News from across the USA

ALABAMA Prattville: A former police officer is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child for allegedly not making his children attend school. Leon Todd Townson’s arrest warrant shows his children were absent 66 days and 59 days out of the 155- day school year, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. ALASKA Sitka: The Coast Guard says one or two new ships could be stationed here, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reports. The new ships haven’t been built yet and would not be in Sitka for a few years.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Police added extra security at the Phoenix Comicon after a man who allegedly posted online threats against officers was found armed with guns and ammunition when he was arrested.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: State Police say a man who climbed the gate at the Arkansas governor’s mansion last week is charged with trespassing and public intoxication. Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his wife were in the mansion at the time, but the suspect was arrested seconds after entering.

CALIFORNIA San Diego: Two defense contractors were sentenced for helping steal $ 3 million in medical equipment intended for Marine combat units. The pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy involving thefts from Camp Pendleton that included anesthesia machines and ultrasound devices.

COLORADO Denver: A man accused of performing an illegal surgery to remove a transgender woman’s testicles could spend years in prison. But KUSA- TV reports that the woman doesn’t want the prosecutor to press charges because she wanted the surgery. CONNECTICUT New Haven: Unionized Yale graduate students say the school’s removal of their protest camp won’t stop demonstrations. The shelter was set up as a base to protest the school’s decision not to negotiate with the union. A National Labor Relations Board decision allowed the graduate students to organize. DELAWARE Dover: Delaware’s environmental secretary has approved Rehoboth Beach’s plan to discharge treated wastewater into the Atlantic Ocean. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A Washington consultant is among five people charged in an insider trading case stemming from secrets leaked from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. FLORIDA Key West: A loggerhead turtle is safely back in the water after being seen laying eggs in a nest across a four- lane highway from a Florida beach. GEORGIA Atlanta: More than half the food stamp recipients in 21 Georgia counties were dropped from the program after the state put work requirements into effect, The Atlanta JournalConstitution reports. HAWAII Honolulu: Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa says he will run for lieutenant governor in the November 2018 election. Arakawa, 65, has served as Maui County mayor from 2002 and 2006 and was re- elected in 2011 and 2014. IDAHO Coeur D’Alene: A late summer trial is scheduled for Jeffrey Kantola, a former Lake City High School science teacher who faces lewd conduct charges. The Coeur d’Alene Press reports that a two- week jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 26. ILLINOIS Chicago: A two- year investigation of the Gangster Two- Six Nation street gang led to the seizure of drugs and dozens of guns, plus charges against nearly 50 people. INDIANA Indianapolis: The Salvation Army is suing the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis over its $ 35 million expansion project. The Salvation Army says it acquired easements in a 1993 land swap with the museum, and that the expansion violates those easements.

IOWA Des Moines: A greenhouse project is proposed along railroad tracks in Iowa’s capital city, The Des Moines Register reports. The Agricultural Corridor could meet demands for locally grown food and provide research space for Iowa State University students.

KANSAS Washington: A woman is fighting to keep her champion lamb title following a decision by Kansas state fair officials to strip her of the recognition, The Hutchinson News reports. Kansas State University student Gabryelle Gilliam was disqualified in January for alleged performance enhancement.

KENTUCKY Russellville: An Aug. 2 trial date is set for members of a Kentucky Amish community cited for violating an ordinance requiring horses to wear bags to catch their droppings, The Bowling Green Daily

News reports. The 13 Swartzentruber Amish sect members say the bags violate their religious standards.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: State wildlife officials are proposing an expanded season for red snapper fishing with an annual limit of 20 catches restricted to 150 fishermen. This year, the federal season for individuals is three days.

MAINE Portland: Maine broadcasters are under a judge’s order to produce unaired tapes of prosecutor interviews in a 1989 homicide case, The Portland Press

Herald reports. Anthony Sanborn Jr. served 27 years for the murder of his childhood girlfriend before being released in April.

MARYLAND Baltimore: A judge has temporarily blocked Maryland’s medical marijuana commission from issuing licenses to companies to grow pot. The order was sought by a company that wasn’t chosen as one of 15 finalists to grow marijuana in the state. MASSACHUSETTS Billerica: A minor accident occurred last week at the LynnWay Auto Auction, the site of a May 3 crash that resulted in five deaths and seven injuries. No one was hurt in the latest incident.

MICHIGAN Detroit: A new riverfront attraction and educational resource was unveiled in Detroit last week. The “Portal View” is a 20- foot- tall former shipping container with an interactive computer system that tracks vessels on the Great Lakes.

MINNESOTA Lino Lakes: Authorities say an inmate being transported from a state prison in St. Cloud to the Lino Lakes prison hijacked a transport van full of other prisoners last Friday and escaped. But by that evening, all nine inmates had been recaptured.

MISSISSIPPI Biloxi: Mayor Andrew Gilich wants to turn the former Beauvoir Elementary School into a service center and shelter for homeless people, The

Sun Herald reports. Police Chief John Miller says if the proposed center could help half the people on the street, there wouldn’t be a problem.

MISSOURI Louisiana: At a time when Confederate symbols are being purged, a local historical museum is putting a restored Confederacy flag on permanent display. The Mississippi River town of Louisiana calls its decision “a teachable moment.”

