STATE- BY- STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Athens: A man who allegedly killed or mutilated 32 chickens with a machete faces animal cruelty charges. Limestone County sheriff’s officials say Julio Cesar Rodriguez got angry when a woman told him to leave and began attacking the chickens.

ALASKA Juneau: Health officials say an Alaska resident who recently traveled to Central America tested positive for the mosquito- borne Zika virus. But the state’s top medical officer urges Alaskans to stay calm. Mosquitos that carry Zika don’t live in the state.

ARIZONA Tucson: The Arizona Game and Fish Department wants people to stop calling about coyotes with mange in the Tucson area unless the coyote is a danger to people.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: A panel reviewing designs and sites for a Ten Commandments monument will consider the American History and Heritage Foundation’s idea for building it outside the Arkansas Capitol. Opponents say that would amount to an unconstitutional state endorsement of religion.

CALIFORNIA Fresno: A group of California gun owners is challenging the state’s ban on large capacity magazines. Critics say the measure violates their constitutional rights.

COLORADO Denver: Colorado prison officials are transferring inmates to other states without telling victims or their families. KUSA- TV says an investigation found that more than 100 inmates, including some convicted killers, are held in a “secret prison system.”

CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: Mayor Joe Ganim, who spent seven years in prison for corruption, is forming an exploratory committee for a possible run for governor, The Connecticut Post reports.

DELAWARE Dover: Former Delaware governor Jack Markell plans to bicycle 3,650 miles from Oregon to Delaware this summer to raise money for a group that promotes healthy living.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Kids being treated at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington have a new way to forget about their troubles. They get to go outside at the hospital’s new healing garden that opened last week.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: Florida could become the first state to issue what’s essentially a birth certificate to women who’ve had miscarriages. It would provide a state- issued “certificate of nonviable birth” at a parent’s request.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed legislation giving the state broad authority to intervene at struggling schools. The bill is an alternative to a constitutional amendment rejected by voters to let the state take over some schools.

HAWAII Honolulu: The Hawaii Tourism Authority says visitor spending topped $ 1.4 billion in March, a 12% increase compared with the same month last year.

IDAHO Coeur d’Alene: Beach lovers would have a new swimming and boating area if Coeur d’Alene buys the former Atlas mill site. The Coeur d’Alene Press reports that the city wants to convert the Spokane River property to a boat launch, docks and swim area.

ILLINOIS Urbana: The University of Illinois unveiled a campus statue last week that honors women in engineering. The News- Gazette reports that the life- size statue, “The Quintessential Engineer,” was a gift from technology company Texas Instruments.

INDIANA Indianapolis: A liquor store manager and his sister- in- law have been convicted of scheming to claim a $ 2 million Hoosier Lottery prize in 2014.

IOWA Des Moines: The Des Moines Heritage Trust is raising money to buy and restore a historic train depot. The group hopes to turn the 108- year- old structure into event space and a museum, The Des Moines Register reports.

KANSAS Topeka: A community health system wants to acquire a rival Topeka hospital whose owner plans to close it this summer. Stormont Vail Health is among three possible buyers of the 378- bed St. Francis Health hospital.

KENTUCKY Richmond: Eastern Kentucky University’s tuition will rise by 5% this fall, bringing in- state undergraduate tuition to $ 8,996 a year, The Lexington Herald- Leader reports.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A Houma man is Louisiana’s latest millionaire. The Louisiana Lottery says Robert Liebkemann Jr. matched all six numbers drawn April 19 for the Louisiana Lotto game.

MAINE Portland: A Maine poet’s piece about her husband’s dementia has won the Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize, The Press Herald reports. Lee Sharkey’s Letter to Al was described by the contest’s lone judge as “spellbinding.”

MARYLAND Catonsville: A new Hindu temple has opened outside Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun reports that it’s the only one of its kind that the International Society of Krishna Consciousness plans to open in the U. S this year.

MASSACHUSETTS Arlington: A 6- year- old Massachusetts boy received an “Outstanding Citizen Award” for turning in $ 2,000 he found in a bank bag. Jasper Dopman was walking with his father last month when he spotted the bag on the ground.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Two dozen Detroit schools slated to close for poor performance will stay open for at least three more years. An agreement between the state and the city’s Board of Education lets the schools try to boost performance.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Minnesota residents who already have permits to carry handguns may be able to purchase more from licensed dealers without the required background checks, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says.

MISSISSIPPI Simpson County: A Mississippi man raked up an alligator while working in his yard, WAPT- TV reports. The Simpson County resident was working in a flower bed when he found the 8- foot, 7- inch gator staring at him.

MISSOURI Fulton: Authorities say a body found in a concreteencased container is that of a Missouri man who went missing from a home for the mentally disabled.

MONTANA Helena: A last- ditch effort by Montana lawmakers to reach a deal on an $ 80 million package of public works and building projects failed as the legislature adjourned. The House vote was three shy of the 67 supermajority needed to pass the measure.

