STATE- BY- STATE

ALABAMA Montgomery: The president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of West Alabama, Anthony Dellon Bush, 52, has been charged with possession of child pornography. ALASKA Juneau: Gov. Walker is sponsoring workers’ compensation legislation aimed at making it easier to determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor. The legislation has drawn criticism from Alaska’s Small Business Association but construction workers spoke in favor of the bill during a House committee hearing last week.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The Arizona Game and Fish Department says Carson Pete of Flagstaff has set an inland waters hook- and- line state record for channel catfish. They say he caught a catfish that weighed more than 33 pounds at Upper Lake Mary in Flagstaff. Pete’s fish was measured at 39 1⁄ 2 inches. The previous record catfish was 38 3⁄ inches long. 4 ARKANSAS Little Rock: The city has started an intensive, yearlong sobriety court program that will enable certain “hardcore DWI offenders” to avoid jail time, heavy fines and community service hours, the Arkansas Demo

crat- Gazette reports. CALIFORNIA Oakland: Crews are set to take down the last visible piece of the old Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay. KTVU- TV reported that demotion work to take down the truss of the eastern span of the bridge was set to begin Tuesday morning. The final portion is 288 feet long and weighs 1.7 million pounds. COLORADO Fort Collins: City police arrested Joseph Scott Giaquinto, 35, in connection with vandalism at the Islamic Center of Fort Collins. Surveillance video showed a man trying to break into the mosque about 4 a. m. Sunday. Police say the vandalism included overturned benches and broken windows. CONNECTICUT Hartford: Democratic Gov. Malloy is organizing a conference that will focus on ways to reduce crime and end mass incarceration. Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, will speak at the June 14- 15 event. DELAWARE Wilmington: State police say Jesse Allard, 30, of Lewes faces charges after he was caught on camera assaulting a 2- year- old boy he was fostering. He is charged with second- degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Police say Allard’s boyfriend suspected abuse and set up cameras in their home.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Every one of the 190 seniors at Ballou High applied to college this year, a first for the struggling public school in a poor neighborhood of Southeast Washington, The

Washington Post reported. The students themselves set the ambitious goal last spring. FLORIDA Jacksonville: Federal prosecutors say a Jacksonville woman has pleaded guilty to smuggling a Mexican woman into the U. S. as a pregnancy surrogate and instead forced her into domestic labor through abuse. Esthela Clark, 47, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. GEORGIA Fort Valley: A Macon businessman was charged with burglary after authorities say he was caught breaking into The Creek 100.9 radio tower building in Peach County. Lowell Register, 80, admitted to taking a chip from the tower Saturday. He said he did so because the tower is on his property. HAWAII Kailua- Kona: The U. S. Department of Agriculture statistics show Hawaii’s coffee season for the 2016- 17 year looks promising statewide. The preliminary

estimatesshow Hawaii releasedis expectedin Februaryto have producedpounds of more coffee than cherry 36 this million past season. That is up nearly 2 million pounds from the 2015- 16 season, West Hawaii Today reported. IDAHO Gooding: A large- scale cockfighting event was busted over the weekend in Gooding County in south- central Idaho. KBOI- TV reports that about 150 people were detained. Officials also confiscated 80 roosters, which were later euthanized. ILLINOIS Springfield: The state Department of Public Health has rejected intractable pain and autism spectrum disorder as medical conditions that could be treated with medical cannabis. INDIANA Muncie: Ball State University is seeking bids for the demolition of LaFollette Complex, a 50- year- old group of five residence halls on campus. Work on the first two is scheduled to begin May 8.

IOWA Des Moines: Gov. Branstad doesn’t have to testify under oath in a lawsuit filed by a fired Division of Criminal Investigation agent who blames Branstad for destroying his career. Judge William Kelly, a Branstad appointee, rejected Larry Hedlund’s request to depose Branstad.

KANSAS Topeka: Harold Facklam Jr., 87, who has donated 32 gallons of blood over more than six decades was recognized by the Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living for the 259 pints he has donated through the American Red Cross.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The 6th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a woman exonerated of a murder after serving eight years in prison can continue with a lawsuit that accuses a Kentucky State Police detective of malicious prosecution. The ruling reverses a decision by the U. S. District Court. LOUISIANA New Orleans: Overdose deaths in New Orleans doubled last year, according to the city’s coroner, who described it a “public health crisis.” MAINEMaine System Augusta: officials Universitywill voteof on and a other proposal fees to by increase2.9%. The tuitionincrease would come after a sixyear tuition freeze, the Portland

Press Herald reports. MARYLAND Baltimore: The General Assembly’s budget leaders agreed Monday to accept Gov. Hogan’s offer of $ 28 million to help the Baltimore school system and others around the state, The