MONTANA Billings: State law allows school boards to let any adult staffer carry a gun in schools. But fewer than 1% of schools in the state are doing so,

The Billings Gazette reported.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A driver who plowed his car into newly poured concrete could be facing a $ 10,000 bill to get it removed. The incident occurred last week at a road repair site in Lincoln.

NEVADA Reno: Authorities say they have detained a suspect in connection to a fire that damaged a Reno motel early Sunday and displaced dozens of guests. The Reno Fire Department says an elevator at the Lido Inn was set on fire. Firefighters evacuated 25 people, and two others were taken to the hospital. NEW HAMPSHIRE Hanover: Wildlife officials say a family of four bears needs to be killed after two of them entered a Hanover home. Relocation isn’t considered an option because officials tell WMUR- TV that the bears show they aren’t afraid of humans and they’ll just repeat their behavior somewhere else. NEW JERSEY Atlantic City: Hard Rock International is upping its rebranding of the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City to at least $ 500 million. Hard Rock bought the former Taj Mahal in March for $ 50 million. NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: New Mexico State University is not closing any of its 12 agricultural science centers in the state, at least not yet. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences conducted a self- evaluation of the centers earlier this month as it grapples with less funding in the face of a statewide budget crisis. College of ACES Dean Rolando A. Flores says closing any of the centers would be a last resort. NEW YORK Kirkwood: A black bear first spotted April 24 with its head trapped in a plastic food jug is finally free. Wildlife biologists tracked it to a property near Kirkwood on May 19. They tranquilized the bear, removed the container and later released it. NORTH CAROLINA Autryville: A tornado with winds estimated at 110 mph destroyed the town’s fire department last week, The Fayetteville Observer reports. Station chief Andrew Hawkins says the department is operating from the Town Hall. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: North Dakota is taking suggestions for preserving the governor’s residence, The Bismarck Tribune reports. If no proposals come in by mid- July, the home will be demolished. The legislature authorized construction of a new governor’s mansion in 2015. OHIO Akron: The Summa Health system has rewritten its dress code to allow women to skip the pantyhose while wearing dresses and skirts at work, The Akron Beacon- Journal reports. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Police say a bomb squad found five homemade hand grenades in a recreational vehicle during a traffic stop last week, The Oklahoman reports. Police say it was unclear what the suspect, who was arrested, planned to do with the grenades. OREGON Bend: Firefighters battling a 170- acre wildfire burning west of Bend have the blaze about 40% contained. By Sunday morning, crews had completed hand lines along the eastern and western borders of the fire. They also continued to hold the north and south portions of the fire with roads. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: An arbitrator awarded $ 95.6 million to a Ukrainian immigrant who was seriously injured in a 2013 building collapse. Six people were killed and 13 injured when a brick wall collapsed, crushing an adjacent Salvation Army store. RHODE ISLAND Westerly: Seven cars were destroyed in an overnight fire at a car dealership, The Westerly Sun reports. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire last Friday at Tasca Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: A group that advocates for patients with disabilities says South Carolina’s mental health agency needlessly hospitalizes people instead of providing in- home services. The group’s lawsuit filed last week claims “a long, unfortunate history” of putting people in “isolated asylums.” SOUTH DAKOTA Emery: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a trench collapse that put a man in the hospital, the Daily Republic reports. It took 30 minutes to free the man, who was part of a construction crew. TENNESSEE Chattanooga: City officials want residents to fill out an online survey on the next police chief, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The issues include priorities and personal qualities.

TEXAS Abilene: Officials at the Abilene Zoo say a jaguar scaled a 12- foot artificial rock wall and forced her way under netting that topped her enclosure to escape last week. The jaguar, Estrella, was found lounging atop the monkey exhibit, sedated and taken to a holding pen.

UTAH Vernal: Police are looking for three men who have been missing since Monday evening. They say they got a report on Friday that 33- year- old Robert Alan Spoon, 33- year- old Jason Ralph Tilt and 29- year- old Jacob Douglas Tilt were last seen on Monday in a black pickup truck with a temporary tag. VERMONT Montpelier: Gov. Phil Scott has asked for a hold on using facial recognition technology by the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, WCAX- TV reports that the state ACLU chapter has outlined concerns about the program. VIRGINIA Roanoke: A local bike- sharing program is up and running, The Roanoke Times reports. Ten bike stations are scattered around the city, each with five bikes available for rent. WASHINGTON Olympic Na

tional Park: Olympic National Park is constructing bilingual entrance signs that include the language spoken by the Klallam Tribe. The Peninsula Daily News reports the new signs will have a Klallam phrase for “welcome.” WEST VIRGINIA Williamson: The Hatfield McCoy Country Museum opened last week. Items on display include bullets fired by the warring families, a gun and fragments of Randolph McCoy’s cabin. WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Scott Walker is defending a budget plan to end the state’s portion of the property tax. Critics oppose the idea because it would erase a state revenue source. WYOMING Grand Teton Na

tional Park: Park Foundation President Leslie Mattson told the Jackson Hole News & Guide that its next priorities include the preservation of the Mormon Row area and improving public access to the Snake River.