STATE- BY- STATE

ALABAMA Montgomery: The Alabama Department of Transportation will widen a portion of Interstate 65 in Shelby County. AL. com reports that the move comes at the request of Gov. Kay Ivey. The project will take about two years to complete.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Two Alaska nonprofits are coming together to build affordable housing for homeless people. The Fairbanks Rescue Mission and the Greater Fairbanks Area Habitat for Humanity are building simple 20foot- by- 24- foot cabins, the Fairbanks Daily News- Miner reports. Officials predict four cabins will be finished this summer and another six will be ready next summer.

ARIZONA Phoenix: A man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing five Circle K gas stations at gunpoint, police said. Michael R. Samson, 20, was arrested about 1 a. m. Friday, after a fourhour spree, police said.

ARKANSAS Jonesboro: Police in Arkansas arrested two people for stealing a 16- foot trailer with $ 5,000 worth of Little Debbie snack cakes. KAIT- TV reports that the trailer belongs to a Little Debbie salesman. None of the snack cakes were touched.

CALIFORNIA Stockton: “Dipsomaniac” was the winning word for Ananya Vinay, 12, who won the state Spelling Bee for the third straight year. MerriamWebster Dictionary defines dipsomania as “an uncontrollable craving for alcoholic liquors.”

COLORADO Denver: Taxpayers who requested direct deposit for their refund will receive a paper check as the state addresses concerns about identity fraud. Mim Mirsky, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue, tells The Denver Post the move is a safeguard and doesn’t necessarily mean a taxpayer’s identity has been compromised.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says layoff notices “probably have started” for some Connecticut state employees. Malloy is seeking $ 700 million in labor concessions from state workers to help fix a projected $ 2.3 billion deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

DELAWARE Dover: A judge says offenders who pleaded guilty to drug crimes aren’t entitled to withdraw those pleas or have their convictions overturned because of an evidence- tampering scandal at Delaware’s drugtesting lab.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Transportation officials in Washington say more than 7,600 potholes were repaired during the city’s annual Potholepalooza campaign, a four- week repair initiative.

FLORIDA Miami: The Coast Guard says last month was the first in seven years when no Cuban migrants were caught trying to reach the U. S. by sea. The agency credits the end of a policy granting residency to any Cuban who steps on American soil.

GEORGIA Athens: A Georgia man who claimed his family ate his pork chop, is charged with violating a family violence bond order. Athens police arrested Terry Ball in February and accused him of battery for allegedly throwing a pork chop at his mother, WAGA- TV reports.

HAWAII Oahu: New data show the number of homeless people and homeless veterans in the city

has increased. The Honolulu Star- Advertiser reports data released last week show that Oahu’s homeless population increased by 0.4%, bring the new total to 4,940 people. The homeless veteran population grew by 9%.

IDAHO Boise: State officials say thousands of dollars in donations are pouring in for an Anne Frank memorial vandalized last week.

The Idaho Statesman reports that $ 11,000 was raised for the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial as of Friday. Officials found racist and anti- Semitic slurs on the memorial.

ILLINOIS Springfield: The University of Illinois has approved a nearly $ 16 million renovation for a new medical school at the Urbana- Champaign campus. Construction is scheduled to start in November.

INDIANA Indianapolis: A Statehouse tree dedication ceremony last week was the final official event marking Indiana’s 200th anniversary of becoming a state. Forty- four Indiana- native trees were planted on the grounds.

IOWA Des Moines: Gov. Terry Branstad has decided to keep open a research center at Iowa State University, but he still removed its funding. Branstad used veto power to cut state budget language to eliminate the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Its funding will go to a separate ISU center that studies water quality.

KANSAS Topeka: Kansas lawmakers are moving toward increasing oversight of Kansas’ privatized foster care system. Proposed legislation would create a task force to collect data from the Department for Children and Families.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Kentucky State Police have changed the qualifications to become a trooper in an effort to get more candidates. The job now requires a high school diploma and three years of work experience. Previously, candidates needed 60 hours of college credit, two years of military service or two years in law enforcement.

LOUISIANA Lake Charles: A woman who worked at a federal prison was sentenced to a year and a day for taking bribes to smuggle cellphones and tobacco into the Oakdale facility. Authorities say an inmate paid her thousands of dollars.

MAINE Ellsworth: Maine fishermen are nearing their quota for the spring harvest of baby eels. State fishermen are allowed to harvest a little more than 9,600 pounds of elvers annually.

MARYLAND La

Plata: Authorities in Maryland are searching for the person who shot a police officer’s cat. The

Charles County Sheriff’s Office says Maximus, a 3- year- old orange tabby, was wounded by a pellet gun, requiring the amputation of one leg.

MASSACHUSETTS Malden: A Massachusetts charter school agency has criticized Mystic Valley Regional Charter School for disciplining black and biracial students for braided hairstyles that violate school dress policy,

The Boston Globe reports.

MICHIGAN Flint: Organizers of a successful playground project in Flint say they aim to build more. The groups are within $ 20,000 of a goal to build two playgrounds, one in Broome Park and one in Hasselbring Park.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The former head of the defunct Community Action of Minneapolis was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud. Prosecutors say Bill Davis stole taxpayer money and spent it on cars, lavish trips with girlfriends and other personal items.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A judge has blocked a state order that would force one of Mississippi’s largest payday lenders to close. Hinds County Judge Dewayne Thomas signed an order that lets All American Check Cashers stay open. The state had ordered the lender to close and pay $ 1.58 million in fines.

