STATE- BY- STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Birmingham: A federal lawsuit claiming chemical contamination of the Tennessee River near Decatur will go to trial in March 2019, Al. com reports. Tennessee Riverkeeper seeks cleanup rather than monetary damages from 3M.

ALASKA Bethel: The Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers are having opposite experiences with king salmon this season. KYUKFM reports that Kings in the Kuskokwim arrived late in a small trickle, while kings in the Yukon arrived early in a large run.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Authorities say a bobcat that attacked a dog and bit a man in the Anthem Country Club area last weekend tested positive for rabies. The bobcat was caught and underwent a necropsy.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Safety concerns are being raised about dozens of Arkansas juvenile facilities with antiquated locking systems. Locks that can’t be opened remotely and must be opened cell- by- cell pose a risk in case of fire, critics tell the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette.

CALIFORNIA Big Sur: A section of Highway 1 south of California’s Big Sur and Pfeiffer Canyon has reopened. Crews had to clear debris left by a landslide that authorities believe was triggered by winter storms.

COLORADO Denver: State officials want to know if having access to a mobile breathalyzer decreases a person’s risk of getting another DUI. KUSA- TV reports that people with prior DUIs in Jefferson, Adams and Weld counties are eligible to apply for a device that connects to a phone app displaying the results.

CONNECTICUT Greenwich: Just call it the Night of the Stolen Cars. Last Saturday in Greenwich, police say, six cars were stolen from people’s driveways on the same night. The Greenwich Times reports that all six cars were unlocked with the keys inside.

DELAWARE Dewey Beach: The town council says it will hire a law firm to investigate Town Manager Marc Appelbaum. Complaints have included crude behavior and improper interference in the operations of town agencies.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Metro police shredded 62 illegal dirt bikes and ATVs to deter unlawful ridership in the District of Columbia, The Washington Post reports. The vehicles were abandoned, seized in criminal investigations or taken because they weren’t registered and never claimed.

FLORIDA Land O’Lakes: Officials are collecting water samples to test for E. coli in a Pasco County neighborhood where a sinkhole swallowed two homes. Five homes are deemed unsafe to occupy. No one was injured.

GEORGIA Tybee Island: Officials in Georgia’s largest public beach are considering new fireworks limits after a rash of complaints during the Fourth of July, The Savannah Morning News reports. The Tybee Island City Council may ban fireworks from city- owned property without a special permit.

HAWAII Honolulu: Fire investigators from Hawaii’s Big Island took an arson dog to Honolulu to search for ignitable liquids in an apartment where a deadly high- rise blaze broke out last week. The blaze killed three people and injured a dozen others.

IDAHO Gooding: A man accused of organizing a cockfight on an Idaho farm pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 83 days already served, The Times News reports. Authorities say charges also are expected against some of the

other 150 people who were detained in the March raid.

ILLINOIS LaSalle: The I& M Canal National Heritage Area will have Junior Ranger days on July 27 and Aug. 24. The National Park Service program offers young visitors a series of activities.

INDIANA Fort Wayne: The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is planning a major remake of its primate area and a new river otters exhibit. The zoo’s plans call for making its Monkey Island visible near the front gates so visitors can immediately con

nect with the animals.

IOWA Cedar Falls: A state contractor is poring over garbage in Cedar Falls, looking for recyclables, The Waterloo- Cedar Falls Courier reports.

KANSAS Wichita: The deteriorating log cabin at the Little House on the Prairie site in Kansas is getting a makeover soon, The Wichita Eagle reports. The current cabin was built near Independence in 1977 at the peak of the TV series’ popularity.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The University of Louisville’s Archives and Special Collections is recognizing the 100th anniversary of World War I with an exhibition of vintage photos, war posters, documents and artifacts. The exhibit runs through Sept. 29.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: The Ocean Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund have sued the Trump administration for stretching the red snapper season in the Gulf of Mexico. Critics say the species is still recovering from overfishing.

MAINE Augusta: Maine’s fall hunting seasons are drawing near, and that means it’ll soon be legal to lay bait, typically doughnuts, to attract black bears. Hunting with bait is legal from Aug. 28 to Sept. 23.

MARYLAND Baltimore: A Crisfield crab pot business was recognized at the White House this week. Representatives from Heath’s Crab Pots were part of a showcase of American- made products and manufacturing.

MASSACHUSETTS Worcester: University of Massachusetts undergraduates will pay an aver-

age of $ 416 more for in- state tuition in the fall. The five- campus system’s trustees have approved a roughly 3% increase.

MICHIGAN Norton Shores: Michigan conservation officers are looking for two jet skiers who plowed into a flock of Canada geese, killing one and injuring at least three others. Video by a witness shows two people circling around with their watercraft on Mona Lake July 10 and then running over a flock of geese.

MINNESOTA St. Cloud: Authorities in Minnesota are investigating vandalism at a mink farm in Stearns County. The sheriff’s office says someone released about 35,000 mink from their cages. Their value is estimated at more than $ 750,000.

MISSISSIPPI Vicksburg: Complaints by Vicksburg residents prompted the city to ban its workers from using cellphones and watching TVs during business hours, WAPT- TV reports. The rule gives an exception to Vicksburg’s police and fire departments.

