STATE- BY- STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: Alabama health officials have closed shellfish growing waters in Baldwin and Mobile counties. The order results from possible bacteria contamination of oyster beds.

ALASKA Kenai: An Army Corps of Engineers report says the cost of alleviating erosion along a nearly one- mile bluff in Kenai would exceed its economic benefit, but can still be done, The Peninsula Clarion reports.

ARIZONA Tucson: A wildfire may have caused heat damage this month to one of the research telescopes on Mount Graham. Officials say the lightning- caused Frye Fire burned within about 30 feet of the building, but didn’t cause it to catch fire.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: A judge has struck down a new Arkansas law eliminating mandatory life- without- parole sentences for juveniles. Judge Wendell Griffen says the law denies individualized sentencing hearings in such cases.

CALIFORNIA Fresno: Two men face felony charges involving 1,200 stolen beehives valued at $ 200,000. Beekeepers from around the country rent hives to California farmers to pollinate crops such as almonds.

COLORADO Denver: Colorado’s state mental hospital says an increase in court orders for mental health evaluations makes it difficult to meet a 28- day deadline to complete them, The Denver Post reports.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: A state toxicology report shows that a firefighter who died battling a 2014 house fire had alcohol and marijuana in his system, the Hartford Courant reports. Kevin Bell died of asphyxia because his tank ran out of air.

DELAWARE Wilmington: A Delaware lawmaker missed his flight after his 9mm handgun was found in his carry- on luggage, The News Journal reports. Brian Pettyjohn was temporarily detained but wasn’t charged.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The nation’s capital is taking a new approach to rats, offering grants of up to $ 13,500 to some businesses for rodent- proof trash compactors.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: The FBI has launched a probe of redevelopment deals involving prominent business owners in Tallahassee. Federal grand jury subpoenas this month seek records from the city and a local redevelopment agency that involve high profile projects and developers.

GEORGIA Macon: Georgia’s Wesleyan College has apologized for its past connections to racism and the Ku Klux Klan. The historic school says its past includes “appalling things,” including the use of names associated with the Klan like the “Tri- K Pirates.”

HAWAII Honolulu: Officials say 34 people have applied to become Honolulu’s next police chief. But the search is delayed after the consultant chosen to conduct the search dropped out at the last minute, KHON- TV reports.

IDAHO Crouch: A city notorious for dangerous fireworks displays has decided to ban them this year, the Idaho Statesman reports. Violators in Crouch could be fined $ 100.

ILLINOIS Springfield: Illinois residents are being warned about rabid bats. More than two dozen rabid bats have been reported in the state this year.

INDIANA Nashville: A new 2,000- seat indoor music venue is planned in Brown County nearly eight years after fire destroyed its longtime concert hall. The $ 10 million facility in Nashville will host concerts, along with community and business events.

IOWA Des Moines: An Urbandale couple face kidnapping and neglect charges in the case of a disabled woman in their care who suffered severe chemical burns. Police say the victim was bathed in bleach and Epsom salt.

KANSAS Topeka: Officials want to padlock a house where police have been involved in 84 incidents in six years, The Topeka Capital- Journal reports. Authorities have recovered stolen vehicles and collected numerous drugs and paraphernalia.

KENTUCKY Highland Heights: A woman accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend is under investigation after submitting an allegedly forged petition for a change of venue. The Kentucky Enquirer reports that Shayna Hubers’ 2015 conviction was overturned when a juror was found to be a convicted felon. A new trial is to start next year.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The first medical marijuana production deal struck in Louisiana is expected to bring the state’s flagship university at least $ 3.4 million over five years. In its bid offer, the contractor agreed to pay that amount or 10% of gross receipts, whichever is higher, to the Louisiana State University Ag Center.

MAINE Augusta: An artist in Maine’s capital city invited the community to add color last weekend to his large black- andwhite mural outline, The Kennebec Journal reports.

MARYLAND Baltimore: Police officers who responded to an underground steam pipe’s explosion may have been exposed to asbestos. The explosion last week punched a huge hole in a Baltimore street, damaged two nearby hotels and covered parked cars in dust, asphalt and other debris, The Baltimore Sun reports.

MASSACHUSETTS Chatham: Two juvenile humpback whales washed up last week on a Cape Cod island, The Cape Cod Times reports. Experts aren’t sure why. Officials say there were no signs of a ship strike or recent entanglement.

MICHIGAN Bay City: A powerboat operator was reprimanded by Bay City Grand Prix officials after circling a moving freighter in a “no- wake” zone while testing his vessel last week on the Saginaw River, MLive. com reports.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Minnesota officials are warning about the spread of poison hemlock in southeastern parts of the state. Residents are cautioned to avoid touching the toxic flowering weed and are urged to get immediate emergency help if it’s ingested.

MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg: The Forrest County Board of Supervisors has prohibited recording devices during executive sessions, WDAM- TV reports. Violating the ordinance can result in a maximum $ 500 fine and up to a $ 1,000 fine on second or subsequent offences.

MISSOURI Columbia: Students on the four University of Missouri campuses will soon pay less for textbooks, The Columbia Daily Tribune reports. University system President Mun Choi wants to use more opensource learning material.

