the bikes complete the ride in one day. Most spend Saturday night in the Centralia-Chehalis area. Most of the route goes over county roads and city streets. The STP is organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle. The ride met its quota and sold out in February. Riders start at the University of Washington and finish at Holladay Park in Portland.

— From wire reports