MISSOURI Ava: Authorities say the Douglas County sheriff’s department and jail were briefly evacuated after an inmate started a fire, filling the lockup with smoke. KYTV reports that no injuries resulted.

MONTANA Anaconda: The Montana fire marshal’s office is helping local police investigate two fires that broke out less than two days apart on the same street in downtown Anaconda. One of the blazes destroyed the historic Shields Mansion.

NEBRASKA Elmwood: A plastic surgeon determined that the cause of a head wound on an injured bald eagle found in Nebraska was a burn, The Omaha World- Herald reports. The eagle found by fishermen last month had a scab on its head and no feathers.

NEVADA Reno: A doctor pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter more than a year after he was arrested in a probe of a painkiller ring, The Reno Gazette- Journal reports. Dr. Robert Rand also pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled substance. Sentencing is set for Oct. 23.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Prize- winning posters honoring the bicentennial of the New Hampshire Statehouse went on display this week in Concord. Students were invited to design posters with the theme of the Statehouse and what it means.

NEW JERSEY Ramsey: A New Jersey beekeeper and his wife

were hospitalized after the man’s colony became aggressive and swarmed part of the town where the hive is located. The Record reports that it’s unclear what angered the colony.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Environmentalists are concerned about a proposed federal study to determine if Mexican gray wolves deserve status as a genetically distinct subspecies. There are at least 113 Mexican gray wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona.

NEW YORK New York: An animal welfare group says it has given up on efforts to end horsedrawn carriage rides through Times Square. Instead, leaders of NYCLASS tell the Daily News that they’ll focus on other changes, such as a guarantee that retired carriage horses are never slaughtered.

NORTH CAROLINA Nags Head: Construction of a bridge to replace the one that links Hatteras Island to the mainland is attracting a lot of sightseers, The Virginian- Pilot reports. The $ 250 million span to replace the Bonner Bridge along North Carolina’s Outer Banks is scheduled to open in late 2018.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A former Rugby postal worker accused of stealing money and gift cards from the mail has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. Authorities say Tomi Kiele will plead guilty to misappropriation of postal funds, and a charge of theft by mail will be dropped.

OHIO Columbus: A research project is looking at why the Ohio county that includes Columbus has the state’s busiest eviction court with nearly 18,000 cases annually, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

OKLAHOMA Tulsa: The Oklahoma Historic Preservation Review Committee will vote Thursday on whether to nominate a former church converted into a recording studio used by Tulsa native Leon Russell to the National Register of Historic Places.

OREGON Stanfield: One resident says the smell from a local

dehydration plant is so bad that it made him throw up. The East

Oregonian reports that state environmental officials took in 17 complaints in one day this week. Officials at 3D IdaPro say an air cleaner used to suppress the smell is broken.

PENNSYLVANIA Biglerville: State police say a driver crashed after he became distracted by taking a selfie. Pennsylvania troopers say the car went airborne and landed on a concrete slab. The engine block and front wheels came off in the impact.

RHODE ISLAND Coventry: Police in Rhode Island are investigating after a truck carrying an oversized load took down poles and wires along a road when it apparently snagged power lines.

SOUTH CAROLINA Isle of

Palms: Three adults and a child received emergency treatment after lightning struck near their getaway on the South Carolina coast. The adults had red streaks on their bodies, and the child was injured when dropped.

SOUTH DAKOTA Deadwood: Leaders in this Old West gambling town have approved a drone “no- fly zone” over its National Historic Landmark District, The Rapid City Journal reports.

TENNESSEE Memphis: Police say a man wearing a superman robe died after jumping from the balcony of a high- rise building. The Commercial Appeal reports that witnesses say the man leaped from the Memphis building’s 10th floor.

TEXAS Rankin: Authorities blame a dust storm for a 10- vehicle Texas pileup that left eight people hurt. Upton County Sheriff Dan Brown says nearby fields were recently plowed and dirt blew across the highway in wind gusts topping 40 mph, causing zero visibility.

UTAH Salt Lake City: The city’s fire department is limiting where people celebrating Utah’s Pioneer Day on July 24 can shoot off fireworks in the Capitol. Officials cite dry conditions that increase the risk of fires.

VERMONT Montpelier: A timber company will pay Vermont $ 375,000 to settle allegations that it overharvested trees.

VIRGINIA Richmond: Officials have finalized a pesticide- management plan to protect honeybees and other pollinators from further population declines in Virginia, The Roanoke Times reports.

WASHINGTON Seattle: A report by Disability Rights Washington says people living in four staterun communities for the developmentally disabled have suffered neglect and abuse. The report cites instances of residents denied basic treatment and given the wrong medication.

WEST VIRGINIA Beckley: Authorities have rededicated a George Washington memorial in Beckley that was buried for years and recently unearthed. It was one of many commemorative markers placed around the country in 1932 to celebrate the bicentennial of Washington’s birth.

WISCONSIN La Crosse: The Wisconsin- based Kwik Trip convenience store chain is acquiring a state- based competitor, PDQ. PDQ operates 34 convenience stores in Wisconsin. Kwik Trip has 570 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

WYOMING Gillette: A Wyoming horse has tested positive for West Nile virus, the Gillette NewsRecord reports. It’s expected to make a full recovery.