STATE-BY-STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: The Air Force joined with the private sector in Alabama this week to battle cyber-security threats. A “hackathon” was held as part of the Air Force Information Technology and CyberPower Conference in Montgomery.

ALASKA Juneau: Miners and environmentalists are paying close attention to the melting Herbert Glacier north of Juneau. Land that was completely covered 20 years ago is now exposed, KTOO-FM reports.

ARIZONA Douglas: Fifteen inmates and four corrections officers were injured Monday during an hour-long disturbance at the 950-inmate medium-security Mohave prison unit in Douglas.

ARKANSAS Texarkana: This southwest Arkansas county just took in $408,000 of unclaimed abandoned funds. The money comes from companies that paid royalties for mineral rights when the owners couldn’t be found.

CALIFORNIA Dana Point: A group of boaters spotted a sea otter in what’s described as a rare Southern California sighting, The Orange County Register reports. Marine experts say the sighting could mean the sea otter population is rising.

COLORADO Denver: The number of drivers involved in fatal Colorado crashes who tested positive for marijuana has more than doubled since 2013, the Denver Post reports.

CONNECTICUT New Haven: Charges were dismissed against 23 Yale University graduate students who blocked city streets during a protest against alleged sexual harassment at the school. The New Haven Register reports that the students must do community service.

DELAWARE Wilmington: The last Dominican nuns in Delaware are leaving the state, The News Journal reports. The three nuns, their two cats and 3,000 religious books will move to Illinois at the end of the month.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A suburban District of Columbia baseball field was renamed this week in honor of Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, a former Washington Nationals catcher who spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers.

FLORIDA Largo: The Pinellas County sheriff fired a decorated deputy who was caught on video taunting an autistic boy who threw a book at a teacher, The Tampa Bay Times reports.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Georgia is among states that have cut public college and university funding since the recession, prompting many schools to raise tuition, WABE Radio reports. A new study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities says fewer students will be able to go to college if the trend doesn’t stop.

HAWAII Honolulu: Three health care companies and Honolulu officials are teaming up to provide medical service and housing to homeless people on Oahu, The Star-Advertiser reports. Medical plans include 24-hour urgent care and a rapid detox and wound care center.

IDAHO Boise: Idaho has auctioned another 59 residential cabins for $29.1 million, The Spokesman-Review reports. Most of the buyers already owned cabins. The state plans to reinvest the money in higher-earning timber and farm land.

ILLINOIS Chicago: Illinois now has automatic voter registration. Under the law, eligible residents will be automatically registered unless they opt out when they visit Secretary of State’s offices for drivers’ license services.

INDIANA Muncie: Officials of Muncie Community Schools say the system won’t shut down despite predictions that it’ll run out of money by the end of the year, The Star Press reports. The district is facing an $8.5 million general fund deficit but is pursuing a state loan.

IOWA Des Moines: This was a Union state during the Civil War, and the State Historical Museum has an “Iowa and the Civil War” exhibit. But not on display are 34 Confederate battle flags in its underground vault. Authorities say the flags aren’t central to the history shown in the exhibit.

KANSAS Kansas: Gov. Sam Brownback has signed an emergency disaster declaration in response to storms that hit the state this month. The declaration covers eight counties.

KENTUCKY Louisville: An investigation into the University of Louisville’s foundation includes deleted documents from the computer of ousted university President James Ramsey, The Courier-Journal reports. A forensic audit found a hard drive used by Ramsey had been erased.

LOUISIANA Lake Charles: A man accused of shooting a Louisiana pastor during a 2013 service was released from jail after four years behind bars and no trial, The American Press reports.

MAINE Ashland: The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is holding a meeting Wednesday on the St. John-Allagash region and its future. The area includes a 22,760-acre reserve adjacent to Baxter State Park.

MARYLAND Cumberland: The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Cumberland says he hopes to open for business in November, The Cumberland Times-News reports. The opening has been delayed because of a lack of approved marijuana growers with available product.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The city’s official “Move-in Day” is Friday as college students begin moving back into their apartments and dorms — and clog up Boston-area streets. Officials say parking restrictions will be in effect.

MICHIGAN Lansing: Wildlife biologists are stepping up efforts to monitor Michigan ospreys. The birds all but disappeared because of pesticides but are coming back.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Hennepin County has received a $3.4 million HUD grant to help residents remove lead paint in their homes, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The effort will focus on low and moderate-income families in the Twin Cities, with priority to families with children under age 6.

MISSISSIPPI Greenville: Mississippi’s Washington County has 29 unsafe bridges but only enough money to fix two of them, The Delta Democrat-Times reports. Officials say the state will pay to repair four, leaving 23 structurally deficient bridges.

MISSOURI Columbia: The University of Missouri is warning students, staff and faculty that a white supremacist group appears to be recruiting on and near the Columbia campus. The Columbia Tribune reports that officials spotted fliers addressing “Midwestern Patriots” and carrying a neo-fascist symbol.