MISSOURI St. Louis: A Lotto ticket worth $ 3.5 million that was purchased in Missouri has expired. The unclaimed prize money goes to a fund that benefits public education.

MONTANA Billings: Bighorn Reservoir on the Montana- Wyoming border is more than 70% full despite record- breaking outflows. The Billings Gazette reported water has been gushing into the reservoir and a lot of snow is still in the mountains.

NEBRASKA Omaha: A Nebraska man faces pandering and solicitation charges after investigators say he sent prostitutes dozens of times over nearly four years to his neighbor’s house to strip on their porch. Police say Douglas Goldsberry would take pictures of the women from his window.

NEVADA Las Vegas: The federal agency in charge of U. S. nuclear weapons sites has awarded a $ 5 billion contract to Mission Support and Test Services LLC, a division of Honeywell, to manage and operate the Nevada National Security Site for up to 10 years.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: A New Hampshire tattoo artist was fined $ 1,000 for buying and selling a stuffed bird that’s protected under federal wildlife laws. Prosecutors say Jeremiah Loui he had

45 taxidermied birds, 14 of which were subject to forfeiture, The

Portsmouth Herald reports.

NEW JERSEY Atlantic City: Officials have started a restoration project on some of the state’s most popular beaches. The state Department of Environmental Protection is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to complete the $ 63 million project, The Press of Atlantic City reports.

NEW MEXICO Carlsbad: A potential massive sinkhole worries some parents whose kids ride the school bus. About half of Carlsbad school buses drive on a daily basis over the former I& W Brine Well, which was closed after the area was considered unstable, the Current- Argus reports.

NEW YORK New York: A massive inflatable ballerina created by artist Jeff Koons is the latest public art on display at New York’s Rockefeller Center. The 45- foot work unveiled last week will be on display through June 2.

NORTH CAROLINA Morehead

City: The Carteret County health department closed its doors last week after finding bed bugs in a waiting area and an office. A pest control specialist treated the affected areas.

NORTH DAKOTA Beulah: A calf born seemingly healthy at a North Dakota ranch has an extra set of limbs hanging off its neck. A state veterinarian tells The Bismarck Tribune that the condition isn’t fatal.

OHIO Dayton: The University of Dayton plans $ 72 million in updates to its arena, The Dayton Daily News reports. The cost is being covered through private donations and the school.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Oklahoma lawmakers have killed a measure to expand tribal gambling to help fill a projected $ 878 million hole in next year’s state budget. Critics said the expansion would allow full- blown Las Vegas- style gambling.

OREGON Portland: Portland General Electric has suspended its effort to get permits for two new natural gas- fired power plants. PGE sent letters to two Oregon state agencies asking them to suspend the utility’s request for a change that would have allowed it to build two

plants at its Carty Generating Station near Boardman.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: The University of Pittsburgh rowing team says wallets, laptops and uniforms were among items stolen from team vans as they prepared for a race. The vans were broken into on a road next to the Schuylkill River, where the Dad Vail Regatta was getting underway.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state Department of Labor says it sent money to pay temporary disability insurance claims to the wrong bank, delaying payments for about 300 people.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia says its first infant gorilla died last week during birth.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A construction company plans to contest OSHA fines of more than $ 100,000 for a building collapse in Sioux Falls, KELO- AM reports.

TENNESSEE Nashville: The state attorney general has sued a chain of pain management clinics, claiming fraud. MMi Pain Clinics operated at least 18 clinics in the state, which is seeking $ 7 million in damages.

TEXAS Beach City: A fire at a crude oil tank farm near Houston led to the evacuation of about 100 homes last week. Investigators are trying to determine whether lightning struck one of the tanks.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A University of Utah analysis shows tourists spent a record $ 8.2 billion in Utah in 2015 and generated another $ 1.15 billion in local tax revenue, the Deseret News reported.

VERMONT Shaftsbury: Two trees planted by poet Robert Frost have been toppled by high winds. A birch and snow apple tree came down at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum.

VIRGINIA Roanoke: A young black bear was looking for treats when it climbed into a car. Instead, the bear managed to honk the horn, waking up the car’s owners about 5 a. m. last week. An officer was able to open the back door, and the bear ran off.

WASHINGTON Longview: BNSF Railway has appealed an environmental review of a coalexport terminal. Millennium Bulk Terminal- Longview wants to build a facility along the Columbia River to handle up to 44 million tons of coal a year. The Daily News reports that the study says diesel particulate emissions would increase the cancer risk rate. BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace says there are no credible studies suggesting that locomotive diesel emissions increase cancer risk.

WEST VIRGINIA Beckley: A judge ordered a physician to stop operating his practice as a pain clinic. The order also prohibits Yasar Aksoy from prescribing narcotics, including opioid painkillers. West Virginia’s attorney general’s office says Aksoy prescribed narcotics to more than half the patients he saw.

WISCONSIN Madison: Acute Hepatitis C cases have skyrocketed in Wisconsin, rising 450% from 2011 to 2015. State health officials tell Wisconsin Public Radio that most infections resulted from drug injections.

WYOMING Gillette: Three coal companies in the state have paid more than $ 80 million in property taxes. Campbell County’s chief deputy treasurer, Jackie Blikre, tells the Gillette News Record that Peabody Energy paid $ 37.2 million, Arch Coal $ 33.6 million and Cloud Peak Energy $ 10.7 million. The total is 6% less than what they paid in May 2016.