Baltimore Sun reports. MASSACHUSETTS Springfield: A Springfield teacher lauded for his work with at- risk youth is facing animal cruelty charges. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals alleges Stefan Davis and his wife failed to provide medical care to two Neapolitan mastiffs that were euthanized. MICHIGAN Lansing: Michigan senators voted 37- 0 on Tuesday to approve legislation that could allow the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority to assess small fees on commercial vehicles, not just private passenger vehicles. MINNESOTA Austin: A city police officer won’t be charged in a fatal shooting Jan. 11. Chad Norman fired at a man who threw an air conditioner and a bottle at police officers who responded to a domestic disturbance. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is still investigating. MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Gov. Phil Bryant will have to call a special session for lawmakers to set a budget for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. MISSOURI Webster Groves: The chess team at Webster University in suburban St. Louis has won its fifth straight national championship. MONTANA Missoula: Black bears and grizzly bears have started leaving their dens as spring weather has arrived in western Montana. According to The Missoulian, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says residents should take down bird feeders and should not leave out garbage. NEBRASKA Lincoln: Senators voted 40- 0 to advance a plan to merge the state roads and aeronautics departments. The Associated Press said Nebraska is the only one without a Department of Transportation. NEVADA Carson City: The Assembly Health and Human Services Committee is considering Assembly Bill 428 that would mandate public and charter schools keep at least two doses of naloxone hydrochloride or other opioid medications on site. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: National Grid is proposing a transmission project that would bring up to 1,200 megawatts of clean energy from Canada to the New England power grid and run along existing lines in Vermont and New Hampshire. The project is estimated to create more than 2,000 construction jobs. NEW JERSEY Trenton: New Jersey’s credit rating has been downgraded for an 11th time under Gov. Christie, a Republican. Moody’s Investor Service on Monday dropped the rating on general obligation bonds from A2 to A3, citing the state’s underfunded pension system. NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Ken McQueen says the state can be ready by July to backfill a giant underground cavern before it collapses underneath a community of mobile homes and transportation routes. NEW YORK Rome: A 17- year- old boy faces charges of petty larceny and possession of stolen items after a Rome woman reported the theft of five sex toys. NORTH CAROLINA Oriental: Police chief Dwaine Moore was suspended indefinitely after he was arrested on a charge of assaulting a woman. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: More parents are opting for private schools and home schooling, the Bismarck Tribune reported. North Dakota has no charter schools and few online schools, but data show home- schooling has nearly doubled since 2012. OHIO Columbus: The Cleveland Indians aren’t responsible for injuries to a Rochester, N. Y., man hit by a foul ball at a baseball game in July 2012 and blinded in one eye, a jury has decided. OKLAHOMA Broken Arrow: Authorities say three would- be burglars were fatally shot Monday by a homeowner’s son in Wagoner County. Detectives are treating the case as a home invasion. Pass: OREGONBros. Coffee Grantsplans to move Dutchits headquartersGrants Pass. Theto downtowndrive- through coffee chain bought the downtown branch of Washington Federal bank. Company headquarters are now in the North Valley Industrial Park near Merlin, where the company’s roasting operation and online store will likely remain. PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: Three foundations have collectively committed $ 6.5 million in donations to help the struggling Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra deal with budget challenges, the Pittsburgh PostGazette reports. RHODE ISLAND Cranston: Around two dozen advocates for the homeless panhandled and distributed fliers at a busy intersection during rush hour Monday evening to protest a new ban on panhandling on certain roads. Police issued about 15 citations, an organizer said. SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: South Carolina cut its infant death rate by nearly 21% between 2005 and 2014, The Post and Courier of Charleston reports, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures. The rate rose slightly in 2015, however, to seven deaths per 1,000 live births. SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Republican Gov. Daugaard says it’s a concern that South Dakota is on San Francisco’s list of places where city workers aren’t allowed to go on official business. The move came after the state passed a law aimed at protecting faithbased organizations that refuse to place children with gay couples or other arrangements contrary to their religious beliefs. TENNESSEE Nashville: The state Senate passed a resolution Monday that would allow the body of former President James K. Polk to be exhumed and moved to the James K. Polk Home and Museum. TEXAS Vernon: A second member of a Vernon College rodeo team has died from injuries suffered in a March 18 crash. Jakob Plummer, 20, of Petrolia died Sunday. UTAH Salt Lake City: Rapid melting of heavy snowpack has a federal water manager warning Utah residents to watch for flooding in coming weeks. Wayne Pullan of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation said higher flows are expected in Cache and Utah counties. VERMONT Burlington: A 25year- old woman was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for her role in the beating death of a Milton man at a homeless camp last year, the Burlington Free Press reports. VIRGINIA Charlottesville: Nearly 37,000 students applied to be a part of the class of 2021 at the University of Virginia this year, a record. Nearly 10,000 were accepted. WASHINGTON Seattle: The city’s bike- share system is closing down. The Seattle Times reported that Pronto’s last day will be Friday. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The average cost of tuition at the state’s public universities and colleges has risen 147% in the past 15 years, the West Virginia Center on Budget Policy says. WISCONSIN Madison: The 1st District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that state labor officials properly determined that Wisconsin Bell’s decision to fire a bipolar employee amounted to discrimination. WYOMING Jackson: Officials at Grand Teton National Park are unsure if a damaged roof will delay the reopening of the Laurance S. Rockfeller Preserve Center.