MONTANA Butte: Atlantic Richfield is picking up the estimated $660,000 tab to repair flood damage at the Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, The Montana Standard reports. Heavy rain in July caused significant damage.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Dove hunting season begins next month in Nebraska. Hunters have from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, with daily bag and possession limits of 15 and 45, respectively.

NEVADA Black Rock City: Thousands of people braved massive traffic jams to get to the annual Burning Man festival that opened in the Nevada desert last weekend, The Reno Gazette-Journal reports. About 70,000 people are expected to attend the art and music festival that runs until Sept. 4.

NEW HAMPSHIRE New Hampton: Grange Hall in New Hampton has been approved for demolition. The 191-year-old building has served as a chapel, community center and classroom, The Laconia Sun reports.

NEW JERSEY Somerdale: Police are searching for a suspect who slashed 52 tires on multiple police and fire vehicles. Tires on nine police cruisers, one fire vehicle and three personal cars of police officers were slashed.

NEW MEXICO Alamogordo: Billboard companies succeeded in getting Alamogordo commissioners to put off a vote on a proposed ordinance that would prohibit building new billboards, The Alamogordo Daily News reports. Signs already in place would have to be removed within five years.

NEW YORK Syosset: Police on Long Island are investigating spray-painted anti-Semitic messages, including swastikas, on walls, doors and windows of Syosset High School. Detectives believe the vandalism occurred Sunday.

NORTH CAROLINA Tarboro: Teams of planners, engineers and architects conducted a design workshop focusing on Princeville, the first North Carolina town established by blacks. The teams created development scenarios including housing, business and other uses for a 52-acre tract.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: New Song Church is starting a ministry offering a safe place for people recovering from addictions and other struggles, The Bismarck Tribune reports. The Celebrate Recovery community ministry will launch Sept. 8.

OHIO Powell: The Columbus Zoo says a macaw that flew away from an open-air exhibit area was safely recaptured after people spotted the bright yellow and blue bird near a golf club a few miles away. Milo typically flies between zoo handlers but took off on a gust of wind last week, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Researchers are using a lowflying airplane to map deep faults in Oklahoma, The Oklahoman reports. Before, researchers used oil and natural gas company data for fault maps. But most industry data is shallow, while most state earthquakes have been much deeper.

OREGON Birkenfeld: Authorities say a runner participating in the Hood to Coast relay stole a pickup and drove through a field where runners were resting, injuring a woman and then fleeing, The Oregonian reports. The man faces assault, reckless driving, possession of a stolen vehicle and DUI charges.

PENNSYLVANIA Hazleton: Authorities say an intoxicated woman abandoned her 14month-old baby outside a bar. Police charged 18-year-old Destiny Davila with child endangerment, public drunkenness and underage drinking.

RHODE ISLAND Woonsocket: This city is getting a wood-fired community bread oven, thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, The Call reports. Woonsocket is seeking an artist to design the oven and a mason to build it.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: A parent sued Ashley Hall, an all-girls school in Charleston, after it sent an email that included private medical information on students. The lawsuit said the email included a spreadsheet that detailed allergies, psychiatric diagnoses and other information.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: The finance industry has lost hundreds of workers in the past three years as health care and retail companies grow their South Dakota workforce, The Argus Leader reports. A state cap on payday loan interest rates drove away about half of that sector’s operators.

TENNESSEE Knoxville: Tennessee’s escaped monkey is back home. Pretty Boy Floyd spent a week on the loose but was caught Sunday after walking up to the owner’s daughter, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

TEXAS Houston: A 150,000barrel fuel storage tank spilled an unspecified amount of gasoline near Houston after tilting over because of rain from tropical storm Harvey. Authorities say a containment dike kept the fuel at Kinder Morgan’s Pasadena Terminal.

UTAH St. George: Authorities are launching restoration work on a forest burned in a massive wildfire near the Utah ski town of Brian Head. The work includes aerial seeding and mulching more than 8.8 square miles of the forest, The Spectrum reports.

VERMONT Brattleboro: The New England Center for Circus Arts has opened at a new location in Brattleboro with an event featuring jugglers and a flying trapeze, The Brattleboro Reformer reports. The opening comes after a month of internal chaos resulting in the resignation of the center’s board.

VIRGINIA Richmond: A 10-story hotel is in the planning stages to brighten a dark section along the downtown Kanawha Canal, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The $34 million Hyatt Place Hotel is scheduled to open in 2019.

WASHINGTON Coupeville: Authorities in Washington’s Island County say a man beat a dog with a pickax and finished it off with a .22 caliber rifle for killing a chicken.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: A Labor Day bell-ringing event in West Virginia will celebrate U.S. working women during World War II. It’s being organized by a Charleston-based nonprofit, “Thanks! Plain and Simple.”

WISCONSIN Madison: Water quality on Wisconsin lakes is better this year after last summer’s blue-green algae hazards, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. Homeowners on Lake Petenwell and smaller lakes described last year as one of the worst in years.

WYOMING Laramie: The University of Wyoming is looking to add a tourism bachelor’s degree program, The Laramie Boomerang reports. School officials hope the program will support economic diversification efforts.