Bailout bill helps rural counties

Tucked in Friday's Wall Street bailout package was $3.3 billion of funding for rural counties with large  federal holdings.

The package includes four more years of funding for schools and roads in counties suffering from a decline in logging in national forests, as well as continued aid for local governments with nontaxable federal land within their boundaries.

California counties have been among the top beneficiaries of the schools program.

-- Bettina Boxall 

Photo: The Northern California town of Yreka, which benefits from rural subsidies. Credit: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press