Always forget to ask… what is the diference in the color of the small icons in the locations on the board? Is that in an enconuter black mean loss and white gain or am i reading them wrong?

Black means you have a guaranteed way to get the thing in question by using the location ability - so common items at the general store, allies at the boarding house, sanity at the asylum, white just means you have a decent chance of getting them by drawing a location card.