News from across the USA

ALABAMA Opelika: A man who pleaded guilty to poisoning Auburn University’s oak trees missed a court hearing about his restitution payment schedule. The Opelika- Auburn News reports that a contempt citation was issued last week for Harvey Updyke, a University of Alabama football fan, to report March 1.

ALASKA Fairbanks: A Facebook page started by a teenager is connecting stranded drivers around Fairbanks to a group of volunteers who’ll help pull their vehicle out of a ditch at no cost. The page — “Fairbanks I’m Stuck Come Pull Me Out” — was started last year by 17- year- old Megyn Williams, The Fairbanks Daily News- Miner reports.

ARIZONA Prescott: Police in Prescott say they’ve seen a rash of home burglaries in recent months in which thieves break into unoccupied homes for sale and make off with appliances. Even toilets have been taken, police say.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Arkansas residents hoping to grow medical marijuana must pay an annual fee of $ 100,000. The Arkansas Democrat- Gazette reports that a state commission also says grow applicants must be able to show $ 500,000 in cash liquidity.

CALIFORNIA Santa Ana: An Orange County jeweler who stole diamonds from clients and replaced them with fake stones has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison. The scheme was discovered when an engagement ring that Charles Hanson had worked on was appraised.

COLORADO Boulder: Parks officials in Boulder have ordered the removal of 121 ash trees infested by emerald ash borers. The Daily Camera reports that the beetle, first found here in September 2013, has since been detected all over the city.

CONNECTICUT Manchester: Students at a Connecticut high school were dismissed early last week after a school security guard collapsed and died. Manchester High School Principal Jill Kreiger said counselors were made available to students.

DELAWARE Newark: Delaware State Police are looking for a man who tried to rob a bread delivery driver in Newark. The agency said the driver was at a Burger King when he was confronted by a man with a handgun.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: U. S. Park Police say several weapons, including two guns in a violin case, were found along the Potomac River in Washington. A variety of weapons were recovered, including long guns and pistols.

FLORIDA Key Largo: An invasive Pacific Ocean fish pulled off a Broward County artificial reef is now a featured exhibit at a Miami science museum. The Miami Herald reports that the onespot rabbitfish was found swimming off Dania Beach.

GEORGIA Marietta: Police are investigating two robberies within a 72- hour period of the same Waffle House restaurant in Marietta. Cobb County police haven’t said whether they believe the robberies are linked or coincidence.

HAWAII Honolulu: Hawaii News Now reports that the Maui Arts and Cultural Center is accused of violating its liquor license by allowing male performers in “Thunder from Down Under” to expose too much skin.

IDAHO Lewiston: An Idaho conservation group has filed a lawsuit challenging the U. S. Forest Service’s decision to log and build a temporary road in an undeveloped part of the Nez Perce- Clearwater National Forest, The Lewiston Tribune reports.

ILLINOIS Springfield: A Springfield medical group is requiring patients insured by the state of Illinois to pay half of their expected surgery bills up front. The

State Journal- Register reports that payment delays by the State Employees’ Group Insurance Program have grown to $ 3.66 billion.

INDIANA Muncie: FBI investigators seized more than a dozen boxes of documents during a search of the Muncie city building commissioner’s office last week, The ( Muncie) Star Press reports.

IOWA West Burlington: Officials say hundreds of faucets ran open for at least 30 minutes at a West Burlington hospital to flush floor cleaner out of a hot water line. The Hawk Eye reports that no patients were harmed.

KANSAS Topeka: Gov. Sam Brownback has outlined two long- term initiatives designed to bring more doctors to rural Kansas. Ninety- two of the state’s 105 counties are considered medically underserved.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Kentucky officials have reached an agreement with a disposal company that illegally dumped lowlevel radioactive fracking waste. The order proposes a $ 95,000 civil penalty for the Blue Ridge Landfill in Estill County.

LOUISIANA Shreveport: A subsidiary of Hyundai is bringing an inland distribution center for imported vehicles to the former General Motors plant in Shreveport.

MAINE Augusta: WGME- TV reports that the Maine Department of Transportation has more than 90 openings for snow plow truck drivers.

MARYLAND Annapolis: A Maryland court says a man sentenced to 13 years in prison for trying to fly contraband on a drone into a maximum- security state prison must be resentenced.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Mas- sachusetts lawmakers last week passed a bill to encourage electric vehicle use. The bill would make it easier to charge electric vehicles.

MICHIGAN Ann Arbor: An administrator who said she was fired after raising questions about racial profiling at University of Michigan hospitals settled her lawsuit for $ 375,000. Dr. Carmen Green had said that security was being called more often to deal with blacks who were grieving or emotional than whites.

MINNESOTA St. Cloud: The mother of a kindergartner was surprised that it took just an hour on social media to raise $ 400 to pay off student lunch debt at St. Cloud’s Madison Elementary School, The St. Cloud Times reports.

MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: City officials have chosen a Georgia firm to develop and manage Gulfport’s planned aquarium. The Sun Herald reports that the $ 80 million project will open in early 2019.

