STATE- BY- STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA York: Sumter Academy is closing its doors due to dwindling enrollment. At the end of the most recent year, the private school in York was down to 172 students, and fewer than 50 registered to attend school in the fall. ALASKA Juneau: Workers began clearing debris last week from an April fire at Twin Lakes Playground in Juneau. The playground area will remain closed during cleanup, but much of the rest of the park is open, the Juneau Empire reports. ARIZONA Phoenix: After 24 years, the Arizona chapter of the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation will close on July 31. Officials of the nonprofit cite dwindling donations and event participation. ARKANSAS Little Rock: Arkansas officials have dropped an effort to block a request for records related to the autopsy of Kenneth Williams, who lurched and convulsed 20 times during his April 27 execution. CALIFORNIA Stanford: Stanford University will allow support animals in its dorms for the first time this fall, The Mercury News in San Jose reports. Up to now, students with support animals had to live in campus apartments. COLORADO Silverton: The Environmental Protection Agency is studying whether it can close a dam inside a Colorado mountain to stop a leak of contaminated mine water into the Animas River. The Denver Post reports that the agency hopes to shut the dam next year. CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: A state commission says Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim isn’t eligible for public financing if he runs for statewide office. Ganim, a convicted felon considering a run for governor, tells the Connecticut Post he may take the matter to court. DELAWARE Milford: State police say a man killed his girlfriend’s pit bulls after he and the woman got into an argument. Denzel Brown is charged with possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, two counts of animal cruelty and criminal mischief. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A member of the District of Columbia council is reviving an effort at statehood. David Grosso has proposed changing the names of elected leaders to state equivalents — Mayor Muriel Bowser would be called “governor,” for example — and renaming the city “Douglass Commonwealth.” FLORIDA Port St. Lucie: Authorities say a woman let a 12year- old girl drive her car. The ride last week ended in Port St. Lucie with a three- vehicle crash, Treasure Coast Newspapers reports. GEORGIA Eatonton: Two inmates accused of killing their guards on a Georgia prison bus face murder, felony escape and hijacking charges. Prosecutors say the case against Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose is clearly a death penalty matter.

HAWAII Kailua- Kona: Big Island water officials say North Kona residents are largely ignoring a mandatory 25% usage cut issued in January. Officials report some compliance early on, but it has dropped off in recent months, West Hawaii Today reports. IDAHO Boise: A sequoia seedling that naturalist John Muir sent to Idaho more than a century ago has become a tree that’s an obstacle to progress. The 98- foot sequoia is in the way of St. Luke’s hospital expansion. So it’s being uprooted and moved about two blocks to city property.

ILLINOIS Chicago: Former president Barack Obama’s presidential center could include a playground and a sledding hill. The landscape architect designing the 20- acre site in Jackson Park tells The Chicago Tribune that there are plans for a performance lawn, community gardens and wooded walking areas.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Designs for four more buildings on the site of a former Coca- Cola bottling plant in downtown Indianapolis are being reviewed by the Indiana Historic Preservation Commission, The Indianapolis Business Journal reports.

IOWA Fort Dodge: Police officers in this Iowa city are getting new dress uniform caps. A Christian group, Serving Our Servants, raised more than $ 5,000 to supply Fort Dodge officers with eight- point caps and matching badges, The Messenger reports.

KANSAS Topeka: Shawnee County will pay a woman $ 10,000 to settle a lawsuit filed after she fell from an upper bunk in the county jail, The Topeka Capital

Journal reports.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: A Kentucky Amish man is facing federal prison time in the sale of improperly labeled health products, The

Lexington Herald- Leader reports. Samuel Girod is scheduled to be sentenced later this week in Lexington.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: A federal judge says panhandling is protected by the First Amendment right to free speech. The ruling last week came in a case brought by the ACLU of Louisiana against an ordinance adopted by New Orleans suburb Slidell.

MAINE Milbridge: A kayaker found by the Coast Guard shortly after a search for him was suspended says a wave knocked him into the water. Adrian Cerezo eventually was able to swim to land after issuing a “mayday” call on his radio.

MARYLAND Baltimore: Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has reopened McKeldin Square. The public plaza where demonstrations are frequently held has undergone a $ 4 million renovation that includes new landscaping, terraced seating and public artwork.

MASSACHUSETTS Walpole: An eighth- grader received a hero award after saving a classmate suffering an allergic reaction during a school field trip, WFXTTV reports. Timothy Sullivan administered an EpiPen to Haidar Faraj, who struggled to breathe after eating French fries cooked in peanut oil.