NEBRASKA Omaha: The Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium has begun work on an Asian forest exhibit. The $ 20 million project is to create a habitat for tigers, leopards and other species, The Omaha World- Herald reports.

NEVADA Las Vegas: The 21st edition of the annual Electric Daisy Carnival is coming to Las Vegas on June 16- 18. The threeday music festival is held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. More than 230 musicians are set to perform.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham: The University of New Hampshire is planning to open its recently constructed outdoor swimming pool more than a month earlier than usual. That’s because the pool is heated, unlike the one it replaces. The opening is planned for May 10.

NEW JERSEY Pequannock Township: Police say a flower shop owner stole plants and other items from graves at a New Jersey cemetery. A surveillance camera installed at a nearby church led to the arrest of Lynda Wingate.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: State trust lands generated $ 399 million in income during the first nine months of the fiscal year, which ends in June. The income is mainly from oil and natural gas royalties and leases.

NEW YORK Ithaca: Cornell University officials say the college’s oldest all- male a capella group has been permanently dismissed from campus for hazing. Officials say new members of Cayuga’s Waiters were required to do such things as sit naked in ice baths.

NORTH CAROLINA Newton: A state prosecutor won’t bring vote fraud charges against a woman who voted in her deceased mother’s name, The Charlotte Observer reports. Officials say the woman’s 89- yearold mother was a strong Donald Trump supporter who made a power of attorney for her to vote that way before dying in October.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: State wildlife officials have lifted most limits on mule deer hunting in the Badlands. The move comes after a fifth straight year of big gains in their numbers.

OHIO Cleveland: Police are using surveillance video to identify a woman who pulled a handgun on a barber last month because he was taking too long to cut her 7- year- old son’s hair, WJW- TV reports.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Gov. Mary Fallin has signed legislation that sets up a new A- F grading system for public schools. The bill signed last week brings Oklahoma into compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

OREGON Roseburg: Federal regulators say Mount Nebo obstructs Roseburg Municipal Airport’s runway, causing a shutdown of its nighttime instrument approach, The News- Review reports. The 1,200- foot hill is best known for a herd of weather- predicting goats — standing high on the mountain means dry, low means rain.

PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh held two commencements last weekend, one for undergrads and one for graduate students, so each student could be recognized by name without having an overly long event. Officials tell the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette that they want graduates to “feel celebrated.”

RHODE ISLAND Newport: City leaders will study the feasibility of a water bottle refilling station program, The Daily News reports. Volunteers found thousands of water bottles littering the city last year.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle

Beach: Myrtle Beach is fighting crime at beachfront businesses, The Sun News reports. Eight incidents involving guns have occurred since April 15. City Manager John Pedersen suggests a culture change, citing merchandise such as knives and smutty T- shirts. Shop owners want more police.

SOUTH DAKOTA Harrisburg: Authorities say a South Dakota man shot at repossession agents taking his boat. The Lincoln County sheriff’s office says the agents left with the boat, but the owner chased them and the boat slid into a ditch after becoming unlatched.

TENNESSEE Chattanooga: A judge has ordered the Westside Shop to shut down, calling it a public nuisance. Prosecutors count more than 200 police responses to the sandwich shop between January 2014 and April 2016 for such things as fights, robberies and shootings, the Times Free Press reports.

TEXAS Houston: British oil company BP has discovered 200 million barrels of oil in a hidden Gulf of Mexico cache, The Houston Chronicle reports. The company used advanced imaging of geological formations for the discovery that’s potentially worth $ 2 billion in recoverable oil.

UTAH St. George: An increase in passengers at St. George Regional Airport has prompted a look at expansion projects, KUTV- TV reports. Airport officials say plans may speed up for a bigger parking lot, more rental car spaces and a new concession stand.

VERMONT Burlington: Vermont’s largest electric utility wants to increase rates by nearly 5%, Vermont Public Radio reports. Green Mountain Power cites rising costs and regional capacity issues. Any increase would take effect in January.

VIRGINIA Waynesboro: Someone in Waynesboro is shaving other people’s cats. Since December, seven cats have had their legs or underbellies shaved and were released, otherwise unharmed. Police aren’t sure a crime has been committed but say the owners want it to stop.

WASHINGTON Olympia: The Washington Department of Health has rejected the application for a proposed psychiatric hospital in Thurston County, The Olympian reports. In a joint application, Providence St. Peter Hospital and BHC Fairfax Hospital asked to open an 85- bed facility.

WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Marshall University’s Board of Governors is reviewing options for tuition increases and spending cuts in anticipation of reduced state funding. Marshall President Jerome Gilbert says they’re trying to avoid layoffs, but any state reduction over 10% will require such steps.

WISCONSIN Madison: Most of Wisconsin’s 58 dairy farms that were looking for new milk buyers found them. Their former buyer, Grassland Dairy, stopped buying the milk Monday after Canada changed its pricing policy to favor domestic milk.

WYOMING Riverton: Fremont County officials won’t require permits for landowners who rent property to campers during the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, The Riverton Ranger reports. But nearby Natrona County will require permits to host campers.