MISSOURI Jefferson City: A new 1,230- acre state park in the St. Francois Mountains will be named for outgoing Gov. Jay Nixon. The park features a connection to the Ozark Trail.

MONTANA Helena: Students awarded a Montana scholarship for science, technology and similar fields will have to find another way to pay their tuition this spring. The program that was to be funded by lottery proceeds doesn’t have the money to pay the awards.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A state report says ride services Uber and Lyft haven’t hurt taxi businesses across Nebraska. The Omaha World- Herald reports that statewide cab data shows rides trending up over the past five years.

NEVADA Reno: A Reno neighborhood that for more than 70 years served as one of the city’s most prominent and desirable places to live has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. The Newlands Heights Historic District joins the University of Nevada Reno Historic District as the city’s two sites recognized for historical and architectural importance.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Nearly 5,000 people in the Exeter and Kensington areas of New Hampshire were briefly left without power one day last week after a squirrel sparked a small fire at a transformer.

NEW JERSEY Atlantic City: Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian wants billionaire investor Carl Icahn to sell the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino. Icahn closed the casino Oct. 10 and has said it isn’t for sale.

NEW MEXICO Angel Fire: The Angel Fire ski resort in the Southern Rockies is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Activities will kick off Jan. 19 with an exhibit of historic photos.

NEW YORK New York: New York City recorded its fewest shootings ever last year and narrowly missed setting a record low for homicides. According to data released last week, there were 335 NYC homicides in 2016.

NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: Charter school enrollment in North Carolina has more than doubled in five years. The Charlotte Observer reports that enrollments in the state’s traditional public schools have declined.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A legislative committee is endorsing a change from two to one license plate for North Dakota drivers, The Bismarck Tribune reports.

OHIO Columbus: Arson investigators were at the scene last week of a massive blaze that gutted a thrift store warehouse in Columbus. No one was injured. Damage was estimated at $ 450,000.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: An American Indian tribe’s plan to build a $ 25 million casino in the Oklahoma Panhandle — hundreds of miles from its headquarters — has raised questions about whether tribal gambling should be allowed in areas with no historical tribal connection.

OREGON Salem: A former Oregon State Penitentiary nurse accused of stealing prescription painkillers has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to surrender his nursing license, The Statesman Journal reports.

PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: Federal regulators want to fine a contractor $ 11,224 for a construction fire that wholly or partially shut down a major Pittsburgh bridge for 24 days. The Sept. 2 fire’s heat bent a 30- foot steel support beam that needed to be repaired before work could resume.

RHODE ISLAND Newport: The Newport Art Museum has received an anonymous donation of nearly $ 5 million — the largest gift in the century- old museum’s history.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Records show that South Carolina Electric & Gas has changed plans for removing coal tar from the Congaree River near Columbia. The State reports that the change will save about $ 11 million.

SOUTH DAKOTA Aberdeen: Northern State University has launched game- day suites at its basketball arena in Aberdeen. The Aberdeen News reports that the university’s alumni organization is seeking a beer and wine license to make it possible for the school to lease suites on a seasonlong and per- game basis.

TENNESSEE Oneida: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area says it’s offering a night of free camping in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

TEXAS Austin: City leaders are facing concerns that Austin’s DNA crime lab might remain closed until mid- 2018. Police last June closed the lab amid revelations that staffers weren’t using commonly accepted practices for DNA analysis.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A man whose wife died last year on a zip line at Sundance Mountain Resort has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. John Lambe says Sundance didn’t keep an area near the zip line clear of debris and allowed guests to zip line in high winds. Investigators say Lisa Lambe died May 20 when she hit a tree in her path.

VERMONT Shaftsbury: A Vermont corporation is proposing a $ 6.6 million affordable housing project in the Bennington County town of Shaftsbury. The Bennington Banner reports that 22 units will be built for people making $ 13 to $ 18 an hour.

VIRGINIA Yorktown: Police say a man broke into a Yorktown home, ate salmon, put on the homeowner’s clothes and was found smoking a cigarette in the owner’s bed. The York- Poquoson Sheriff’s Office says a neighbor tackled the suspect.

WASHINGTON Tumwater: Eighteen dogs died in a fire at a privately run animal rescue facility south of Olympia. Thurston County’s Animal Services says 19 others were found safe in kennels. The fire was accidental.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: West Virginia Secretary of State-elect Mac Warner says about a third of the current office’s staff will be let go after he takes office Jan. 16. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the reductions are needed to deal with anticipated budget cuts.

WISCONSIN Madison: A timber company subsidiary looking to build sand processing facilities in Wisconsin is promising to preserve and restore about 375 acres of wetlands on one of the sites. Meteor Timber’s projects for a mine, processing plant and railroad spur would eliminate 16.6 acres of wetlands.

WYOMING Powell: A judge last month upheld a jury’s nearly $ 2.3 million award to two Wyoming men who were injured when their vehicle was hit by bales of hay thrown from a trailer in a 2010 crash. The Powell Tribune reports that Richard and Bill Schlenker, a father and son, suffered fractured bones when their pickup truck was knocked down a 15- foot embankment.