MONTANA Helena: Federal officials say grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park are no longer threatened, and they’ll lift the protections in place for more than 40 years.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Health officials issued alerts last week for toxic blue- green algae at Iron Horse Trail Lake in Pawnee County and Pawnee Lake in Lancaster County. Skin exposed to the toxin from certain strains of blue- green algae can develop rashes and blisters, and drinking the water can cause headaches, nausea and muscular pain.

NEVADA Carson City: Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed 41 bills this year, a number topped only by the 48 issued in 2009 by Gov. Jim Gibbons, The Las Vegas Sun reports.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Rochester: An urn containing the remains of a World War II veteran who died 17 years ago was discovered during a house cleaning, WMUR- TV reports. The urn was returned to the family of Army Sgt. Chauncey Markham Sr.

NEW JERSEY Jackson: Environmental groups lost a lawsuit seeking to block a New Jersey theme park from cutting down nearly 15,000 trees to make way for a solar farm. The decision means Six Flags Great Adventure and KDC Solar can move ahead with the 21.9- megawatt project, which can provide all of the park’s electrical needs.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Visits to the Anderson- Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum now total more than one million since it first opened in 2005. Officials say the attendance milestone was surpassed during an annual folk festival in early June.

NEW YORK Stony Point: Police in Rockland County found 21 huskies and five animal carcasses presumed to be dogs in what authorities say were “squalid conditions,” The Journal News reports. Police were alerted by a Hudson Valley Humane Society agent.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Interstate 240 in Asheville and a bridge over it were closed for about 10 minutes one day last week while police removed two button- like objects reading “peace” from beneath the bridge. The objects turned out to be harmless, The Citizen- Times reports.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A trucking company accused of illegally dumping salty oilfield wastewater on a North Dakota road in 2014 wants to take its case to the state Supreme Court, The Bismarck Tribune reports. Black Hills Trucking says it already paid a $ 200,000 health fine, so it shouldn’t have to pay the industrial commission another $ 950,000.

OHIO Mount Sterling: The state auditor declared a fiscal emergency in Mount Sterling, saying thefts by former officials have taken a “heavy financial blow,” The Columbus Dispatch reports.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Oklahoma officials say the state election system wasn’t targeted by Russia last year despite evidence that at least 20 other states were, The Oklahoman reports. The Department of Homeland Security says hacking efforts were largely aimed at voter registration information.

OREGON Klamath Falls: A worker checking obstructions at the Keno Dam spill gate thought he found a log. Instead, hydro foreman Todd Engelbrecht last week discovered the carcass of a fish — an estimated 91⁄2 - foot, 250- pound white sturgeon, The Herald and News reports.

PENNSYLVANIA Erie: The new outdoor lion exhibit at the Erie Zoo is getting ready for a big makeover and some new resi- dents, The Erie Times- News reports. The zoo is working to get three new lions, two females and a male, to form a breeding group.

RHODE ISLAND Richmond: Police executing a search warrant at a city smoke shop encountered a five- foot alligator. The Westerly Sun reports that the alligator lunged and hissed at officers, but it was contained to a tank covered by a weighted metal grate.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle Beach: Six shootings in three days prompted Myrtle Beach officials to put up barricades last week to keep pedestrians off the streets and on the sidewalks. Some business owners objected, but others praised the high visibility of police.

SOUTH DAKOTA Mellette: A school in Mellette is the second in South Dakota to allow approved employees to carry guns, The American News reports. State lawmakers passed a school sentinel law in 2013 that provides police- type training for teachers or staff members, including a mental health evaluation.

TENNESSEE Chattanooga: Most of the arrests at this year’s Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga were for underage drinking, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Of 36 arrests, 30 were alcohol related, and 24 of them were minors. Other arrests were for disorderly conduct, vandalism, assault on police or resisting arrest.

TEXAS Killeen: A Texas court official who imposed a whopping $ 4 billion bond on a murder suspect earlier this year is drawing renewed scrutiny after overseeing a court hearing involving her son, the Temple Daily Telegram reports. Officials say Justice of the Peace Claudia Brown may have violated ethics rules by conducting her son’s arraignment last week on a charge of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.

UTAH Clearfield: A Utah college student with HIV has reached a settlement with a tattoo parlor that denied him service based on his medical condition, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

VERMONT Montpelier: A Vermont legislative panel has deferred action on a proposal to create new sound standards for wind turbines. WVPS- FM reports that the June 30 deadline for making a decision is now extended to October at the earliest.

VIRGINIA Virginia Beach: The Navy is disciplining nine sailors in a 94,000- gallon fuel spill. The incident occurred in May when a switch left in the wrong position sent the fuel from a barge into a Naval Air Station Oceana container where it overflowed.

WASHINGTON Olympia: State lawmakers have reached an agreement to eliminate the need to pass a biology test to graduate from high school, the News Tribune reports. Seniors who failed the biology test would be allowed to graduate automatically.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Gov. Jim Justice has signed a law to ramp up road repairs and reconstruction across West Virginia. The effort is supported by a higher gasoline tax, raised taxes on car sales and higher motor vehicle fees.

WISCONSIN Kewaunee: Dominion Energy says it’s reached a milestone in decommissioning the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, which closed in 2013. All of the plant’s nuclear fuel has been transferred to a dry fuel storage facility, WBAY- TV reports.

WYOMING Casper: People tied to multiple failed oil and gas projects or companies in Wyoming will have to notify regulators if they try again, The Casper Star- Tribune reports.