MICHIGAN Brownstown

Township: Roman Catholic leaders have dedicated a portion of a cemetery to Hispanics. Bishop Arturo Cepeda led a weekend Mass at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery south of Detroit. MINNESOTA Litchfield: A Meeker County patrol sergeant accused of stalking a man has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Under terms of a sentencing agreement, Joel Engler will serve 10 days of a three- month jail term, KSTP- TV reports. MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Ten Mississippi high school students were allowed to graduate because of testing errors in their favor. The state says it won’t revoke their diplomas. MISSOURI Jefferson City: Gov. Eric Greitens has signed into law a ban on people convicted of sex offenses against children from coming within 500 feet of children’s museums. MONTANA Missoula: The city has taken ownership of the water utility that serves its residents after a three- year court battle. Missoula bought Mountain Water for $ 83.8 million and paid another $ 6.8 million for developer claims. NEBRASKA Lincoln: Sarpy County Election Commissioner Wayne Bena will serve as Nebraska’s new deputy secretary of state for elections. Bena will step into the new job Sept. 1. NEVADA Reno: The City of Dust exhibit is making its way to the Nevada Museum of Arts, The Reno Gazette- Journal reports. The exhibit traces the more than three- decade evolution of Burning Man, an annual event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Health officials say New Hampshire has about double the number of syphilis cases this year compared to previous years. About 60% of the cases have been in Hillsborough and Rockingham counties.

NEW JERSEY South Orange: An anonymous online campaign has produced a rash of street signs tagged with cat ear stickers, supposedly in the name of women’s solidarity, NJ. com reports. That has frustrated officials in some cities.

NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: A study on proposed commuter rail service between Las Cruces and El Paso will be unveiled Tuesday,

The Las Cruces Sun- News reports. The study will disclose the level of projected ridership and development needed around stations.

NEW YORK New York: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has launched a compensation program for victims of past sexual abuse by priests. The diocese says it will take out a loan to fund the program. NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Lawmakers agree that new drivers should be taught what’s considered appropriate if they’re stopped by police. Supporters say such guidance would help avoid violent or deadly encounters between motorists and officers. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Landowners who want to get flea beetles that eat leafy spurge still have a chance to get the bugs free. OHIO Columbus: Backers of a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment giving crime victims and their families the same rights as the accused say they’ve produced enough signatures to make the fall ballot. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: State environmental officials say elevated mercury levels in fish have been found in 14 more Oklahoma lakes. That brings the number of state lakes with mercury advisories to 54. OREGON Salem: People have started arriving in the Malheur National Forest for the Rainbow Family of Living Light annual gathering. The Fourth of July get- together is expected to draw as many as 30,000 people. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Police say a man repossessing a minivan towed it with a sleeping child in the back. The tow truck driver said he didn’t see anyone inside, but the 7- year- old girl was under a blanket. Police stopped the vehicle about 10 blocks away.

RHODE ISLAND Tiverton: The town has agreed to pay $ 40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a third- grader who said police interrogated the girl for hours over a false report. SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: A woman is suing a senior living center after her 90- year- old grandmother was killed by an alligator last year, The Post and Courier of Charleston reports. The lawsuit says Bonnie Walker apparently fell into a pond, where she was attacked. SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Officials are studying a human skull fragment uncovered by a landscaping crew in Pierre. No other bones were found. TENNESSEE Nashville: Gov. Bill Haslam leaves Monday for Europe to recruit more foreign investment in Tennessee. Haslam will visit the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Germany. TEXAS Fort Worth: Prosecutors want the bond revoked for the mother of a Texas teen who used an “affluenza” defense after killing four people in a 2013 drunken- driving crash. Tonya Couch has been free pending trial on charges of hindering her son’s apprehension. UTAH Orem: Utah Valley University is making changes to protect transgender students and restrict protests, The Daily Herald reports. Trustees are adding “gender expression” as a protected group from harassment and discrimination. Protests would be restricted from classrooms. VERMONT Burlington: A popular bike path in Burlington is undergoing repairs this summer, WCAX- TV reports. Construction on a path near Leddy Park heading into Colchester will be completed by September. Bikers will be detoured about a half- mile while repairs are underway. VIRGINIA Hampton: The 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base has a new commander. Col. Jason Hinds assumed command of the wing last week. Among his duties will be the rapid deployment of the F- 22 Raptor, the Air Force’s highly advanced fighter jet. WASHINGTON Olympia: Washington state lawmakers are racing this week to avoid a partial shutdown of the state government. In 2013 and 2015, budgets weren’t signed by the governor until June 30, hours before a shutdown would have occurred. Last week, temporary layoff notices went out to nearly 32,000 state employees. WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: State health officials say West Nile virus has been detected in a mosquito in Cabell County. Residents are urged to use insect repellent and wear protective clothing to avoid mosquito bites West Nile symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and rash.

WISCONSIN Appleton: The local police department’s new method of dealing with job stress has four legs and a lot of fur. Chief Todd Thomas says the main assignment of the 3- month- old Goldendoodle therapy dog named Blue is to lift employee spirits, WLUK- TV reports. WYOMING Cheyenne: Two brothers who are inmates at the same jail face charges in an altercation with another inmate. Authorities say Victor Jackson is charged with attempted firstdegree murder, while Duane Jackson is charged with aiding and abetting his brother for allegedly blocking other inmates from stopping Victor Jackson’s altercation.